Why S’Mya Nichols can thrive as a freshman this season with Kansas women’s basketball
LAWRENCE — There’s going to be pressure on S’Mya Nichols this season.
Nichols is the prized recruit Kansas women’s basketball coach Brandon Schneider signed in the Jayhawks’ 2023 recruiting class. The freshman, billed as a 6-foot guard, arrived on campus with the expectation she would compete for significant playing time right away.
On top of that, she’s a local prospect out of Shawnee Mission West High School and Overland Park, Kansas.
But Schneider hopes Nichols can still play with freedom during her first season at the college level, and there’s a reason for that. Back for Kansas this season are four regular starters from the group that won the 2023 Postseason WNIT. With them helping guide her, Schneider envisions Nichols having a chance to be one of the nation’s better freshmen.
“I think there’s going to be pressure on her that’s more self-imposed, just because she has such high expectations,” Schneider said. “But we’re going to have to remind her that we’re not asking her to lead our team in scoring every night or go guard the other team’s best player every night. I think it’s a perfect — it was a perfect time for her to join our program, having the experience of (senior guard) Wyvette (Mayberry) and then obviously the three fifth-year seniors.”
Schneider’s confidence in Nichols’ ability to adjust to a role on a team with so much already established comes from how humble Nichols is and her character. He noted she just wants to win. And considering she chose a program that’s in contention for a Big 12 Conference title this season, she won’t have to wait long for an opportunity to do just that.
In addition to Mayberry and Nichols, Kansas’ starting five can be expected to include the trio of super-seniors Schneider mentioned — guard Holly Kersgieter, center Taiyanna Jackson and guard Zakiyah Franklin. Recently, Jackson was named to the preseason watch list for the Naismith player of the year award. Jackson was seen as one of the top centers in the country coming into the season, while Franklin was viewed similarly among point guards.
Nichols can provide them with a level of positional versatility that can give Schneider options with his starters, and when he goes to a bench he views as deeper than it was a season ago. Schneider likes to think they have three point guards on the floor with their starters, including Nichols. And she already has the trust of her teammates, especially Mayberry, which should only add to the comfort she could have to not press more than necessary.
“I also feel like before I got here Kansas basketball, especially the women, were already on the come up,” Nichols said. “So, I think it’s a blessing to join something and be able to participate on the uprising of women’s basketball here.”
The non-conference slate could be challenging for Nichols and her teammates. No. 5 Virginia Tech and No. 2 UConn await later this month in the Cayman Islands Classic, and they aren’t the only high-profile teams waiting to find out just how capable Kansas could be this season. But that’s exactly why Schneider went to the lengths he did to challenge his team early, so everyone knows what they need to work on in order to be prepared to compete in the Big 12.
On Wednesday, the Jayhawks’ season begins with a 6:30 p.m. game inside Allen Fieldhouse against Northwestern State. It’ll be the first opportunity for Kansas’ fans to really see Nichols compete at home in a Jayhawks uniform. It’ll be another chance for Nichols to make what could be an unforgettable memory in her short time at Kansas, after she already participated in the team’s trip to Europe in August.
“I mean, we’re so happy to have S’Mya,” Mayberry said. “I mean, she’s a great new addition. She fit right in. I mean, honestly, I feel like it was some pieces last year you could say we were kind of missing, and I feel like she fit that piece.”
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why freshman S’Mya Nichols can thrive with Kansas women’s basketball
