Allyssa DeHaan

Allyssa DeHaan (born June 21, 1988) is an American former collegiate basketball and volleyball player.

DeHaan was born on June 21, 1988, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Tracia and Brandon DeHaan.

Her athletic life began with gymnastics in preschool.

She also tried ballet, ice skating, swimming, tee ball and volleyball before she ever picked up a basketball in fifth grade.

When some parents of AAU players walked into the gym and saw her doing gymnastics, they asked her to join their basketball team, to which DeHaan agreed.

She also started playing pickup games in the driveway with her mom, who played basketball at Northwestern University.

DeHaan has always been tall and is very proud to be.

Her parents are also tall; her father is 6 ft 6 in and her mother is 6 ft 4 in, but Allyssa outgrew both of them.

In middle school, she had already reached 6 ft 2 in and rapidly grew another six inches in just under a year, between sixth and seventh grade.

She was 6 ft 7 in as a high school sophomore and graduated from Grandville High School at 6 ft 8 in.

Already the tallest female player in Michigan State history when she joined the basketball team, she unexpectedly grew another inch before playing her first season at 6 ft 9 in.

DeHaan is not afflicted with Marfan syndrome or any other kind of overgrowth syndrome, but is simply extremely tall.

She has a 39-inch inseam, and she wears a men's size 11 (women's 13) shoes.

Deeply religious, DeHaan attributes her great height as a divine gift given to her by God.

DeHaan has stated that she is "pretty used to drawing eyes in public because I've always been pretty tall."

She admits that buying clothes can be difficult and time-consuming, and that people are not always well-mannered when commenting on her height.

DeHaan's younger brother Collin is 6 ft 9 in tall.

DeHaan attended Grandville High School.

She set the Michigan girls' high school single-season blocks record with 236 in her junior season.

DeHaan ranked second on the team in scoring, and, despite being a rookie, played a crucial role in keeping the team on track, guiding them to their first 3–0 mark in conference play since 1991.

By the time she was a senior she had led Grandville to district and regional championships, averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots a game.

This led Grandville to the state quarterfinals for the first time in program history.

She was also a member of the volleyball team and earned honorable mention all-conference honors.

DeHaan's choice of university erupted into a national recruiting war, with offers coming from as far away as Tennessee, Connecticut, Purdue, Louisiana State, Duke and Kentucky.

DeHaan chose Michigan State University (after narrowing her choices to Michigan State, Grand Valley State, and Cornerstone University) and had one of the most dominant freshman seasons in Big Ten history.

DeHaan said she chose MSU because "I have the opportunity to win a national championship, and equally pursue another dream of becoming a doctor at the same time."

As a junior in 2004-2005 she averaged 27.0 ppg, 13.0 rpg.

and 9.5 bpg.

She led Grandville to a 22–2 record and conference, district and regional championships as a senior in 2005–06.

In November 2005 she was named Michigan Miss Basketball of 2005, an award given annually to the top senior high school basketball player in the state.

She won with 816 points while her nearest rival had 502.

DeHaan was also named the Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2005.

She was ranked among the top 25 centers in the nation by All-Star Girls Report and named to The Grand Rapids Press all-area team.

She played for Michigan State University from 2006 to 2010.

She is ranked as the fourth all-time in career points (1,649) and rebounds (919), and is one of just three Spartans to place in the top five of both categories.

She also ranks third in MSU history in made field goals (640) and made free throws (351), and seventh in free throw percentage (79.8%).

DeHaan finished her career with four-year averages of 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game.

She is also ranked third all-time in Division I with 503 career blocks.

DeHaan is 6 ft tall, making her one of the tallest female basketball players in the country and the tallest player in Michigan State history.

In her collegiate debut on November 17, 2006, DeHaan scored a team-high 15 points.