Tanya Haave, a prep phenom at Evergreen in the late 1970s, could do it all.
In basketball she averaged a career double-double while leading the Cougars to a pair of state semifinal appearances, and in volleyball Haave was the cornerstone of two undefeated state championship teams.
But the Cougars’ current multiple-sport star, Claudia Dillon, just might end up challenging Haave — the Metro State head women’s basketball coach who played basketball at the University of Tennessee and is a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame — as the most talented female athlete in school history.
“She’s definitely up there in the ranks of the elite ones,” Evergreen girls basketball coach Amy Bahl said. “She’s so versatile — she can post up, play on the perimeter, drive, shoot outside, block shots and rebound — and she’s been a pivotal reason why we’ve had success over the past couple years.”
As Jeffco League action fires up, the 6-foot-3 junior again leads the defending Class 4A state champion Cougars (8-1), who have been to the title game two years running and are currently ranked third.
And like Haave, Dillon is an outstanding volleyball player too. Her play for the Cougars and through the Colorado Juniors club led to her verbally committing to the University of Missouri.
“It took me a long time to figure out if I wanted to play basketball or volleyball in college, or if I wanted to play both,” Dillon said. “As I talked to more coaches, I decided both would’ve been really hard considering all the extra out-of-season work that’s done. I guess I saw a brighter future in volleyball.”
Dillon credits her hoops-crazed family for her progression in her “second sport,” especially as she stopped playing club basketball last season in order to split more time between volleyball and family. Her parents played basketball in college; 18-year-old brother Michael plays at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., and 15-year-old sister Hayley is a sophomore for Evergreen.
“We all like playing together out in the driveway,” Dillon said. “My brother would always help me with moves down in the post, and we’d help my sister with her shot.
“We’ve just passed on a little bit of everything about the game to each other through the years.”
If there is a tipping point in the comparisons between Dillon and Haave — who also played volleyball for two years at Tennessee — it comes in a third court sport.
As a freshman, Dillon was the Colorado Badminton high school athlete of the year while winning state titles in singles and doubles. And though she had to miss the badminton state tournament last season because it conflicted with the state basketball championships, she hopes this year’s tournament (the dates are still to be determined) will give her a chance to add to her shuttlecock trophy case.
Basketball. Volleyball. Badminton. Is there anything Dillon can’t do? And perhaps the more important question is, what can the junior achieve in the short window of hooping she has left?
A lot, according to the Evergreen legend herself.
“Her potential is unlimited,” Haave said. “I’ve always known she loved volleyball more — and it’s a shame we won’t get to see how good she can truly be at basketball after high school — but wow, she’s become pretty dominant in her second sport.”
