 Minnesota's Nicky Anosike leads all centers in scoring and steals and is second in rebounding and double-doubles.
Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images
|
No one truly enjoys existing in someone else’s shadow, nor does anyone like being reminded that is or was the case. But it was a reality for Nicky Anosike during her college years at Tennessee, where she was a three-year teammate of Candace Parker, the biggest thing to hit the women’s basketball scene in years.
Anosike steadily improved with each season during her time in Knoxville, and was a member of a pair of NCAA tournament-winning teams that likely could have held their own against any of the great women’s teams of years past. And just playing for a college basketball institution like Tennessee brought recognition. But it’s very likely Anosike could have stood out more at another program where she wasn’t surrounded by Parker, Alexis Hornbuckle, Shannon Bobbitt and other talented players, or under the tutelage of an icon like Pat Summitt.
“I knew that going into it,” said Anosike. “It was just something I had to accept because it wasn’t a secret who I was going into college with when I signed. But I think the biggest thing was that I wanted to be at a winning program and I wanted to be at a powerhouse, and we won two championships so I can’t complain.”
As a result of Anosike’s situation, following the 2008 NCAA title game, in which the Lady Vols defeated Stanford, it was tricky for WNBA teams to determine just how effective Anosike would be at the pro level and where she should be selected in the draft. Was she benefitting from having all that talent around her? Was she not being allowed to realize her potential because of Tennessee’s abundance of star power?
Besides uncertainty, also working against Anosike was the fact that the 2008 WNBA Draft was an unusually strong one in terms of post players. That year saw top bigs like Chicago's Sylvia Fowles, Maryland’s Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper, Georgia’s Tasha Humphrey and North Carolina’s
All of the aforementioned players went in the first round and ahead of Anosike, who finally heard her named called when the Minnesota Lynx made her the second selection of the second round (16th overall). Naturally, the Lynx were ecstatic at the time when Anosike fell to them, and that euphoria has only risen since. That’s because Anosike, in just her second WNBA season, has become one of the top centers in the entire league.
If you just go on numbers, the 6-3 Anosike has been the best center in the league this season. Through 30 games she leads all pivots in scoring (13.2 ppg) and steals (2.70 spg), and she’s second only to Atlanta’s Erika de Souza in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and double-doubles (7). And all numbers are improvements from her stellar first season, when she surprised many by earning a spot on the league's All-Rookie Team.
“I worked on everything, trying to drive and get to basket quick, trying to face up and hit that jumper and just everything low post,” said Anosike.
“She’s just really attacking offensively and has a lot more confidence in her post moves,” said teammate Candice Wiggins. “And defensively, she’s just stepped it up another notch, which was hard to do since she was at such a high level last year.”
While her scoring and rebounding numbers are obviously impressive, the clip one should really focus in on is her thefts per game, which is also the second-best best mark among all players, behind only Tamika Catchings' 2.96 per game.
Might I remind you that Anosike is a center?
“You don’t expect posts to be in the steals category,” said Minnesota head coach Jennifer Gillom. “Rebounding, maybe. But steals, no. She just has a knack of where to be. She has quick hands.”
And as Wiggins alluded to, it’s not a fluke. During her rookie campaign of last year Anosike finished second to only to Detroit’s Hornbuckle, her former college teammate, by posting 2.21 steals per contest.
Pointing that out (along with Anosike’s 2.7 assists per game) serves to emphasize that Anosike excels in nearly every facet of the game, which is quite rare for a player her size. She’s not just a scorer. She’s not just a rebounder. She’s not just a big body to clog up the middle, or protect the rim. She can do it all, to the degree where she stopped being known simply as a solid center for the Lynx. With Seimone Augustus sidelined by injury for most of the season, Anosike, not Wiggins or Charde Houston, has become the focus of the offense and the player opposing teams game plan for.
Of course, having a coach who herself used to be a top-notch big in the WNBA helps.
After Don Zierden vacated the Minnesota head coaching position just days before the start of the season, the reins were handed over to Gillom, who previously served as an assistant coach. Gillom took part in the WNBA’s inaugural season of 1997 and spent seven productive seasons in the league, averaging 13.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Being coached by Gillom has obvious benefits for Anosike, who gets to learn from one of the best post players in the history of game on a daily basis. In fact, when asked which player Anosike reminds her of among those she played against, Gillom, half-joking, half-sincere, revealed that Anosike reminds her of herself because she taught Anosike most of her moves. And because Gillom's strength in coaching lies with grooming post players, most of the offense now goes through Anosike.
Anosike and Gillom are part of a new breed of Lynx that also includes Augustus, Wiggins and Houston. And there was a time this season when the young and talented Lynx were one of the more lethal teams in the WNBA. They began the year 9-5, sent two players to the All-Star Game (Anosike and Houston), possessed candidates for both MVP (Anosike) and Coach of the Year (Gillom) and appeared on their way to their first postseason berth since 2004.
But following Tuesday’s crucial loss to San Antonio, Minnesota has now won just twice in its last 13 games and appears poised to miss out on the playoffs once again.
“It’s frustrating,” said Anosike. “We have growing pains. But I think is all going to make us stronger and better players in the future.”
Unlike her time at Tennessee, team success may have to wait for Anosike in Minnesota. In the meantime, Anosike, who Gillom says has a great work ethic, will continue to make strides in her game, especially now that she has become a marked woman.
“A lot of people are starting to key into what I do and who I am as a player, which is why I’ve been drawing a lot of double and triple teams lately,” said Anosike.
“She knows that they are eliminating her points by not allowing her to maneuver around the basket, which is something she is really good at,” said Gillom. “And they are trying to keep the ball out of her hands. She knows she needs to expand her game and shoot those 15- to 18-footers to improve her game. She’s getting there.”
If Anosike does develop a more consistent game further away from the basket, there’s no telling just how dominant she and the Lynx could be. With teams having to play up on her, that could open things up for her teammates even more.
And maybe someday her teammates can escape her shadow.