Get to know the new Lady Vols: Alyssia Brewer

While on a cruise with her family in Mexico this summer Alyssia Brewer had the experience of a lifetime.

The moment wasn't part of the itinerary. It didn't involve snorkeling or a Jet Ski. The memory was better suited for a diary entry than a postcard. It was real world all the way.

"There was this crowd of people - people screaming,'' said the Tennessee women's basketball freshman, who's from Sapulpa, Okla. "This guy, they had him on the beach ... unconscious. They couldn't get him back, He was choking, vomiting.

"Just seeing that made me think of how lucky I was that I'm still here and that anything can happen to anybody at any time. You can go walk in the street and get hit by a car or something crazy like that. It made me value still being here today.

"I've always thought about that, just having a first-hand view of that."

You're left-handed; in school did you always get stuck with the desks for right-handers?

"At my high school it depended on if it had the bar or if it was just a square desk."

Do you do everything left-handed?

"I kick with my right foot. I thought that was weird."

Your first name is a little unusual, is there a story there?

"You know if there is I couldn't tell you. I'll have to ask my mom about that. My whole name is Alyssia Devonn Brewer and Devonn means divine."

That's cool. That's some pressure, though, isn't it?

"I never think about it like that."

In your media guide bio, you list Marilyn Monroe as a celebrity you admire. Why?

"For the good things. She was an independent woman. She didn't care what other people thought or anything like that. She strived for what she wanted to do."

As an avid reader, what books do you like?

"I like James Patterson books a lot. I'm on a series right now. He has all different types of series, like the Women's Murder Club, I've read all of them. Now I'm on an Alex Cross series. I'm on the sixth of a 14-book series."

Do you devour books?

"I (read) in my spare time, especially now that I'm in college. It's kind of hard to be able to sit down and read. I usually read before I go to bed."

Brewer has her spontaneous side as well. When she and some of her USA Basketball Under-18 teammates were strolling through the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina, this summer she accepted an invitation from one of the locals to dance.

"He was telling us how to do it," Brewer said. "We were like, 'What do we do?' "

Brewer jumped in and did fine. At least she thought so. And so did her partner.

"It was fun, it was a lot of fun,'' she said. "You never know when you're going to have the chance to do it again."