For Bauman, a simple goal to always be better
January 27, 2016 | Women's Basketball, Andy Baggot
Team success comes first for most recent addition to Badgers' 1,000-point club
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — In order to accommodate a variety of academic conflicts this semester, the Wisconsin women's basketball team will sometimes plug itself into a two-hour practice period that starts at 7:15 a.m.
That means when the Badgers take the floor at the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion for one of those sunrise sessions, senior guard Nicole Bauman has already been at it for a while.
She typically shows up around 6:30, embarks on a personal shoot-around and is raring to go when that first whistle is blown.
Then, when practice is over, Bauman usually sticks around to shoot some more before heading off to class.
It comes with the territory when self-improvement is a daily obsession. In the case of Bauman, it's also a mental throwback to the days when she was growing up in New Berlin and spent hours shooting by herself in the driveway or dribbling solo in front of the TV while "SpongeBob SquarePants" entertained.
"I enjoy it," Bauman said. "I see it as something you can clear your mind with."
It's an all-in approach that has made Bauman one of the most accomplished student-athletes in program history.
She scored her 1,000th career point earlier this month and sits 21st on the all-time scoring list with 1,093Â heading into a Big Ten Conference game with Michigan State on Sunday at the Kohl Center. The outing is the annual Think Pink Game for the Badgers. Tickets are $1 and proceeds go toward helping support the fight against breast cancer.
"I never imagined I'd be here playing," said Bauman, the Gatorade state high school player of the year in 2012. "Never imagined that I'd even come close to 1,000 points."
A starter since she was a freshman, Bauman leads this year's club in scoring (16.2 points per game) and is on pace to become the ninth Badgers player to do that in consecutive seasons.
Bauman also holds the Big Ten single-season record for 3-point field goals made (61 in 2014-15) and currently ranks second on the team in assists and blocked shots, an enterprising double given her 5-foot-10 frame.
No surprise then that Wisconsin coach Bobbie Kelsey has implored her younger players to keep tabs on Bauman, one of five seniors, and follow her example. One in particular, redshirt freshman Roichelle Marble, is heeding that advice.
"Nicole is obviously a great player, so if I can look at anything she does it's going to help me regardless," said Marble, a 5-foot-7 guard from Des Moines, Iowa. "She always seems to be doing what she's supposed to be doing."
Bauman, who's led the Badgers in points 12 times and assists in seven games this season, is flattered by Kelsey's directive and takes her role as leader seriously.
"The main thing I want to do is work my hardest at anything I'm doing," said Bauman, a business major. "I don't want to take breaks. I don't want to cut corners.
"Having Shelly watch me do that, I don't want her seeing me doing something wrong or seeing me doing something I'm not supposed to be doing. That's not how you help the program and how you make a person better."
Bauman is not talkative, but she's more outspoken now than she was as a freshman.
"I was quiet," she said. "You don't have to say a lot, but when you do talk, people will listen because you don't talk often."
If Bauman could get one point across to Marble, it would be to prepare with all her might.
"Always get in the gym and always be practicing," Bauman said.
You can work on shooting and ball-handling. You can work on defense by drafting a teammate and playing one-on-one.
"It makes you better," Bauman said.
Back in the day, Bauman took mental notes when the likes of Taylor Wurtz — who led the Badgers in rebounds, assists and steals in 2014 — and Morgan Paige, who paced Wisconsin in scoring in 2013 — were doing their thing. Both are members of the 1,000-point club. Bauman is now sharing their wisdom.
"Shelly's gotten a lot better since the beginning of the year," Bauman said. "When you tell her something, she'll listen then she'll do it."
Marble, who averages 3.6 points in 14 minutes of playing time, said she doesn't pick Bauman's brain as much as she observes.
"I do more watching because I feel like her actions say what she's thinking on and off the court," Marble said.
What catches Marble's eye?
"It's the little things," she said of Bauman. "She's a person that you always get good vibes from. It's always nice to be around somebody like that."
Kelsey said Bauman embodies the take-charge approach when it comes to self-improvement.
"We can't threaten, negotiate, barter with you," Kelsey said. "You gotta want to do it. You gotta be passionate about it."
In the case of Bauman and her classmates — guard Tessa Cichy, forward Rosanna Gambino, forward Michala Johnson and guard Dakota Whyte — seeing is understanding.
"Sometimes you do need to see that example of what it looks like," Kelsey said.
Bauman grew up loving all sports and going head-to-head with the boys. In fact, another team activity appeals to her even more than basketball.
"If there was a women's football growing up, I would have played for sure," she said, noting that she would have been either a quarterback or wide receiver.
Given a choice between personal milestones and team success, Bauman goes with the latter.
"I'd rather win over that any day," she said of her membership in the 1,000-point club, "but all you can do is the best you can and help others do the best they can."
