By Jim Hague
It’s safe to say that Nerlande Nicolas never envisioned herself as a prominent college basketball player, like she is now for the Rutgers-Newark women’s basketball team, because frankly, Nicolas hardly ever played during her high school days.
Nicolas was a product of the famed Columbia High School program in Maplewood, headed by legendary coach Johanna Wright. But during her two-year stint with the Columbia varsity, Nicolas was a little-used reserve.
“We liked what we saw of her in warm-ups,” Rutgers-Newark head coach Kevin Morris said. “She just didn’t play.”
“Since I didn’t play much in high school, I really didn’t have much experience before coming to Rutgers,” Nicolas said. “My first year of high school was really my first year of organized basketball. I used to play in the schoolyards and parks with my brothers, but I never really played. I played on a great team at Columbia for a great coach with some very good players, like my best friend, Joann Nwafili (who is a senior standout at Manhattan College). I got in a couple games and it was a good experience for me. I grew a lot as a player.”
When Columbia played in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions during Nicolas’ senior year, she had an interesting encounter with Morris.
“I told him that I was coming to Rutgers-Newark,” Nicolas said. “He said, `Oh, really.’ I knew that they didn’t know much about me, but I was just grateful to get the chance.”
“We were absolutely ready to take a chance on her,” Morris said. “We felt that Nerlande was a good person and on our level, you have to take some risks sometimes.”
Nicolas worked on improving her game by playing AAU basketball over the summer for a team coached by Tom Ferriero, who was the girls’ basketball coach at Queen of Peace in North Arlington and now serves as an assistant coach at Leonia High School.
“Tommy took me under his wing and really helped my confidence,” Nicolas said. “I worked out all the time with him and he told me that he knew I could play somewhere. He knew that I liked playing the game that much.”
When Nicolas arrived at R-N and joined the Scarlet Raider program, the expectations were obviously not that high. She was considered to be perhaps a spare part, someone who could contribute from time to time.
However, three years later, that is not the case. Nicolas has emerged as the team’s starting point guard, a totally reliable force on the floor and a steadying influence to the remainder of the team.
“Nerlande is great for us in so many ways,” Morris said. “She wasn’t necessarily a point guard before she got here. We just put her there and she’s just flourished. She gives 100 percent of herself every time she takes the floor, whether in practice or in a game. She provides so much energy and she plays hard all the time. She stabilizes us by giving consistent effort every night. You know what you’re going to get from her.”
Nicolas has been the consummate model of consistency since her arrival to the Scarlet Raider program in 2004. Her production numbers are so remarkably similar that it’s downright unfathomable.
As a freshman, Nicolas averaged 6.2 points, nearly four rebounds and three assists per game, starting right away. She led the team in assists and started 25 of the team’s 27 games.
As a sophomore, it was more of the same. Nicolas averaged 6.1 points, nearly three rebounds and three assists per game.
Last year, as a junior, Nicolas averaged 7.3 points and pretty much did all the same things, with a late-season scoring push, averaging 12.4 points per contest over the final seven games of the year.
This season, Nicolas has started all 11 games, as the Scarlet Raiders are enjoying their best start in the school’s history (9-2). Nicolas is averaging 7.5 points per game this season. The consistency is amazing.
“She’s just consistently gotten better every year,” Morris said. “She has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. In fact, that would be an understatement. She makes shots well and gets to the rim as good as anyone we have. She defends well and she’s very unselfish.”
The unselfishness seems to permeate throughout the Scarlet Raider roster.
“We’re all so unselfish,” Nicolas said. “We share the ball so much. When we’re playing well, you can see that we’re the team with the most assists. Everyone steps up and shares the ball. There isn’t one player. That’s the great thing about this team.”
Nicolas enjoys the role she has with the Scarlet Raiders as a calming influence.
“I do have more responsibility, trying to keep everyone level headed,” Nicolas said. “But we’re all very close. It’s such a blessing. I don’t feel like I have teammates. They’re my sisters. We have such a big family. I’m comfortable with my role. Our team has a lot of flexibility by not having one go-to player. It works for us and everyone all has the same role, being here for the win and not for the stats.”
Morris can’t say enough about his senior leader.
“She just gives us so many things,” Morris said. “She gives us leadership and energy. She’s very coachable. She understands the game, even after not playing much in high school.”
Nicolas doesn’t know what the future holds after she graduates in May. She will have a degree in business management, but she’s not sure if that’s the field she wants to pursue.
“I have a lot of things to think about,” Nicolas said. “I am a tutor for the school and I love kids, so I might become an English teacher. Or I can go get a job in the business world as a financial advisor. Or I could go overseas and become a missionary. I really don’t know yet. I have a lot of options. It all depends on where the wind takes me.”
But before then, Nicolas has some unfinished business on the floor for the Scarlet Raiders.
“If we can continue to keep winning and have a shot at 20 wins, that would be such a going away present for the five seniors who have been through so much together,” Nicolas said. “It’s really been such a blessing, coming here and playing with this team. I’m glad we were able to help turn this program around.”
