University of Georgia Athletics
Catchings Adding To Family Name
February 09, 2026 | Men's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
If there is one thing Kanon Catchings is going to know about, it's basketball.
"For as long as I can remember, basketball was something I was thinking about," the 6-foot-9 Georgia sophomore forward said. "Those are my first memories."
If Catchings' last name rings a bell, it's probably because his aunt, Tamika, is one of the greatest women's basketball players ever. Tamika Catchings starred at Tennessee before becoming a 12-time All-WNBA selection, the WNBA MVP in 2011, and the MVP of the 2012 WNBA Finals with the Indiana Fever; she also helped the U.S. team win four Olympic gold medals and has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"I was always going to the gym with my aunt. I might stay the night at her house on a Friday and go to watch her work out on a Saturday morning," said Catchings, from Brownsburg, Ind., near Indianapolis.
Catchings' mother, Tauja, didn't quite reach the legendary heights of her sister, but she was a very accomplished player, as well. In high school, she won two Illinois state championships and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state. And in college, at the University of Illinois, she was a first-team All-Big Ten forward and honorable mention All-America. She was selected in the third round of the 2000 WNBA Draft and later played overseas.
For a long time, Catchings couldn't beat his aunt or his mom in 1-on-1, which said more about their games than it did his.
"I mean, all those games ended up in me just getting mad because I could never beat her," he said of playing Tamika, who was voted WNBA Defensive Player of the Year five times and averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds a game over her long career. "Even my mom, I didn't beat her until, like, high school."
What was mom's best move?
"Her crossover, and then she was stronger than me, so she could always get to the rim, always bump me off and lay it in," he said.
Just like Catchings' basketball skills come naturally, so too did his mom's and aunt's. Tauja and Tamika's father, Harvey Catchings, played 11 seasons in the NBA, with the 76ers, Nets, Bucks and Clippers, and had more than 2,000 career points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 blocks. Catchings, of course, wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and play in the NBA one day.
"Since I started playing basketball, I started thinking about it," said Catchings, who grew up going to Pacers and Fever games in Indianapolis. "Seeing it your whole life, it kind of makes you realize that everything's possible."
Catchings transferred to Georgia after playing his freshman year at BYU, where he started 15 games, played in 31, and averaged 7.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game. Those numbers have gone way up at Georgia, where he's started 22 games and is averaging 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. He scored a season-high 23 in Georgia's last game, an 83-71 win at LSU last Saturday.
"I feel like I've grown a lot from a confidence standpoint since I got here," he said.
Catchings said he chose to transfer to Georgia to get a little closer to home and to have a different collegiate experience from what he had at BYU, in Provo, Utah.
"I mean, BYU was great to me, and I feel like everything that happened there — everything happens for a reason," he said. "I'm really happy to be here and be a part of this team. I love this team. Everybody on this team gets along well.
"It's great to be on a team where everyone not only gets along, they also like to compete. Nobody on this team is scared to compete."
Certainly not Catchings. Just like basketball, competing is in his blood.
Staff Writer
If there is one thing Kanon Catchings is going to know about, it's basketball.
"For as long as I can remember, basketball was something I was thinking about," the 6-foot-9 Georgia sophomore forward said. "Those are my first memories."
If Catchings' last name rings a bell, it's probably because his aunt, Tamika, is one of the greatest women's basketball players ever. Tamika Catchings starred at Tennessee before becoming a 12-time All-WNBA selection, the WNBA MVP in 2011, and the MVP of the 2012 WNBA Finals with the Indiana Fever; she also helped the U.S. team win four Olympic gold medals and has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"I was always going to the gym with my aunt. I might stay the night at her house on a Friday and go to watch her work out on a Saturday morning," said Catchings, from Brownsburg, Ind., near Indianapolis.
Catchings' mother, Tauja, didn't quite reach the legendary heights of her sister, but she was a very accomplished player, as well. In high school, she won two Illinois state championships and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state. And in college, at the University of Illinois, she was a first-team All-Big Ten forward and honorable mention All-America. She was selected in the third round of the 2000 WNBA Draft and later played overseas.
For a long time, Catchings couldn't beat his aunt or his mom in 1-on-1, which said more about their games than it did his.
"I mean, all those games ended up in me just getting mad because I could never beat her," he said of playing Tamika, who was voted WNBA Defensive Player of the Year five times and averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds a game over her long career. "Even my mom, I didn't beat her until, like, high school."
What was mom's best move?
"Her crossover, and then she was stronger than me, so she could always get to the rim, always bump me off and lay it in," he said.
Just like Catchings' basketball skills come naturally, so too did his mom's and aunt's. Tauja and Tamika's father, Harvey Catchings, played 11 seasons in the NBA, with the 76ers, Nets, Bucks and Clippers, and had more than 2,000 career points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 blocks. Catchings, of course, wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and play in the NBA one day.
"Since I started playing basketball, I started thinking about it," said Catchings, who grew up going to Pacers and Fever games in Indianapolis. "Seeing it your whole life, it kind of makes you realize that everything's possible."
Catchings transferred to Georgia after playing his freshman year at BYU, where he started 15 games, played in 31, and averaged 7.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game. Those numbers have gone way up at Georgia, where he's started 22 games and is averaging 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. He scored a season-high 23 in Georgia's last game, an 83-71 win at LSU last Saturday.
"I feel like I've grown a lot from a confidence standpoint since I got here," he said.
Catchings said he chose to transfer to Georgia to get a little closer to home and to have a different collegiate experience from what he had at BYU, in Provo, Utah.
"I mean, BYU was great to me, and I feel like everything that happened there — everything happens for a reason," he said. "I'm really happy to be here and be a part of this team. I love this team. Everybody on this team gets along well.
"It's great to be on a team where everyone not only gets along, they also like to compete. Nobody on this team is scared to compete."
Certainly not Catchings. Just like basketball, competing is in his blood.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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