Micaela Cocks goes without the glitz or glamour.
She is a dependable presence, who provides consistent play, while going without the breathtaking quickness or no-look passes that catch the casual fan’s attention.
She is the energizer bunny of the Oregon women’s basketball team. As other college basketball players go through spring practices, Cocks is spending her spring back home in New Zealand.
Cocks is working out and preparing to represent her country in the Olympics in Beijing this summer.
“I was extremely proud when I first represented my country but representing New Zealand at the Olympics would be the ultimate honor, and one that I really want to achieve successfully,” Cocks wrote in an e-mail interview with the Daily Emerald.

Cocks, who earned honorable mention in the Pacific-10 Conference for academics, is taking distance education courses.
The New Zealand National Team recently returned from the “Good Luck Beijing” Olympic Test tournament and are traveling to Europe at the end of May for games against Angola, Japan, Spain and the Czech Republic. They’ll then return to New Zealand for final training camps before going on a tour of Asia en route to the Olympics.
New Zealand won one game in the Good Luck Beijing tournament. Shortly afterwards, the draw for the Olympics was announced and New Zealand was placed in pool B with China, Mali, USA and two other qualifiers that have yet to be decided.
“Any draw will be tough but we are confident,” Cocks said. “This draw provides us encouragement that we can make the quarter finals and from there, a real opportunity for an outside chance at a medal.”
Cocks pointed to the rapid improvement of New Zealand’s team, which lost heavily, 84-39, in an unofficial practice game with Australia at the Australian Institute of Sport, and then a few weeks later beat Australia for the first time in team history.
“You have to understand there is an intense sporting rivalry between New Zealand and Australia so any win over Australia is treasured,” Cocks said.
A large source of New Zealand’s improvement has came with the additions of Jillian Harmon and Clare Bodensteiner to the roster.
“At the earlier camp we had only just come together from all over the place and were competing for positions, so even though we were trying hard we were not gelling as a team,” Cocks said. “Now, the new players (in particular Jillian) have settled in and are making their mark and we have adjusted to the level of competition and effort required.”
Cocks had already known Harmon from playing Stanford in the Pac-10. Cocks found out near the end of April the adept forward, who can score and rebound, would be joining the New Zealand National Team and began talking with Harmon through the online networking site, Facebook.
“Jillian is amazing, her personality fits right into the team and she brings a huge contribution to the court,” Cocks said. “Her ability to score and rebound is perfect for our team and she is becoming a definite go-to player for us.”
Another former Stanford player, Bodensteiner, also joined the team and Cocks had a better chance to meet her on a flight back to New Zealand together.
The playing experience in a highly competitive environment has provided the opportunity for Cocks to work on various skills, namely shooting, going one-on-one, creating shots for teammates and her mental toughness.
“I was reasonably happy with my personal progress (last season) but with anything in life the more opportunity you have the more progress you can make and a greater contribution to the team,” Cocks said.
An Oregon team that struggled with turnovers last season could be buoyed by Cocks recent play, including an outing against the U.S. National Team where Cocks went without a turnover and had five points and two steals in 15 minutes. New Zealand stayed close but fell 78-60 to the U.S. team.
It’s a younger U.S. National team, featuring mainstays Lisa Leslie and Katie Smith, but also including Candice Wiggins, Sylvia Fowles, Crystal Langhorne and Courtney Paris among others in an athletic lineup.
It is a high level of competition that Cocks says she enjoys.
“It is a dream come true,” she said. “I learn so much from these match ups and it is a lot of fun. We play against so many great players and are competitive, which is a real buzz.”
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“Cocks ready to move into starting position next year”