The potential is there: breathtaking speed from one end of the court to the next, the long distance shot and playmaking ability.
Oregon point guard Tamika Nurse possesses the flair and talent that has Oregon coaches enthusiastic about her potential in the short and long term.
Today, Oregon (13-7 overall, 4-6 Pacific-10 Conference) visits Stanford (14-5, 9-2), where Cardinal star Candice Wiggins provides high volume scoring from the two guard position after starting her college career at the point guard position. Oregon plays the same Stanford team the Ducks came within minutes of upsetting last month at McArthur Court.
Nurse is making the transition from shooting guard to point guard – permanently. Nurse has improved, in part, by watching as she backs up sophomore Kaela Chapdelaine. Chapdelaine learned the position behind Corrie Mizusawa, who finished her Oregon career fifth all-time in assists with 389 and the regular season leader with 209 in 2004-05.
Nurse gradually became more of a passer during her senior year in high school and continued with the Canadian Junior National Team.
She has seen highs this season with 34 minutes at Arizona, scoring five points and dishing out four assists in front of her uncle, Donovan McNabb, the Pro Bowl quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. Before the Arizona game, McNabb had seen her play in club and high school basketball, but had yet to watch a college game in person.
“He’s always been really devoted to my family and our athletics,” Nurse said. “Whenever he’s in the city and whenever we’ve been anywhere near him, he always comes to watch.”
Raquel Nurse, McNabb’s wife and Tamika’s aunt, played point guard in college at Syracuse. In an effort to teach the younger Nurse the aspects of playing the point, assistant coaches Phil Brown and Selena Ho have taken to working with her one-on-one. New to the program this season, Ho has drawn on her experience as a perimeter player in college at the University of the Pacific.
Playing well includes being consistent, watching film and being ready to play, Brown said. The great point guards, Ho said, have the work ethic, vision and leadership qualities that Nurse possesses. Already, players have been drawn to the Hamilton, Ontario, native.
“She’s been in situations where we’ve needed somebody to step up and challenge our team and she’s been one of the first ones to say it: ‘I want that assignment. It’s on me,’” Ho said.
Nurse has progressed to the point where she can efficiently run the offense in stretches. Coaches are helping her develop a mid-range game. She is also learning to read defenses, when to distribute the basketball and when to score points.
“You can’t look to score as much,” Chapdelaine said of the point guard position. “If you have scorers, you want to get them the ball.”
It has helped that Nurse is a quick learner, Ho said.
“She’s very, very coachable,” Ho said. “One of the best things about her is that you tell her to do one thing and she picks it up really, really quick. That is really exciting for someone of her potential.” That potential and future is a focus point for all of the Oregon coaches.
“We are all really excited about the future,” Brown said. “At the same token, we are patient with her at the moment and know she is going to make some freshman errors and mistakes. As long as we see progress from week to week, it can only be a positive thing for the team.”
The largest adjustment for Nurse may be to the talent level of the Pac-10.
“It’s a big eye-opener,” Nurse said. “When they say it’s strong, I don’t think you really understand how strong it is until you actually play in it.”
Oregon has relied on a full bench this season, and while Nurse’s numbers as a whole are ordinary (3.1 points, 1.5 rebounds per game), they are noticeable in other areas. Nurse is second in assists (2.1), fourth in free throws made (1.3) and second in free-throw attempts (2.0).
In the future, Chapdelaine could fill the role of defensive stopper, Brown said, when forward Kedzie Gunderson graduates. It could be where Nurse takes on ball-handling responsibilities and Chapdelaine, in the off guard position, provides physical defense as well as an increasingly consistent jump shot, Brown said.
The pair share a connection to the Canadian Football League; Nurse’s father played for the Hamilton Tigercats and Chapdelaine’s father was offensive coordinator for the B.C. Lions in Vancouver.
“We both do different things,” Nurse said. “I think it’s great that we can have both those dimensions on the court.”
Chapdelaine, who has come into her own recently with 18 points against Washington and a trio of three-pointers on the road against Oregon State, has played both guard positions.
While it’s a difficult move from shooting guard to point guard, coaches and Chapdelaine said that Nurse has improved.
“When she puts her mind to things, she’s pretty good,” Ho said.
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