Should sisters Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike have a race up and down the basketball floor, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer could predict the winner. Nneka is a junior All-American. The freshman Chiney, like Nneka, was the Gatorade national player of the year out of Cypress-Fairbanks in Cypress, Texas.
“It might depend how many times they’re going up and down,” VanDerveer said. “If you had a 100 dollar bill on the end line, I bet Nneka would get it.”
“I’m faster than Chiney,” Nneka said. “And that’s not just because I’m the older sister. She’s more skilled, more of a finesse player, than I am. Even my dad said I’m way more athletic than Chiney is, but she’s a lot more skillful than I am. Chiney has a lot more room to grow. At the same time, she’s very talented right now.”
While Chiney (pronounced Chin-AY) will be doing her best to break into the starting lineup, Nneka should be one of the best players in the country this year. In the NCAA semifinal against Oklahoma in San Antonio, Texas, Ogwumike scored 38 points and had 16 rebounds as the Cardinal outlasted the Sooners 73-66. The 38 points by Ogwumike was a Final Four semifinal record and the second-highest output in a Final Four.
“It was incredible to be a spectator in that game,” Cardinal forward Kayla Pedersen said. “I just watched her dominant performance. You want that from anybody on our team. It was special because it was Nneka.”
“I didn’t realize what was going on,” Ogwumike said. “I was just playing. I had a lot of help from my teammates. The game was more stressful than we had hoped.”
Two-sport athlete
Chiney was a star volleyball and basketball player at Cy-Fair, leading the hoops team to two state titles. Her volleyball team reached the state semifinals in 2009. She was not only Gatorade’s national girls basketball player of the year, she was Gatorade’s athlete of the year. In the state basketball title game, Chiney had 31 points and 18 boards. VanDerveer is counting on Chiney’s all-around play to be a major factor this season.
“Chiney is catching on really well,” VanDerveer said. “She’s quick to catch on to things. In the beginning, I told her ‘Let’s learn one position, first.’ She has already learned two. Chiney has basketball instincts. She’s used to being the biggest one out there. Now she’s out there with a lot of big bodies. Now she knows what it’s like for other people to pass over her.”
Nneka and Chiney played together in high school when Nneka was a junior and Chiney was a freshman.
“This is a new system,” Nneka said. “I forgot how it was playing with her. Then again, I kind of remember. There will be instances when we run into each other or she’ll be at the wrong place at the wrong time. We know each other’s tendencies. It’s fun to play with her again. It’s nice to share this experience with her. It’s like you have an extra sense with one of your teammates.”
Just sisters
VanDerveer thinks of the sisters as just basketball players. Make that good basketball players.
“I forget they’re sisters,” VanDerveer said. “My assistant, Amy Tucker, said that Nneka is always telling Chiney what to do. Nneka is the older sister.”
“I’m kind of walking Chiney through it,” Nneka said. “I give her directions and she takes it well. She looks to Kayla Pedersen for a lot of insight. Hopefully, I’m giving her good advice.”
Pedersen seems to be in the middle between the two siblings.
“Nneka is very direct with Chiney,” Pedersen said. “She tells Chiney what is up. It’s very entertaining.”
VanDerveer noticed differences between the sisters on the floor.
“They’re really different,” VanDerveer said. “Nneka is more of a four or five, a post player. It’s not to say she can’t move on the outside and bring someone out. Chiney is more of a perimeter player. She likes facing up more. She’s not the jumper Nneka is. Nneka is more a back-to-the-basket player.”
If Chiney matures as quickly as Nneka did from her freshman year to her sophomore year, VanDerveer will be more than pleased.
“I love coaching Nneka,” VanDerveer said. “She has been great for our program. So far, my experience with Chiney is all positive. This is a big adjustment and she’s just taking it in stride. She’s not putting pressure on herself.”
“I want Chiney to know what it’s like to be a part of this Stanford team,” Nneka said. “I’ve never been on any team that has been this successful and this cohesive. I’m excited she’s going to be a part of it. She’ll be contributing to a lot of our success.”
E-mail John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.
