Playing like the boys leads to college success

Nicole Yazzie picked up a basketball when she was 4 years old.

"Nicole's always had a ball in her hand," her mother Ranelle Yazzie said. "When her senior year came up the school said we could pick a picture of our kids of what we remembered of her. We picked a picture of her when she was four with a little Nerf basketball in her hand."

Nicole Yazzie is a freshman starter for the Westminster women's college basketball team in Salt Lake City.

It's been a long but rewarding road for the 19-year-old who's family is originally from the Shiprock area.

Unlike her parents, Nicole was born and raised in the Salt Lake City area where her parents were once foster children. Her mother is from Shiprock and her father, Julius Yazzie, is from Toadlena, N.M.

They lived on the reservation for a while but moved back to Utah for better opportunities.

When Nicole wanted to play league basketball they supported her 100 percent. She was only 6 years old and played in the Junior Jazz league.

"She's always played with the boys. She didn't start playing with girls until sixth grade," Ranelle Yazzie said. "It's a talent that you can't teach."

Nicole's coach had a coed and boys' team but he saw that she had talent.

"I think over time that's how she was always well-known here, as the girl who played with the boys," Ranelle said. "I think it was really good for her to play with the boys. It taught her a lot."

Nicole became more aggressive. She learned how to play like the guys.

"I was kind of a tomboy but then again I had a girly side," Nicole said. "On the court I just go all out and play, sometimes like a guy. I think I'm one of them, real tough and not scared of anything."

So when Nicole was about to start high school her family wanted her to take a shot at highly respected Bingham High, a 5A school.

Nicole enrolled and went to tryouts. But she faced claims that she was recruited and recruiting is not permitted in Utah.

She wasn't allowed to tryout but after three days of talking to the activities board she was given the OK.

Not only did she make the varsity team her freshman year, she was the starting point guard.

"I was really nervous," she said. "I wasn't even expecting varsity time at all. We practiced for two weeks. It was me and this junior battling it out (for point guard) and I finally got the win. Once I started varsity, it hit me that I was good."

She played all four years. When she was a sophomore the team won the state championship and Yazzie was named the state tournament's most valuable player. She was named all-tourney all four years.

She was also named to the Navajo Times All-Area All-Star team.

Yazzie also played softball but gave that up her junior year. Once basketball season ended, she played in leagues until the next season started.

Her junior year, she was given a bigger role. Many of the best players had graduated and she became the leading scorer. Her coach, Rand Rasmussen, knew she would take it in stride.

"She scored more points for us," he said. "She took on more time. I don't think the transition was that big of a deal for her.

"I think she has made an impact on the program in probably a couple different ways. First of all, leadership," he said. "As the point guard you get to run a lot more of the show. She had some outstanding games."

Yazzie is Bingham High's all-time three-point shooter and leader in assists.

But all she wanted to do was leave her mark.

"I just wanted to leave a legacy of me at that school. I wanted people to look up to me not just on the court but off the court," Nicole said.

Yazzie applied to a number of colleges. But she wanted to stay close to home and accepted a full-ride scholarship to Westminster.

"I came in college not thinking I would play but I actually start," she said. "I don't know how but I guess I worked hard for it and I'm grateful for the opportunity.

"I think it's my heart, I honestly do," she said. 'If you set your heart to something you really want, I think you get it. Things happen when you work hard for it and I think it happened for me."

As of Tuesday the Lady Griffins were 6-0 in the Frontier Conference.

Nicole, who is majoring in physiology, couldn't ask for anything more. But at the end of the day, she knows where she comes from and who to thank.

"Everything I've done means nothing without my family," she said. "Grades, basketball, life in general, I'm just really thankful for my family and I love them all."

Ranelle said that's what makes her daughter successful. It's her daughter's upbringing that keeps her grounded and keeps her thinking about the important things.

"I think we're probably her biggest fans," Ranelle said. "We never miss a game.

"My mom's been a really positive influence on her life," Ranelle said. "When she was growing up, she was really close to my mom, her grandma, so that's a big thing in her life."

And it's always been that way. Ever since 4-year-old Nicole Yazzie picked up that Nerf basketball.

Back to top ^