Ricky James Pellegrin
December 17, 2013
Anna Marie Reed
December 26, 2013
Every good basketball team needs a few good role players.
Meet Jenny Nash, role player extraordinaire for the Nicholls women’s basketball team.
Whether she’s sinking her own baskets, assisting her teammates or just providing the right intangibles on the court, the junior guard has contributed to the Colonels in a number of ways.
In Nicholls’ recent 80-78 victory over Louisiana Tech at Stopher Gymnasium, a monumental win that was the Colonels’ first over the Division I powerhouse in school history, Nash scored 14 points, including two big three-pointers.
She also made a timely steal off an inbound pass to draw a foul as part of a 7-0 run that gave Nicholls a 68-67 lead with just over six minutes to play.
According to coach Dobie Plaisance, plays like that are what make Nash the Colonels’ X factor.
“You just do not know when she’s going to pull one of her wild moments, if you will,” Plaisance said.
The steal was a big momentum boost for the Colonels because Nicholls guard K.K. Babin had just made a three-point basket to trim Louisiana Tech’s lead to one.
With the Colonels’ home crowd already on its feet, Nash decided to go for one of her signature “wild moments.”
“I didn’t even see it happen,” Plaisance said of the play. “I was going back down (the floor) to start coaching them up on defense and our crowd is roaring again because she jumped in, stole the in-bounds and got an and-one, and we’re shooting free throws.”
Just for good measure, Nash sank both foul shots. She would sink four more free throws in the final 52 seconds to help Nicholls preserve the victory.
“She’s definitely the X factor and when it comes to the intangibles, that isn’t anything coached because the stuff she comes up with is not in the playbook,” Plaisance said.
To Nash, the play wasn’t anything she considered out of the ordinary, nor is it either typical or untypical of her performance in key moments.
It was just a player doing her part to help her team win.
“The whole team did amazing toward the end of the game. I was really just happy about the win,” Nash said nonchalantly. “I’m glad I could do my part. I just want to work hard, not make any mistakes and go out there and play.”
Like several players on the Colonels’ roster, Nash came to Nicholls by way of the Lonestar State. She was named to Texas Magazine’s All-State Team and participated in the Greater Houston Area Girls Basketball All-Star Game, lettering for four years at Cypress Woods High School near Houston.
The All-Star event is where Plaisance and assistant coach Justin Payne discovered Nash, who made a good impression right away.
“Justin and I were sitting in Houston and there were three or four courts on one site,” Plaisance recalled. “She ran the floor well and was savvy on defense. We sign her and we obviously evaluated her a little more, but she had all the intangibles: great shooter, great family and savvy on defense.”
Other intangibles that have served Nash well are her stability, consistency, and the level of trust she’s developed with the coaching staff.
Plaisance said there hasn’t been a time in the last three years in which she’s had a reason to feel uncomfortable with Nash’s decisions on the court.
“If I know we’re doing something coming out of a timeout where we might be off the situation a little, she’s going to see to it that it gets done not only for herself but for her team,” she said.
Through the first seven games of this season, Nash’s shooting percentage was up from last year and she was fourth on the team in scoring at 9.3 points per game. She had also sunk 11 of 12 free throws.
“I feel like I’ve been putting up the same amount of shots and they’re just falling this year,” Nash said.
There aren’t many plays designed just for Nash, but she embraces her role and considers herself one of the vocal leaders on the team, she said.
“I know what my role on the floor is and I like to help other people execute some plays for them,” Nash said. “I’ll do what I can to get them open shots. I’m really happy I can help the team out.”
And even with Nicholls having high hopes for her development at the college level, Plaisance said Nash has exceeded expectations.
“She’s very much been more than what we expected from the get-go,” Plaisance said. “I mean that in high regards. The bar was set high for her, but even so, she still came in and has definitely overachieved. She’s a tremendous leader and you have to respect every aspect of her.”
Nicholls State women’s basketball player Jenny Nash makes a move during a game this season. The Colonels tout that Nash is one of the top role players on a team that is pushing for the Southland Conference Championship.
