WNBA Bio: Deanna Nolan
For followers of the WNBA – like myself – we know all about Deanna Nolan and her immense basketball skills. However, to the casual basketball fan, Nolan is name you may not recognize – or should I say, not much longer.
Greatness has always been predicted for Nolan, the No. 6 overall in the first round of the 2001 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock. However, Nolan’s introduction, like that of many young players, was a bumpy ride that is just now blossoming into the spectacular play that Nolan is now displaying on a nightly basis.
In her rookie season, Nolan averaged a team, fifth-best 7.1 ppg. as the Shock finished 10-22 and well out of playoff contention. She upped her scoring output in 2002 to 8.7 ppg. and was Detroit’s third leading scorer that year. However, Detroit, with a 9-23 record finished even lower than they had in her first season, with the worst record in the league.
Like many talented high school blue chip players who attend high profile collegiate basketball programs, Nolan, who went 86-12 (.878) in three years (1999-2001) at the University of Georgia, was unaccustomed to losing. However, when you’re in the basement, there’s nowhere left to go but up – and that’s just what Nolan and the Shock have done.
In 2003, Nolan scored 12.4 points per game and was part of a team that had one of the best turnarounds in sports history. The Shock cruised to a 25-9 finish, and the best record in the WNBA.
Nolan also got a 2003 All-Star Game nod and had 13 points, seven rebounds, one assist, two steals and a pair of blocked shots in her first All-Star appearance. She was also named to the All-WNBA second team.
Advancing to the playoffs for the first time in her career that season, Nolan increased her scoring average to 15.5 ppg., while averaging 2.6 apg. and 1.3 spg., as the Shock downed Cleveland and Connecticut en route to their best of three series victory over the Los Angeles Sarks to win the 2003 WNBA championship.
In 2005, Nolan averaged 15.9 points per games en route to being named to the WNBA all-star game. Nolan also posted the league’s fourth triple-double of all-time (11 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) on opening night last season.
This season, Nolan is averaging 13.8 points per game and over 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game through 13 games – in what is once again shaping up to be another fine season for Nolan who was once called the “Michael Jordan” of women’s basketball by Vanderbilt Head Coach Jim Foster
