Over the past three years, almost everything about Nicole Michael’s career has been a blur to Quentin Hillsman.

She was his first major recruit after he was appointed to head coach in 2006, and since then, has helped him take his first steps toward building a program at Syracuse.

‘You don’t realize somebody is a senior until you sit down and you start looking at your recruiting classes for the next couple of years,’ Hillsman said. ‘So we were looking at next year, and finally someone says, ‘What about (replacing) Slinky?”

‘And I said, ‘What?”

In her final season at Syracuse, Michael has become arguably her team’s most important player as one of four starting holdovers from last year’s Women’s National Invitational Tournament squad. And she already has the accolades piling up to prove it.

Michael was named one of 31 candidates for the women’s Wooden Award, which has been given annually since 2004 to the nation’s top player. In 2008, the award was given to a fellow Big East star, Maya Moore of Connecticut.

It has been the smooth transition from heralded recruit to bona fide star over Michael’s three years at Syracuse that has blurred the passing of time for Hillsman.

Hillsman reminisced of Michael’s decision to commit to Syracuse when he found out about the Wooden Award nomination, reflecting on how far his first prized recruit has come during her stay.

‘When it first came out, you kind of just sit there and you go, ‘Wow,” Hillsman said. ‘This is a kid who took a chance when Top 20, top 15 programs were recruiting her. She’s just reaping the rewards of her sacrifices.’

In addition to the Wooden Award nomination, Michael is chasing multiple school records. At 1,286 career points, Michael is only 319 shy of the Syracuse mark, and she needs 204 rebounds to topple that school record as well.

‘They mean a lot to me,’ Michael said of the records. ‘But I really don’t think about it. I just want to play my game, play hard and let that come to me.’

Coming off what Hillsman called her finest stretch as a player in the Orange’s final 10 games last season, Michael will be relied upon to fill the void left by departed guard Chandrea Jones (Jones led SU last year with 16.9 points per game).

Though Michael will miss Jones tearing apart opposing defenses, she relishes her new challenge as a senior leader.

‘I love being the leader,’ Michael said. ‘I think I’ve always been a leader since I got here.’

Junior teammate Erica Morrow, who traced her first meeting with Michael back to the sixth grade, noticed a boost in Michael’s performance during the team’s narrow 88-79 home loss to South Florida last season.

Just two games earlier, Michael suffered through one of the worst games of her career, logging only six points on 1-of-8 shooting with four rebounds in an ugly 18-point home loss to Villanova.

Michael responded against USF, leading her team with 27 points and 13 rebounds.

‘I think she just realized that it was time for her to turn the corner and try to do things a little differently,’ Morrow said. ‘She really took it upon herself to become a better basketball player those last few games.’

Michael continued her scorching play thereafter, posting double-digit points and at least seven rebounds in each of Syracuse’s remaining six regular season games. She scored at least 20 points in five of those games.

Michael also netted 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Orange’s final game of the season last year, a second-round NIT loss to Bowling Green.

All that momentum carries her into this year, when Michael deals with the expectations of an increased role and the pressure of continuing her torrid stretch to end last season.

But if she’s feeling any of the strain of her new role, no one’s seeing it.

‘Naturally, I think there will be (pressure),’ Morrow said. ‘Being a team leader and in your senior year is pressure enough for anyone.

‘But if she’s under any pressure, I just don’t see it. It’s incredible.’

Hillsman insists Michael isn’t feeling any more stress than usual. He has seen her handle pressure with a veteran savvy all the way back to her freshman season.

Hillsman knew he had a special player when he asked her to step in as a freshman and play arguably the biggest role on the team, as she became the first Syracuse player to score 500 points in a single season.

‘To be a great basketball player, you have to welcome the pressure and welcome the challenge,’ Hillsman said.

About halfway through Michael’s freshman season, Hillsman saw opposing defenses start to change their scheme. Aware of Michael’s early success, SU’s opponents started to build their defensive game plans around her.

That’s when Hillsman realized he would find out if his star freshman could handle the pressure.

‘When you see a player come out on the floor, and they point at you and say there she is,’ Hillsman said, ‘that’s when you know you have a player. From then on, she started demanding double teams, and people game-planned for her.’

Michael’s game has come full circle, as she attempts to lead the Orange back to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.

She hopes to leave with individual and team goals fully accomplished – records and another spot in the NCAA Tournament intact.

And when it’s all said and done, Michael may go down as the best player in the history of the Syracuse women’s basketball program and Hillsman’s first stamp on a program he intends to build.

‘I came here because I just wanted to go somewhere where I’d be comfortable and happy,’ Michael said. ‘I may be No.1 on the list leaving here, and that’s a great honor.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on November 3, 2009 at 12:00 pm