By RICHIE HALL
As Nicole Cunningham went through high school as a Guerin Catholic basketball player, she got to see the different roles she could play for the Golden Eagles.
By her senior year, Cunningham was a leader for the Guerin team. She graduated with a fine career and earned a chance to play at the next level, as she committed to play at Benedictine University next fall.
“There were a lot of schools that I had to choose from, which I was really grateful for,” said Cunningham. But Benedictine, located about 30 minutes west of Chicago in Lisle, Ill., stood out from the beginning.
“I looked at a bunch of other options, but their coaching staff was really the one thing that stuck with me,” said Cunningham.
Benedictine is a Division III school that plays in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). The league consists of schools around the Chicagoland area, plus several Wisconsin schools. The Benedictine Eagles made it to the NCAA tournament this past season.
“Watching what they did this season and how the team worked with the coaching staff was really something special,” said Cunningham. “I really would love to have that for the next four years.”
In other words, Cunningham is hoping to have the same experience in college that she did playing with Guerin Catholic. She was a varsity player all four years, steadily improving each season. Cunningham was the leading scorer both her junior (13.6 points per game) and senior (12.6 points per game) years, finishing with 861 career points.
“I made a lot of lifelong friends,” said Cunningham.
“Nicole was a great leader for our team both on and off the court,” said GC coach Marc Quaranta. “She did a great job mentoring our younger players and the future of our program is in a great position because of Nicole’s efforts.”
That is exactly the kind of impact Cunningham wanted to have for the Golden Eagles team.
“I got to be a good leader and I know I impacted my teammates lives in a very positive way,” said Cunningham. She wanted to be the leader that incorporated everyone on the team, whether it was a freshman player or one of the five starters.
“We all have a role and that role is important,” she said.
Cunningham also played tennis for Guerin Catholic during her sophomore and junior years. She also is part of the Indy Magic AAU team, having played “for five or six years.”
In addition to her scoring, Cunningham was a consistent rebounder, averaging 3.8 in her junior season and 3.9 in her senior season. She made at least 40 3-pointers during each of those years.
“Nicole can be a difference-maker at the next level,” said Cunningham. “She can flat out score the ball. When she gets hot, teams are going to have to account for her shooting. She can put in three or four 3-pointers in a two-minute span and completely change the game.”
Cunningham said that among the lessons she has learned from basketball, leadership and teamwork “are definitely the top two,” in addition to how to work with people, being coachable and time management.
“Being coachable is a life skill that is very unique and helps me adapt to all different kinds of situations,” said Cunningham.
Time management became important for her last year when she was also on the tennis team and playing AAU.
“I learned a lot of time management and what my priorities were and how to get everything into one day,” said Cunningham.
Guerin Catholic’s Nicole Cunningham played varsity basketball all four years for the Golden Eagles. Cunningham has committed to play at Benedictine University next fall. (Photo provided)