I'm a firm believer in the "great things happen to great people" and the majority of the time it actually I think it truly does and watching Rachel Tapps over the years is a prime example of that. Tapps simply blew me away with her athleticism the first time I actually saw her play but it wasn't the first time I saw her, that initial time had her sitting on the bench in her freshman season nursing a minor injury.
When I did see her play, let me phrase her as "a highlight waiting to happen" as she simply defies gravity hanging in the air for baskets or blocks but each of her years at Cy Ranch she has dealt with some type of injury yet she always fights back. Talking to her over the years has been as much of a pleasure as watching her play because this young lady is so positive and that comes from an outstanding foundation from her family because in order to overcome what this young lady has had to do, you know that support system is definitely strong.
Rachel never complained or had this "why me" attitude, yet she was always there to support her teammates and believe me, it was genuine. I asked Tapps what made her choose UTEP and she said "because they had the faith in me even before seeing me play after my ACL and meniscus injuries which went a long way in this recruiting process" she also added "the relationship of the team and the coaches and the way they took me in as if I was already a UTEP Miner plus the team cohesiveness."
This young lady is going to do big things at UTEP, I can truly feel it and keep in mind her high school team was ranked as one of the areas top by me the past few seasons so don'r be surprised when she closes out her career as a Mustang with a bang and although I had her listed as an Under The Radar player I knew this talented young lady would be okay and she has certainly been a joy to watch on the court and talk with off, did I mention she could sing, no she can sang !!!!!!
