UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Last season, Mia Nickson watched all the games from the sidelines as her teammates took the court. The 6-foot-2 forward from Ashburn, Va., could not wait for the 2010 basketball season to begin, allowing her to join the team and finally contribute on the court after sitting out a year due to NCAA regulations.
Nickson transferred from Boston College to Penn State in 2009 hoping to make a big impact for the Lady Lion program. This Thursday, the Lady Lions are set to clash with the B.C. Eagles at 7 p.m. in Boston, Mass. Two years later the redshirt sophomore is returning to her former school, this time wearing blue and white.
The Lady Lion forward is excited to go head to head against her former teammates.
“I haven’t played against or seen most of them in a while. It’s going to be like a reunion,” she said.
Nickson still keeps in touch with her friends and old teammates at B.C. “We’re excited that you get to come up,” they told her.
Nickson initially loved the appeal of a young college town like Boston.
“It’s probably one of the youngest cities in America,” Nickson said. “I love the city, it has so much history and culture. Downtown Boston is on the waterfront and has nice museums, good restaurants, and great seafood. It’s a great school but I wasn’t really needed there so I wanted to go to a school where I could help out.”
Before Coquese Washington became the head coach for Penn State, Nickson didn’t know much about the Lady Lion basketball program. After Nickson expressed a desire to transfer, she and Coach Washington kept close communication. Nickson liked the Penn State coaching staff and shared their vision of winning a national championship.
Even though she loved the allure of Boston College, she arrived only to learn that her recruiting coach had left the school. Nickson was disappointed to say the least.
“It was a lot different than what I expected and I didn’t really have a role there,” she said.
Since transferring to Penn State, Nickson said she doesn’t have any regrets.
“The (B.C.) program is doing well, it just didn’t work out (for me). I’m glad I’m here,” she said. “The support staff at Penn State doesn’t compare to anywhere else. I didn’t have the support in academics (at B.C.) like I do here. That really helped my transition. Penn State is great for anybody that wants to come here. It’s amazing.”
Sitting out a year was ‘bittersweet’ for Nickson, but it played a vital role for her transition to Big Ten basketball.
“I didn’t know how the flow of the game would be. I got to watch how physical and quick the game was, but I also wanted to play. It was hard to sit and watch but it was good for the transition from one conference to another,” she said.
Since the start of the 2010-’11 season, Nickson has contributed defensively with a dominant physical presence under the backboard. Coach Washington describes Mia as a “tremendous rebounder, great defender, and a great complement to the team”.
Without even one second of playing time as a Lady Lion, Nickson was named co-captain of the 2010-’11 squad. She was also awarded the Tom Caldwell “unsung hero” award for her leadership throughout last years season.
“You can always count on Mia to do the right thing at the right time all the time,” Coach Washington said. “Mia is a great person that adds so much to the our team off the court and in the locker room.”
There’s no doubt that Nickson’s insight of her former team’s ability has helped prepare the Lady Lions for Thursday’s upcoming game against the Eagles.
“I know the players and they’re a good group a girls, they play hard. They aren’t as fast as we are, which might be to our advantage. If they get us to a half-court game, they are going to be hard to defend.”
In the end, she is focused on the game.
“We’re going there to take care of business but it’ll be nice to see old friends,” Nickson said.
