Long before making the difficult decision to transfer from North Carolina to Florida, Antoinette Bannister grew up watching T.J., her half brother, flourish on the basketball court.
Although she was barely old enough to dribble a ball when he began playing competitively, Antoinette would tag along and emulate the moves T.J. made during practices and games.
“She was a little tot watching her big brother play and would be out there shooting all the time,” said Tony Bannister, their father. “She just loved basketball and enjoyed being around the game from a very young age.”
T.J. quickly became a heralded high school player. As a senior, he finished third in the voting for Florida’s Mr. Basketball award and became only the fourth player in Jacksonville to score 2,000 points during a high school career.
His goal was to play for Billy Donovan and the Gators.
“That’s where he wanted to be, where he dreamed of being,” Tony said.
But T.J.’s plans fell through. He ended up at Virginia, missing out on his dream.
Antoinette promised to not miss out on her own dream.
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Antoinette quickly made a name for herself playing basketball for her father at Jacksonville Potter’s House Christian Academy — a school that competed in the National Christian School Athletic Association until her senior season.
Had the Florida High School Athletic Association recognized Potter’s House during Antoinette’s entire career, her numbers would compare favorably to any other girl not only in the state, but throughout the country.
Antoinette averaged 31.3 points per game during her senior season to finish her high school career with 4,758 points. Only Adrian McGowen, who played in Goodrich, Texas, from 2003-06, ever officially scored more points in high school than Antoinette.
But missing out on statistical recognition was an easy trade for what playing independently meant to Antoinette’s development.
“It always felt just like an NBA schedule,” Antoinette said. “We traveled year round — went to California, Tennessee, just a whole bunch of places that most girls don’t get the chance to normally do in the FHSAA.”
Her scoring ability drew the interest of coaches from elite programs throughout the country. The powerhouses of women’s basketball — Connecticut and Tennessee — were intrigued by the girl who consistently took and made shots from anywhere on the floor.
“We were able to play in front of college coaches all the time,” Antoinette said. “There wasn’t a tournament that we would go to that there wasn’t a college coach there watching.”
Although letters from college coaches filled her mailbox daily, there was only one coach Antoinette dreamed of playing for: North Carolina’s Sylvia Hatchell.
Hatchell became coach of the Tar Heels in 1986 and built the program into one of the nation’s best. UNC won the NCAA title in 1994 and has missed the NCAA Tournament just three times.
“North Carolina was her dream school,” Tony said. “She could have gone to any school she wanted to go to, but there wasn’t much indecision.”
Added Antoinette: “That’s where my heart was.”
Hatchell recognized that Antoinette had the talent to flourish in the Tar Heels system. She also saw potential in two other players on the Potter’s House team.
“They would run and press and trap people, and that’s how I like to play,” Hatchell said. “Right away, I loved their style, her style and just how hard she always played.”
A pipeline formed. Three players from Potter’s House — Antoinette, Brittany Rountree and Hillary Fuller — signed to play basketball for Hatchell at North Carolina.
Antoinette’s dream was a reality. Even better, she had two teammates to help ease the transition from Jacksonville to Chapel Hill, N.C.
“Our dream was always to play college ball together,” Antoinette said of her friendship with Rountree. “That’s what we spent our time talking about.”
But that dream quickly turned into a prayer.
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Lurise Bannister, Antoinette’s mother, is the glue that holds the family together.
But, in October 2012, she began to lose grip of her own health.
Five years prior, Lurise watched her own mother battle ovarian cancer. Given her family history, she knew she needed to be aware of any symptoms.
When Lurise began experiencing the pain that she remembered hearing her mother talk about, she realized it was critical that she undergo tests immediately.
Nobody expects to battle cancer. The possibility shook the Bannister family to its core.
“For the first time, I just kept questioning stuff,” Tony said. “I asked the Lord to not let anything happen. It was so hard, and my faith is very high.”
Tests came back negative, but the pain did not subside. In December, doctors decided surgery was the best chance of preventing her condition from worsening.
Antoinette, who was home for the holiday break, considered never going back to North Carolina.
“To be an 18-year-old kid, and you don’t know what the results are going to be, it was tough,” Tony said. “That week-and-a-half, almost two weeks that we had to wait after the surgery to find out about the mass was so hard on everyone. Especially her.”
On Christmas Day, Antoinette decided that she wanted to stay with her family. Lurise begged her to reconsider and eventually convinced her daughter to return to Chapel Hill for the spring semester.
But after just two more games, Antoinette could not shake the knot in her stomach and the possibility that she may never see her mother again. She made the decision to leave the North Carolina program.
“It was the most unselfish act anyone could have ever done,” Lurise said. “Making that decision to come home because of my health, I commend Antoinette for doing that.”
Hatchell, too, understood the gravity of the situation. Although programs usually do not grant players a full release during the middle of a season, Hatchell encouraged Antoinette to do what was best for her family — even if that meant playing for another team.
“I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s about the kids,” Hatchell said. “It’s not about me, it’s not about winning, it’s about what is best for that young person at that point and time in her life.”
Said Tony: “If something would have happened and they encouraged her to stay, [Hatchell] said she would never forgive herself. That says volumes to me and our family because we have been close to them throughout the process.”
After only eight games, Antoinette’s career at North Carolina was finished.
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With one dream now gone, Antoinette looks toward another: making Florida women’s basketball one of the nation’s top programs.
The Gators have made just two NCAA Tournaments in six seasons under coach Amanda Butler. They finished tied for eighth in the Southeastern Conference last season.
“I said to Antoinette, ‘How many kids get to experience their dream school and then get a chance to experience the school that was their brother’s dream school?” Tony said.
“Her and her brother talk about it all the time. I can’t wait for her to show Gator Nation what she can do.”
But the sophomore-to-be will have help, some of the better talent the program has ever seen.
Ronni Williams, who HoopGurlz ranked as the No. 13 player in the Class of 2013 and the best player from the state of Florida, joins a cast of talented pieces.
Florida loses only one player — Jennifer George — who saw a diminished role as the season wore on. Meanwhile, Chandler Cooper and Viktorija Dimaite are expected to return from injury, and Cassie Peoples will join the rotation after transferring from Texas.
After originally being told she could not play until the end of the fall 2013 semester, Antoinette learned the NCAA approved a waiver for her to play when the season begins.
“We are excited about Antoinette,” Butler said. “We expect her to make a big splash.”
Added Antoinette: “I have a lot more to work for now. When I was at North Carolina, I had a hunger for the game, but something was taking it away. Now that I’m here, it is back. My hunger for the game is at a whole different level because I want to do it for my mom and for my dad and for this program.”
Contact Phil Heilman at pheilman@alligator.org.
Antoinette Bannister claps during pregame warmups before Florida's 68-57 loss to Vanderbilt on Feb. 21 in the O'Connell Center. Bannister decided to leave North Carolina and transfer to UF in order to be closer to her mother, who has battled serious illness since October 2012. Bannister will be eligible to play for the Gators at the conclusion of the Fall 2013 semester.
