When Monique Oliver hangs out with her “best friend ever,” they like to get pedicures, watch Lifetime movies and even put on the “SpongeBob SquarePants” cartoon, at Oliver’s request.
But mostly, the Rutgers freshman and that friend — her mom, Margaret Oliver — just talk. And that’s what they did a lot of at the end of last month, when Margaret flew in from Las Vegas to spend two weeks with her daughter.
In her dorm room between practices, classes and games, Monique told her mother she was worried she wasn’t meeting expectations on the women’s basketball team, that maybe she wasn’t learning fast enough.
“It takes time,” Margaret Oliver assured her.
So Oliver calmed down. She said she felt better “mentally and physically.” She used this “extra boost” from her mom to be there when Rutgers needed it the most, scoring 12 points in the regular-season finale and averaging 9.7 points and 21.5 minutes in the Big East Tournament run that secured a seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Now, as the Scarlet Knights prepare to meet Iowa in the first round Saturday in Stanford, Calif., Oliver’s efficient offensive presence inside as a valuable reserve has become an important key for the team.
“She’s gotta be comfortable; she’s gotta play smart,” coach C. Vivian Stringer said. “We keep going over things, asking her, ‘Are you sure you understand? Do you understand?’ And she says, ‘Yeah.’ She does.”
Indeed, the learning curve at the college level — along with homesickness and a banged-up left knee in December — has been Oliver’s biggest challenge this season, and what she fretted about to her mother.
When she enrolled at Long Beach (Calif.) Polytechnic High before her junior year, girls basketball coach Carl Buggs said he knew he had an excellent shooter and passer with real athleticism, but he could also tell she had never been asked to play full-court defense. Those are the same traits she’s exhibited at Rutgers.
“I’m just trying to focus and execute everything I can,” Oliver said. “I’ve been slow on the defensive end because it’s kind of new for me. I never really did most of the stuff we’re doing out there. But as we move on, I’ve been learning more and more.”
Her eagerness to learn has let Stringer be “gentle” with Oliver, making sure to give her scenarios rather than just commands, so she can understand the reasoning behind each call.
While her defensive tentativeness has limited her time on the court, her offensive production warrants keeping her on it. Oliver’s field-goal percentage of 60.7 is best on the team and ranks sixth-best for a single season in Rutgers history. In the past seven games, she is shooting 20-of-25 from the field.
“So what I’ve got to do, to be honest with you, is her being in means I’m going to eliminate anyone else who’s unsure (of the defense),” Stringer said. “Because she’s got to have everyone else around her. She’s got to be like a pinball: Nope, bounce here, bounce there, like that. And that’s okay, because as a freshman, she’s looking for that lead.”
Of course, her greatest lead in her life has come from her mother, who grew up in foster care and vowed she would have the maternal bond with her own children that she never experienced. Oliver’s parents aren’t yet sure they can afford the trip to California this weekend, but they’re trying to make it work. Stringer’s hoping it works, too.
“The closer she gets to her mom, the better, the more comfortable she is,” Stringer said. “So we’re hopeful mom will get a chance to come.”
Jenny Vrentas may be reached at jvrentas@starledger.com