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A spirit that is not afraid

After viral video, Dr. Chantel Tremitiere continues to be a basketball ambassador

“I think it’s important though, not what basketball did in my life, but the most important thing is for me to share with the young people and pass it on to them."

<p>The video in Dick's Sporting Goods (left) photo via @auntiechantel on TikTok. Answering Madi Prewett's challenge (right) photo via @auntiechantel on TikTok.&nbsp;</p>

The video in Dick's Sporting Goods (left) photo via @auntiechantel on TikTok. Answering Madi Prewett's challenge (right) photo via @auntiechantel on TikTok. 

When Dr. Chantel Tremitiere first picked up a basketball, her only goal was not to be the last pick whenever they played a game.

“When I first started picking up a ball, I just wanted to be able to play on a team," Dr. Tremitiere said. "I just didn’t want to be the last person picked. That was my dream, I do not want to be the last person picked to play a game.”

Since then, she has gone to three straight NCAA Tournament Championships with Auburn, was drafted in the 1997 WNBA Draft and now has a basketball trick shot video with over 14 million views. It is safe to say that Dr. Tremitiere has accomplished a lot more than just not being chosen last in pick-up basketball. 

Outside of her own individual accomplishments, Dr. Tremitiere coaches an AAU team of rising high school junior girls called the Auburn Raptor Elite. 

“I think it’s important though, not what basketball did in my life, but the most important thing is for me to share with the young people and pass it on to them,” Dr. Tremitiere said. “And try and give them opportunities that I had and get them ready for college.” 

Her original basketball goals were small at first, but the game has afforded Dr. Tremitiere with opportunities to add to her basketball legacy. Now her viral trick-shot is allowing her to continue to be an ambassador of the game she loves. 

Dr. Tremitiere’s first trick shot video was a half-court shot. She had fun with it but did not have plans to continue to do trick shots. Everything changed when some haters on her video said that she could not do it with a men’s basketball.

“I threw one up from half-court, and I wasn’t going to do another one until some young boys on TikTok were like you can’t make it with a boy’s ball or it’s got to be camera angles,” Dr. Tremitiere said. “So I just took on other commenters saying ‘don’t come at Auntie like that,’ and I changed my username to Auntie Chantel, and I just took on that persona.”

@auntiechantel

You wanna see it done with a MEN'S ball? Don't play with me! Come on now. ##baller ##hooper ##basketball @wnba

♬ original sound - chanteltrem

After those comments, Dr. Tremitiere embraced the persona and the nickname “Auntie Chantel” given to her by fans. Her new goal is to answer the call whenever a "nephew" or "niece" challenges her to make a shot.

Dr. Tremitiere posts her videos to TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. Her most viral video, with over 14 million views, was posted to Twitter.

Dr. Tremitiere is at a Dick’s Sporting Goods in the viral video. Many may want to try and recreate the shot, but permission from the store is needed. 

Before making the video, Dr. Tremitiere talked to the store manager; the manager took the plastic off the rim prior to her taking the shot. With the success of the video, she has now heard from Academy wanting her to do a video at its store.

Since the video, Dr. Tremitiere has been challenged in other videos by Madi Prewett and even Auburn women’s basketball head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. 

Some might try and call out the trick shots and say that they aren’t legit because you can take as many attempts as you need, Dr. Tremitiere has an answer for those people. 

“I don’t do any more of them for more than three takes because then they are no longer trick shots, but that’s practice,” Dr. Tremitiere said. “You’re practicing a shot and I don’t have time to practice for a shot. I don’t have time to sit out there for an hour or two trying to get a shot right. Most of them are my first try or second.” 

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For those wondering, the shot at Dick’s Sporting Goods was on the third try. 

After videos with Prewett and Flournoy, Dr. Tremitiere hopes to expand and add other members of The Auburn Family to her videos. She even has done a few videos showing off her football skills and is hoping to get some Auburn football players in future videos. 

Outside of The Auburn Family, Dr. Tremitiere is hoping to get other athletes and even celebrities to participate in the videos. After the success of her videos, she has interacted with various athletes and celebrities, including former President Barack Obama who now follows her on Twitter.  

“If Lebron or Ellen [DeGeneres] are in my videos, then I am good," Dr. Tremitiere said. “I mean it’s cool Patrick Beverley from the Clippers reached out to me and just gave me encouraging words to keep doing what you’re doing, that he loved the video and stuff like that. I respect his game too and it’s been fun.” 

While the excitement from having a viral video has been a fun ride for Dr. Tremitiere, she knows that this is way bigger than her. 

“I understand this is bigger than me,” Dr. Tremitiere said. “This is about people for 60 seconds smiling and having fun watching some old lady do some crazy stuff with a basketball and football. I’ll do some other sports too. But it’s just kind of getting away, and kind of teaching 'can’t judge a book by its cover', which is a big thing right now in America. And so, I think once we start to do some more, there’ll be some lessons learned. And at the end of the day, people are having fun.” 


Jake Weese | Sports Editor

Jake Weese, senior in journalism with a minor in history, is The Plainsman's sports editor.

@TheJakeWeese

Sports@theplainsman.com 


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