“Literally Curry,” freshman John Tavares yelled as Peyton Denmark’s 3-pointer hit the net. The crowd was loud and Apalachee was closing the lead. Denmark is a freshman starting guard for the Wildcats, and head coach Bill Batson said he is probably the best player he will have a chance to work with.
Although he didn’t score a ton of points in last week’s 45-44 loss to Jackson County, his presence on the court was outstanding. She didn’t take a seat on the bench until there were two minutes left in the game, but even then it was just a short stint before returning to a competitive field, trying to get the adrenaline pumping and come back from a two-goal deficit. That can be a lot of pressure for a 14-year-old.
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“I would say I’m tougher on Payton than anyone on the team,” Batson said. “I ask more of her than anyone, and I think that helps keep her humble. We have seven great seniors on this team, and we’ll definitely miss them next year. And they’re kind of like her big sisters, too.”
There is a reason why Denmark landed in Georgia. Her father, Sean Denmark, explained that she moved to the Peach State from a small town in New York nine and a half years ago specifically to advance her career.
“If you’re a standout athlete there (in New York), you might go D3, but here there’s a chance Georgia State will take notice of you, things like that,” he said. “That’s why we’re in Georgia in the first place. We wanted to give both of our kids more opportunities. … The travel ball program here, the high school program, is better than the programs out there. “Again, what’s happening to her right now is exactly why we’re here in Georgia. Our sacrifices are (to be successful).”
Batson said Denmark has already attracted the attention of big-name schools such as the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss — which don’t allow recruits until the junior year. They have been discussing with him about her and her abilities and the fact that she is 5 feet 10 inches tall at such a young age.
“I was shocked that this was real,” Denmark said. “This is real and I have to focus now because this is where (my career) is going.”
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There are already some comparisons to Iowa great Caitlin Clark, but only time will tell, but her plans don’t include pro aspirations at this point. Denmark has dreams planned for herself, but they don’t include playing in her WNBA. She wants to play college basketball, preferably under Katie Abrahamson-Henderson at UGA, and then become a coach. She is already gaining experience for the second half and has been helping her father, who coaches her 7-year-old brother’s basketball team, for the second year.
“I think it’s pretty unusual not to want to play professionally, but I want to coach,” she said. “I love coaching and (coaching) kids. I would love to coach in college, but everything starts somewhere, so if you have to start at the high school level or the middle school level. , that’s enough.”
She’s already making an impact on children, including Batson’s sixth-grade daughter. One of the reasons her daughter decided to play basketball again was because of Denmark, and when Denmark became a senior, she became a freshman and she was excited to have the chance to play on the same team. she said. The girls in her middle school show up to watch her and want to be like her and be close to her.
She is an icon for young girls, even herself.
Everything life has to offer in Denmark. Batson said it was very exciting, the fact that they were spending so much more time together. He has been coaching her since her last year, when she joined her high school’s junior varsity team as an eighth grader. He also helps run her AAU organization, Southeast United Elite.
“In addition to the varsity games, I coached her in every (JV) game she competed in because I knew how special she could be and always will be. I knew that,” Batson said. “We’ve been working on this for a year and a half, and what excites me the most is the possibilities. Comparing where she is now to where she will be three and a half years from now, it’s like night and day. She is already a good player…The future is very bright.”