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icole Bauman's former head coach, New Berlin Eisenhower's Gary Schmidt, spoke in glowing terms of her passing ability, hops, defensive intensity, work ethic and playmaking skills. He really didn't leave anything out, and this was before the start of Bauman's senior year. Speaking to a hometown news outlet (New- BerlinNow), Schmidt said, "She goes out of her way to make everyone look good. It's all about the team. She doesn't care for all the hoopla.'' Bauman's current head coach, Wisconsin's
Bobbie Kelsey, has also spoke in glowing terms of Bauman's basketball IQ, her decision-making and her understanding of what it takes to be suc- cessful. She didn't leave much out, either, and this was before the start of Bauman's freshman year. Speaking on the readiness of her inexperienced players, Kelsey said, "I'm counting on Nicole be- cause she's ready ... some others are learning how to play hard. She already has that understanding.'' Now listen to what Taylor Wurtz, a senior cap-
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tain and team leader, had to say about Bauman. This was after Bauman scored 17 points in an ex- hibition win and 10 in her debut against Milwau- kee last Sunday. "Nicole has been great for us — there's so much energy and quickness — just her ability to knock down open shots is exactly what we needed,'' said Wurtz, a 22-year-old guard from Brandon, Wis. "In practice, she doesn't say much, but she works her butt off. She loves the game, and she has been a blessing to this team. I don't look at Nicole and think that she's a freshman. "I look at her as an upperclassman. She really knows what she's doing on the court. I saw her in a state tournament game last year and I said, 'This girl can hoop.' I was excited she was coming here.'' As you can tell, Wurtz is still excited about Bau- man and, for that matter, all the freshmen. "You get a fresh energy from them,'' Wurtz said. "It's a good feeling.'' The fact that the Badgers have such a large freshman class has helped Bauman's transition.
GREG ANDERSON
