When women's basketball fans think about the Detroit Shock, they can't help but think about Deanna Nolan. Nolan has become a face for the organization in her seven years with the team but the Flint native said her return home in 2001 almost never happened.
"I didn't think I was coming back to Detroit," remembered the 29-year-old Nolan. "Before the fifth pick (in the 2001 draft) I had talked to Cleveland and they were coming in at seven, and I actually thought I was going to Cleveland. That's when Detroit came in with the sixth pick and got me."
Shock fans were thrilled to see Nolan come home and while it would take two years for her to help Detroit to a championship, those who followed her career knew it was a just a matter of time.
Nolan started playing at Flint Northern as a freshman guard on the varsity team. She said starting out in the deep end of the pool really helped shape her as a player.
"At that level all the players are bigger and stronger than you are as a freshman," she recalled. "I really had to work hard to be successful in that role."
And she was.
She led the Vikings to back-to-back state championships in 1994 and 1995, and was named Michigan's Miss Basketball for her play during the 1995 season. From there it was on to the SEC and an athletic scholarship from Georgia. As a Bulldog she, reached the 1999 NCAA Women's Final Four and the Elite Eight in 2000.
Nolan credits her time in the SEC for building her competitiveness.
"Every game in the SEC is a hard-fought game; any team can win on any given night," Nolan said. "It's one of those things you have to come out playing hard for the whole game. That helped develop me into the player I am."
She also credits Georgia head coach Andy Landers for helping her develop into a scorer. Nolan said when she arrived at Georgia she relied heavily on her jump shot but Landers wanted her to focus on driving to the basket and using her quickness against defenses.
After four years away from Michigan, Nolan was eager to take her skills to the next level in the WNBA and was even more excited to be able to do it at home.
"I wanted to come back and let people see what kind of player I developed into," she smiled.
Since 2001 they've certainly had that chance.
In seven seasons with Detroit, Nolan has been one of the most durable and dependent players in the league. Nolan came off the bench her rookie season but since then has started in 231 out of the 237 regular season games the Shock has played. She's also been at the top of the team every year in minutes played, even setting a record for most minutes in a season (1,213) and minutes per game (36.8) in 2005.
Fans have also seen her put a lot of points on the board during that time. Looking at the Shock's record book it's easy to see the kind of impact she's had on the court; in seven seasons she has nearly all the team's cumulative scoring records.
The four time All-Star has the record for points, field goals made (and attempted), 3-point field goals made (and attempted) and assists.
Nolan's been in the top 15 scorers in the league since 2004 and led the Shock in scoring since 2005. She's averaged 13.1 points for her career and has consistently been one of the top three point and free throw shooters in the league. In 2006 she became only the 40th player in WNBA history to reach the 2,000 point mark.
Her impressive scoring ability led Jim Foster, head coach of Vanderbilt, to call her the "Michael Jordan" of women's basketball while she was at Georgia. With her playoff performances for the Shock, she has truly reached that kind of level.
She's helped the Shock win two NBA Championships (2003 and 2006) and was the 2006 WNBA Finals MVP. In the finals that year she led the Shock in scoring with 17.8 points per game and steals, with 1.60 a game. During 2007's run to the finals she again led the team in scoring but also set new career and franchise high for points in a game (30) and had her first career playoff double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds).
Asked how she does it, she gave a very Jordan-like response:
"It's automatic," she said.
Despite a lot of roster changes in the off-season and a season-ending injury to forward Cheryl Ford in August, Nolan feels good about the Shock's chances this year and hopes she gets a chance to turn it up again in the finals. Nolan thinks the trade during the Olympic break that brought forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin to the team will help.
"McWilliams-Franklin might not be as athletic as Cheryl is but she is a really smart player and provides us great veteran leadership," Nolan said.
A few days after the month-long break, Nolan was happy with the team's chemistry and the way they put the four-game losing streak they had going into the break behind them. The Shock's strong finish, with five out of six wins going into their final regular season game, assured them at least home court advantage in the first round and put them in contention for another regular season Eastern Conference title.
But winning another title or finals MVP award isn't all Nolan cares about.
With strong roots to the local community in and around Detroit she continues to donate her time, money and visibility to charitable programs in the area, including her own foundation. Her work won her a WNBA Community Assist Award last year.
"I don't feel obligated but I feel it's what right," she explained. "It's important for kids to see and talk to a professional athlete and know we're the same."
She feels strongly about helping kids have programs and options that she didn't have growing up. Nolan has worked with programs like Read to Achieve and last year through her foundation raised funds for a playground at Flint's Brownell Elementary School.
It’s work she hopes to continue for the rest of her career – in Detroit playing for the Shock.
"I hope I end my career here," she said. "I really hope I do."
