Nelson-Ododa receives plenty of feedback
STORRS — Olivia Nelson-Ododa receives a steady stream of feedback after each game.
While most of it comes from Geno Auriemma and his assistants, the UConn coaching staff isn’t the only source of instruction.
Nelson-Ododa’s older brother, Alonzo, has also been a valuable voice. Alonzo, 26, played collegiately at both Richmond — where he ranks second all-time in blocks (185) — and Pittsburgh. He also appeared in seven games for Salt Lake City in the NBA G League last year.
“He watches all the games and he also critiques me afterwards,” Olivia explained Friday following practice at the Werth Center. “He’ll find things that can help me.”
The feedback has been a bit more frequent of late, as Alonzo, a 6-foot-9 forward, is currently on the shelf after undergoing meniscus surgery.
“He was really good at blocking shots, and just on defense, he gives me a lot of tips on how to limit fouls,” she said.
Nelson-Ododa is constantly learning, constantly trying to adapt to a quicker, more physical game. Twenty-four games into her career at UConn, NelsonOdoda, the No. 5 player in the Class of 2018 out of Georgia, is starting to show signs of adjusting.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, but she’s in a much better place than she was two months ago,” Auriemma said. “Her habits are a little bit better in practice. I think that’ll carry over to some of our games.”
While Nelson-Ododa is averaging just 4.0 points and 3.3 rebounds, her progress can’t be measured solely by numbers. Instead, it’s the intangibles — footwork, patience and poise in the paint.
Sometimes, Nelson-Ododa’s presence alone is enough to fluster opponents. Auriemma points to her role in the fourthranked Huskies’ dominant third quarter against South Carolina, when they outscored the Gamecocks 29-12 and limited them to 28.5 percent shooting.
“She made a difference (Monday) night,” he said. “They didn’t get any layups when she was in the game. That’s a big factor for us. If she can do that on a regular
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done, but she’s in a much better place than she was two months ago.”
— UConn coach Geno Auriemma
basis … then she becomes a huge asset to what we’re doing because she’s got something that nobody else has, that we don’t have. She’s 6-5, long, so we’ve got to figure out a way to keep getting her more comfortable.”
Added forward Napheesa Collier: “She can be a huge force. She just has to change her mentality with it.”
Nelson-Ododa logged nine minutes of action, slightly below her season average of 11.3. Auriemma would like to find more playing time for NelsonOdoda down the stretch but said he won’t settle on a “predetermined” number.
Of course, there are numerous factors that dictate her usage. Fouls have been an issue for Nelson-Ododa. She’s averaged 1.7 per game, already fouling out twice this season despite coming off the bench.
“I have to learn how to move my feet,” NelsonOdoda said, “especially if I’m trying to block it and things like that. … It’s all on me. I just have to learn how to adjust with how the refs call things here and how I play defense.”
Defense is one area in which Auriemma feels the Huskies (22-2, 10-0 American Athletic Conference) are deficient. As March sits just around the corner, he doesn’t see that changing.
Nelson-Ododa is determined to try, though.
“It’s definitely a gradual adjustment, but the past few games there have been some times where it’s been like the ‘aha’ moment, especially on defense,” Nelson-Ododa said.
Maybe, just maybe the lightbulb has gone off.
“Sometimes you just figure it out later than sooner,” guard Katie Lou Samuelson said. “We as a team had to look at each of ourselves and figure out what we could do better and bring to the table. I think she’s slowly figuring out what she needs to do, how hard she needs to work every day.”