« Women’s Basketball 2007-08

Nkolika “Nicky” Anosike

School
University of Tennessee
Position
Forward/Center
Ht
6'4
PPG
9.3
RPG
6.5
APG
2.1
Nkolika “Nicky” Anosike

Classroom

Anosike has a cumulative GPA of 3.78 in her triple major of sociology/criminal justice, political science and legal studies. She earned academic All-Southeastern Conference honors in 2005, 2006 and 2007. She was on the Lady Vol honor roll and Tennessee Dean’s List every semester of her collegiate career. She was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV third team in 2006 and to the first team in 2007 after a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall semester of 2006.

Character

According to Anosike’s head coach, hall of famer Pat Summitt, Anosike has shown tremendous mental toughness throughout her life, bringing intensity to both the basketball court and the classroom. Summitt says Anosike sticks to her morals and embraces fairness. “She has a thirst for knowledge and a heart to better society,” Summitt said.

Community

Anosike is active in her adopted community of Knoxville, participating in many charity fundraising events. For several years, she participated in the Lady Vol Fund Run, the Second Harvest canned food drive and the Race for the Cure, in which she and her teammates led warm-up for runners and walkers. She visited patients at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and helped with the Toys Project, buying and distributing toys for young boys and girls in need. She also interacted with 450 kids from the local Boys and Girls Clubs in April Play Day and helped at the YMCA Danny Mayfield Park. She assisted the Second Harvest Food Bank by delivering “Blocks for Turkeys” to the less fortunate. She also participated in the Volunteer Athletic Scholarship Fund (VASF) where she signed autographs and talked with fans and donors. She visited patients at the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. She signed autographs and took pictures at the UT Athletics Big Orange Madness and signed autographs and talked to fans at the Volunteer Village.

Competition

Anosike led her Lady Vol team to an NCAA national championship title in 2007. She is one of only three Lady Vols in the history of the most successful women’s basketball program in the NCAA to amass at least 750 points, 600 rebounds, 100 blocks, 125 steals and 150 assists. She joins four-time All-Americans Chamique Holdsclaw and Tamika Catchings on that list. She ranks seventh in career blocked shots (121) and 11th in games started (95) entering her senior year at UT. She was named to the NCAA Final Four Team in 2007 and ranks fifth in NCAA history for most blocks in a career in the NCAA Tournament (30). She helped UT to a 14-0 record in the SEC during her junior season. A unanimous selection to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2005. Anosike has extensive international experience, most recently helping the USA Women’s Pan American Team to a 5-0 record and a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July 2007. In the summer of 2005, she won a gold medal as a member of the 8-0 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team.