Playing Through

If Kat Nash's stellar sophomore season has taken me by surprise, I'm not alone. The Longhorn guard with the baby-soft touch from beyond the arc has been no less surprised. She leads the team in scoring and rebounding and has the third most blocks and steals.

Not bad for someone who, until recently, never really thought of herself as a basketball player. Sure, she played hoops at Plano West High School – well enough to win the most valuable player honor at the Class 5A tournament her junior year, bringing home the school's first state title. But basketball was her older sister Kristen's and brother Michael's sport.

"I always thought I was better at volleyball," she says. "I had more fun playing volleyball. There was less pressure. All my friends played. When I was looking at colleges, I looked at trying to play both sports. UCLA does it, but it wasn't really an option at Texas."

Wanting to stay in state, Nash decided to go with basketball, in part because her sister was on the team but also in recognition of certain hard realities – namely, that as an outside hitter, she would have been competing for a spot on the volleyball team against Destinee Hooker and Juliann Faucette.

"I kind of think I made the right choice," she giggled. "I mean, those two girls are pretty good. And once I got into college, I started enjoying basketball a lot more. I wasn't a shooter in high school. I'd never made a 3-point shot. But when I came here in the summer [before freshman year], I started shooting, and they started going in, and that gave me confidence."

That confidence was in full display back in mid-December, when Nash put up 27 points against Arizona (she averages 13.9 and 6.5 rebounds).

Despite a blowout loss Sunday to Oklahoma (89-69), Gail Goestenkors has a better team in her second season in Austin. At 14-4, the Longhorns still lack a strong inside presence, but they have more depth off the bench, a more balanced offense, and they're a lot more fun to watch. Junior shooter Erika Arriaran is back from knee surgery and no worse for the wear. Freshman guard Ashleigh Fontenette has brought speed and tenacity to the floor. Carla Cortijo remains rock-solid at point guard. And expect last season's leading scorer, Brittainey Raven, to step it up in February – she's due.

"I wouldn't have thought that I would be as key a player as I've been," Nash says. She's not the kind of player who dazzles you with her speed and athleticism. Somewhat shy off the court, she can also seem a bit receding on it, hanging back, seldom driving the lane, waiting for her moment without an iota of swagger. But she has great court sense. As her rebounding shows, she knows exactly where she needs to be.

Luckily, that's playing basketball in Austin and not volleyball in California.