Ask Amber Gray about her father and she takes you on a trip through the NFL.

Ask about her great grandfather and she's reliving American history.

Either way, she has a good story to tell.

Her father, Carlton, was a Cincinnati high school product who had a seven-year playing career as an NFL defensive back with four different teams. Amber attended games, went to practices, visited locker rooms and mingled with some household names right in her house.

"Yeah I wanted to play. I wanted to play football. You want to be like your dad,'' said the Tennessee women's basketball freshman, who's from West Chester, Ohio. "... Who wouldn't want to go out there and just hit a player. I just want to hit somebody once and then just be done. That's all I want."

Amber's great grandfather, Benjamin Hooks, was a colleague of Martin Luther King and once headed the NAACP. He's been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"Oh my God,'' Amber said. "You walk into his house and the walls are filled with pictures of MLK and people like that. You can look at a picture and ask him and he can tell you a two-hour or three-hour story. I love that."

Do you remember meeting any of (your father's) teammates?

Peyton Manning's been over to the house before. People from the Bengals; Chad Johnson.

Ocho Cinco's been over to the house.

"He hasn't been over to the house. I've been over to his."

What's he like?

"He's a lot different off the field than a lot of people think. He's really calm and mellow and really nice."

I've read about your work ethic. What's the biggest sacrifice you ever made for your game or your studies?

"I missed my great grandfather receiving an award from the President. I missed that because I was in practice."

You could've gone to the White House and you went to basketball practice instead. What were you thinking?

"It never even crossed my mind to miss practice."

What's been your great grandfather's influence?

"I look at him and say if he can do what he did, I can do anything. The struggle he went through. The time (in which) he lived is nothing compared to the time I'm in now."

Is it mind-boggling to hear about the things he went through?

"You read about it in books. But to be able to call someone on the phone whenever you want to and be like 'Great grandfather, what happened here? What did you do in this situation?' For me to be able to say my family, my great grandfather is the reason why I'm free today, the reason why I'm here, it really is mind-blowing."

In quieter, personal moments, Gray likes to write poetry. She prefers writing poems "that tell stories, that tell how I feel."

Writing also can serve as a cathartic outlet.

"Whenever I go through a hard time or anything like that, I always write things down,'' she said, "because it gets it off my chest."

Might be the perfect outlet after a tough day at practice.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.