I don't really agree with any of this. Is the ability to place your hands correctly to block a shot without fouling in the heat of action an athletic endeavor? She certainly has that. She has always been underrated (primarily because officials have to accept that you can do it, or they will call a foul) in her ability to block a shot. Even as a freshman, Blair remarked that it was difficult to deal with her because her long reach forced shots to be altered. For some reason, her ability to block shots and alter shots went totally unnoticed until she began to score more consistently. Why is that?
She has always had a nice shooting touch. In fact, I think she has been a little off recently. She goes through periods where she can't miss anything. Then, she rushes things or takes shots she really isn't good at yet. She is still learning what she can hit consistently, and I think she does get excited.
I'm not so sure that her lack of rebounding is exactly a lack of rebounding in the sense that many of you think. She does seem to block out well, and others, including Vegas, seem to take advantage of it. Right now, she can screen well, and I wonder if she isn't taking advantage of Jo's rebounding ability. I also wonder if Jo isn't taking advantage of the emphasis on Nicole. When Jo goes to the bench, I have seen Nicole take over inside on both offense and defense, including rebounding. Is there an energy-saving switch that keeps her from being more aggressive? She has no backup, nor does Jo. I'll be interested to see what happens next year for several reasons.
I think Nicole is an essential. She is our most consistent shooter, percentagewise. Almost like Vegas, she can take over a game, but on both offense and defense. It just doesn't seem to last more than a few minutes at a time.
