Early Life
DeHaan was born on June 21, 1988, in Grandville, Michigan, the daughter of Tracie and Brandon DeHaan. Allyssa's athletic life began with gymnastics in preschool. She also tried ballet, ice skating, swimming, tee ball and volleyball before she ever picked up a basketball in fifth grade. When some parents of AAU players walked into the gym and saw her doing gymnastics, they asked her to join their basketball team, to which DeHaan agreed. She also started playing pickup games in the driveway with her mom, who played basketball at Northwestern University.
DeHaan has always been tall and is very proud to be. Dehaan's parents are also tall; her father is 6 ft 6 in and her mother is 6 ft 4 in, but Alyssa was to outgrow both of them. In middle school, she had already reached 6 ft 2 in and rapidly grew another six inches in just under a year; between her sixth and seventh-grade. She was 6 ft 7 in as a high school sophomore and graduated from Grandville High School at 6 ft 8 in. Already the tallest female player in Michigan State history when she joined the basketball team, she unexpectedly grew another inch before playing her first season at 6 ft 9 in. DeHaan is not afflicted with Marfan syndrome or any other kind of Overgrowth syndrome, but instead she is simply extremely tall. She has a 39-inch inseam, and she wears a men's size 14 shoes. Deeply religious, DeHaan attributes her great height as a divine gift given to her from God.
DeHaan stated that she likes being the center of attention wherever she goes, saying, "I'm pretty used to drawing eyes in public because I've always been pretty tall." She admits buying clothes can be difficult and time consuming.
Allyssa's younger brother Collin, is 6 ft 11 in.
Read more about this topic: Allyssa De Haan
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