As a high school baller, guard/forward Deanna Nolan of the Detroit Shock led her Flint (Mich.) Northern High School team to two state championships. After redshirting her freshman year as a Lady Bulldog at the University of Georgia, the 6-0 Nolan helped lead her team to the 1999 NCAA Final Four, the 2000 SEC championship and NCAA Elite Eight, was a early season top contender for the coveted Naismith Award in 2001, brought home another SEC title that year, and was named to the All-SEC Tournament team. When she chose to trade in one more year of college ball for a chance at the pros, Nolan entered the 2001 WNBA draft and was chosen sixth in the first round.

But all the hard work that brought her to the pros has lead to, well, more hard work. Today Nolan, who's so used to winning, runs the court on a team ranked dead last in the WNBA. But for her, it's no matter. The game giveth, and the game taketh away.

In this interview, Nolan, who ranks eighth in the league in three-point field goals made, talks about the Shock's struggles this season, what it's going to take to turn things around, how she got her nickname, and the challenges the WNBA gives a college player.

Gball: How did you get started playing basketball?
Nolan: I kind of started on my own. I'm the only one in my family who's played, besides my mom. So I began in the third grade, and ever since then it's just been me and the basketball. At the time I also ran track. But as I got older, I headed more and more toward basketball. I liked the competitiveness of it. I think it's a great opportunity to compete against a lot of different players with a lot of different talents. And you only make yourself better.

How did you acquire your nickname, Tweety?
I got it while in Michigan. We used to have AAU practice at Longfellow Middle School, and this guy Spence, out of the clear blue sky, called me Tweety Bird. He was the only one to call me that. Then when I got to the university of Georgia, it was me, Deanna, our trainer Diane, and then another player Diana. So my coach always got our names mixed up. It took us about a day or two to come up with a nickname to get around the confusion, and that's when I remembered that Spence called me Tweety. Ever since then, it has stuck.

The University of Georgia is quite far from your home in Michigan. What drew you to that school?
I don't know. I kind of wanted to stay home. But at the same time, I wanted to get away because I'd been here all my life. So the program attracted me, as well as coach Andy Landers. I knew he was a great coach. And they've always had great teams at Georgia and a great history there.

What do you miss most about college ball and college life?
Just hanging out with my friends. Even though at this level, as an adult, you have a lot more freedom, it's not the same as when you're in college. So I miss going to classes and hanging out and things like that.

What made you give up your last season of collegiate eligibility to enter the WNBA draft?
Well, I was kind of thinking about what I really wanted and what was best for me at the time. And I just decided to come out for the draft. But it took me a long time to decide. I wanted to wait until after the season to think about it, but I didn't know what to do. I thought, if I went back for one more season, would I be this pick in the draft or that pick. There were a lot of things to think about. In the end, I thought it was time for me to move on and further my career.

Did you ever expect to be playing professionally in your home state?
Not in my home state. I thought I was going to Cleveland, because they had the eighth pick at the time, and I had talked to them. Then Detroit just snuck up in there! That was a very good surprise, but I almost missed it because I had class that day. So I had to run back to my dorm room to see it.

Last year was a losing season for the Shock (10-22). But this season has proven to be even tougher (2-16 so far). What factors do you think account for the team's struggles this year?
We do have some veteran players who've been here three or four years, but I think it's mainly us being kind of a young team. A lot of the games we've lost, though, have been really close. The margin of defeat have been like 10 and under in most of our games. We just need that extra push. We've never played for 40 minutes, we've always played for 30 or 35. Or we'll have the lead, and then towards the end of the game it'll just fold on us. So we've got to learn to play for the whole 40 minutes of the game to come through for the win.

Your figures are right on! Eight of this season's last 11 losses were defeats of 10 or under. Do you feel the team is now starting to gel a bit more on the court?
I think so. Because now we have a whole new set of plays with numerous options you can go to when one doesn't work. And Coach Laimbeer is really getting a lot out of us, in terms of what he expects and what we expect of each other. So I think it's all working out right now.

You personally haven't been on a losing side in a very long time. How do you cope with that as a top draft pick coming out of a top program?
It's been kind of hard, but at the same time, it hasn't. I knew coming in here we weren't going to win every game like we did in college. So we just try to play hard every game, even if we aren't winning, so when we're done with that team, they say they never want to play us again.

What's it going to take for the Shock to make the most of this season, or even turn it around?
Like you said, us gelling together, and knowing what each of us is going to do on the court. Really, it takes us playing as a team--talk, rebound, all those good things. As long as we do that and play hard for 40 minutes, we should be fine.

We just know it's going to take a while before we get used to the new plays and offense. We're still young and we're still planning ahead for the future, beyond this season. But once we get more experience, we'll be alright.

How has the arrival of Coach Bill Laimbeer changed things on the squad?
He's changed things a lot. With our old coach, Greg Williams, we weren't as much a fast-break team as we are now. Bill has us up and down the court because we're young, we have young legs, and we can do that.

But when we first heard we were getting a new coach, I thought he'd be a totally different person than he is. I thought he'd be mean and hard on us. But he's cool.

Have you noticed any differences between having a coach whose experience is mainly coaching the men's game versus playing for coaches whose specialty is women's basketball?
Yeah, I have noticed a lot. Because Greg coached women's basketball, I can see the difference between his plays and Bill's plays. Bill's plays are more like the men's game--one-on-one moves and things like that--whereas Greg's plays were more about the team.

Your averages are great, your percentages are high, and you're strong on the assist. So what are you doing to help your teammates raise their game?
We just traded Wendy Palmer, so that veteran experience is gone. So right now I'm more focused on being a scorer and rebounding. We have options for people to score, but we don't have a main one. I think me, Swin Cash, and Astou Ndiaye are focused on being the scorers.

What areas did you spend the offseason working on?
Basically, my shooting. My performance coming off my college season was what I expected, for the most part. But I didn't feel I shot as well as I could have. So I worked on my shooting, especially the three pointer. That helps my game out because opponents then can't see me as just a driver. They have to see me as both.

What did you think of working for the team's public relations department during the offseason?
Oh, I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. I got to visit a lot of elementary, middle, and high schools and talk to them about the importance of education, about my experience, and I also did a lot of basketball clinics at the schools. Sometimes I would speak to the entire student body, or I would go to different classrooms and speak. And after that, sometimes I would eat lunch with them. It depended on what package they'd signed up for. But it was fun.

What questions did you hear most from those students?
The most questions I heard were: "When did you start playing, how much do you get paid, and do you live in a big house?" They weren't shy. They also asked what career do I have to fall back on when I finish playing, because I had asked them, "If you got hurt, what would you do?"

And what did you tell them?
With my child and family development degree, I think I'd want to be either a social worker, teacher, or a probation officer.

What athletes do you most admire?
Growing up I liked Anfernee Hardaway. But now that has changed. I like Allen Iverson right now.

What has surprised you most about playing in the WNBA?
My expectations coming in were that I would have an immediate impact, not only on my team, but in the league also--trying to be known as a person who can score, etc. One of the things I've found out is that you can't slack off for a minute in this league. As soon as you take a deep breath and let your opponent know you're tired, they can score eight to 10 points so quickly you can't even imagine it.

What aspects do you most enjoy about competing at the professional level?
One of the things that I like about the league is the fact that we have back-to-back games. You play one night, and you have to get right back up and play the next night. I think that's a great experience that I didn't have in college. Even though your legs are tired and your body may be tired, you can't let your mind be tired. You just have to push through it and go out and play that next game. But I like that challenge.

You're capable of playing both guard and forward. Which position do you prefer, and why?
Last year I played at three a lot. But this year Coach changed my position to the two. I kind of like the two, because that's the person they're all looking at to score and create opportunities.

A few years back you legally changed the spelling of your name from Deana to Deanna. Why?
Because everyone was calling me "Deen-a." So my mom added an extra "N" to my name during my sophomore or junior year in college. But I still have people mispronounce it.

Interview conducted by Gball Editor Shelly Wilson.


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