Wednesday, March 4, 1998
By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Wahine Nani Cockett has caught the eyes of pro scouts
from both the WNBA and the ABL.
Irreplaceable senior guard
A Higher Level
Nani Cockett takes her game, and
her Wahine teammates, to...
The Wahine play New Mexico today
By Al Chase
at 12:30 p.m., Hawaii time. Catch the game story here
Star-BulletinNANI Cockett has been a champion since age 10.
Winning the standing broad jump at the Hershey National Track & Field meet convinced her parents she was ready for organized sports.
Her athletic career includes a stint on a boys' PAL baseball team, volleyball and basketball at Kamehameha Schools where she was all-everything, to the acknowledged leader of the University of Hawaii women's basketball team.
The hallway in the Cockett house is lined with trophies and awards. A china hutch is filled with mementos and honors. All attest to her outstanding athletic skills.
Cockett says awards are nice, but "team" dominates her thinking.
"They don't mean anything without a win. It's bittersweet," she said.
sss
There have been bumps on Cockett's athletic road that tested her resolve. Twice she has battled back from major surgery. She suffered an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament damage) in her right knee the spring before entering UH, then had the same injury to her left knee in the fourth game of her sophomore season.
Both times she rehabilitated and was back on the court weeks ahead of her doctor's predictions, examples of Cockett's drive and determination.
Yet the 6-foot senior shooting guard for the 24-2 Wahine says she is shy if she doesn't know you, but can be a little crazy if she does.
Elected co-captain along with senior teammate Brandi Ashby this season, Cockett felt some anxiety about the leadership position.
"I'm not the verbal motivator. Brandi is more the verbal motivator. I didn't see myself speaking to the team as a whole like Kendis (Leeburg) did last year," Cockett said.
"When someone comes to me and asks questions, I'll tell them what I think and be honest with them. But I won't take someone aside and say "Hey . . . "
"So far, I just tell the referee that Brandi is the speaking captain."
Cockett's leadership evolves from the way she plays, her ability to handle adversity, and how she raises an all-around solid game to higher levels when the team needs a jolt.
It might be a blocked shot, a baseline drive for two, a short jumper in traffic from the paint or a simple pass to an open teammate.
For example, in a game earlier this season, Cockett sent a one-bounce pass -- from midcourt -- to a streaking teammate for an easy layup. The play brought the house down.
"When you've got someone who is probably the best all-around player you have ever coached, it goes without saying what she means to the team," Wahine head coach Vince Goo said.
She derives strength from her own emotion, an emotion kept under control, not always obvious on the court, but one an observer can see in her eyes.
Notice how when the Wahine execute a play to perfection or score on a lucky shot Cockett's eyes brighten momentarily and she gives a quick smile.
Notice the difference after a hard foul or if the Wahine are struggling how her eyes transmit intensity and purpose.
She agrees with Goo that her game comes from within.
"If I'm not doing so well, I have to find some way to get into the game," Cockett said. "I have to find something that will light the fire inside me so I pick up my level of play.
"Recently, I think I've found something, the intensity that I was lacking. It's just a feeling, getting motivated, even if the team you're playing is not as good as you."
sss
Cockett does not worry about injury when she is playing. That's her mother's department.
"I worry about what she is thinking, how well she'll play, how rough the other team is going to play," Renee Cockett said. "I have to be in my (same) seat so she can see me before the game."
It hasn't been easy at times. For instance, take the recent game with UNLV.
Afterwards, Nani said, "I can't believe how many times I hit the floor."
Renee Cockett's heart skips a beat with each crash landing.
"I believe the majority of people who know her and see her play say the same thing. They don't want to see her hurt," Renee Cockett said.
True, but Nani Cockett only knows how to play at full throttle.
Each practice brings Cockett one day closer to the end of her career, and she wants to make the best of it.
"Every game I want to play hard so I can go out on a good note. I want to go out with no regrets, and so far I have none," she said.
sss
An administrator from the Women's National Basketball Association has watched Cockett play, Goo said.
Teams from both women's pro leagues have sent questionnaires. They go to the coaches office, which Cockett says is best. It enables her to focus on college. She will graduate in May with a degree in psychology.
Asked what she would like to be doing a year from now, Cockett said, "Making lots of money." Then laughing, she said, "Making some kind of money, surviving and hopefully being happy with what I'm doing."
sss
The Hawaiian translation of Cockett's middle name, Koulamaikalani, is "the beautiful rays that shine down from the heavens," Renee Cockett said.
"Nani" evolved from her middle name when her cousin, Cheryl Bitler, had trouble pronouncing "Lani" when they were youngsters.
Her teammates call her "Maika," also derived from her middle name. It was Goo's way of distinguishing her from Nani Flores when Cockett was a freshman.
She rarely is addressed by her given name -- Nicole -- except by a professor who refers to a class list.
Nani Cockett is the name you will see in the UH record book. She is at or near the top in most individual categories. That is her way of contributing to perhaps the best women's basketball team ever at UH.
When her UH career is finished she wants to be remembered as a good player, one who was intense on the court and one who had lots of ability and heart.
That memory is already etched in minds of Wahine fans.
In the record books
How Nani Cockett's career stats rank on UH's Top-10 lists3-point field goals made 128 (first)
3-point field goals attempted 343 (first)
Blocked shots 141 (first)
Steals 281 (first)
Points 1,847 (second)
Assists 339 (second)
Field goals made 643 (second)
Field goals attempted 1,401 (second)
Free throws made 433 (second)
Free throws attempted 606 (second)
Games played 118 (third)
3-point field-goal percentage .373 (fourth)
Field-goal percentage .459 (eighth)
Rebounds 507 (ninth)
1997-98 Wahine Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
