Life as a Mountaineer – Kari Niblack
February 10, 2020 10:08 AM | Women's Basketball
Basketball wasn't Kari Niblack's first choice as a young girl growing up in Central Florida. It wasn't even her second choice nor her third.
"I don't know if y'all heard yet but I didn't like basketball when I first started playing," she admits. "I didn't know if sports were for me at all. I played volleyball and I even thought softball was going to be my sport for a while and then I realized it wasn't."
Then Kari hit a growth spurt in the eighth grade and those extra inches gently nudged her toward the hardwood.
"I realized I was longer than everybody so I could get a lot of rebounds and then once I did a drop step, put my shoulder into someone, she fell down and I made a layup and I thought, 'This sport is for me! I like this!'"
A few years later, when she was on the AAU circuit, West Virginia coach Mike Carey saw her play and realized that he was watching a version of his former self as a college player at Salem.
And that's about the best compliment any player could ever hope to get from a coach.
"She plays like I did in college. As soon as I saw her play on the AAU circuit I loved the way she played. Even though she's a great player she's a great person. She has a big heart. She cares. She comes from a great family and it's just been a pleasure to coach Kari," he says.
The one word that best describes Niblack's style of play is energetic.
"Kari plays with a lot of energy and a lot of emotion. I like that, but sometimes we've got to keep Kari's emotions down a little bit, but I'd rather coach somebody like that than somebody who doesn't play with enough emotion," he says.
Last year as a freshman, Niblack played primarily close to the basket against players sometimes five and six inches taller than her. Now, the 6-1 forward is becoming a much more well-rounded player.
"She's really expanded her game some. She's now hitting jump shots. She's putting it on the floor and doing a lot of different things she didn't do last year," Carey says. "That's important for a player to keep expanding their game and it just makes her tougher to guard."
"I don't want to just be as good as I am - I want to keep getting better every day," she says. "I've never been a person who has been worried about my stats. I just try and do what I can on the court," Niblack concludes.
This week's Life as a Mountaineer was produced by Chris Ostien and is presented each week by WVU Medicine.
"I don't know if y'all heard yet but I didn't like basketball when I first started playing," she admits. "I didn't know if sports were for me at all. I played volleyball and I even thought softball was going to be my sport for a while and then I realized it wasn't."
Then Kari hit a growth spurt in the eighth grade and those extra inches gently nudged her toward the hardwood.
"I realized I was longer than everybody so I could get a lot of rebounds and then once I did a drop step, put my shoulder into someone, she fell down and I made a layup and I thought, 'This sport is for me! I like this!'"
A few years later, when she was on the AAU circuit, West Virginia coach Mike Carey saw her play and realized that he was watching a version of his former self as a college player at Salem.
And that's about the best compliment any player could ever hope to get from a coach.
"She plays like I did in college. As soon as I saw her play on the AAU circuit I loved the way she played. Even though she's a great player she's a great person. She has a big heart. She cares. She comes from a great family and it's just been a pleasure to coach Kari," he says.
The one word that best describes Niblack's style of play is energetic.
"Kari plays with a lot of energy and a lot of emotion. I like that, but sometimes we've got to keep Kari's emotions down a little bit, but I'd rather coach somebody like that than somebody who doesn't play with enough emotion," he says.
Last year as a freshman, Niblack played primarily close to the basket against players sometimes five and six inches taller than her. Now, the 6-1 forward is becoming a much more well-rounded player.
"She's really expanded her game some. She's now hitting jump shots. She's putting it on the floor and doing a lot of different things she didn't do last year," Carey says. "That's important for a player to keep expanding their game and it just makes her tougher to guard."
"I don't want to just be as good as I am - I want to keep getting better every day," she says. "I've never been a person who has been worried about my stats. I just try and do what I can on the court," Niblack concludes.
This week's Life as a Mountaineer was produced by Chris Ostien and is presented each week by WVU Medicine.
Players Mentioned
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