Meet the 2010 Lynx: #21 Nicky Anosike, center/forward

The final installment of a six-part series profiling the Minnesota Lynx roster as the 2010 season approaches.

BY MIKE PEDEN

If not for Lindsay Whalen, the role of team leader could easily be placed on Nicky Anosike, who is quickly proving her expertise in the post.

Anosike became only the second player in the history of the WNBA to lead her team in all five major statistical categories when she accomplished the milestone last season, leading the Lynx in scoring (13.2 per game), rebounding (7.4 per game), assists (2.7 per game), steals (2.7 per game) and blocks (0.93 per game). Despite missing the last four games of the 2009 season, Anosike's steals number was good for 2nd in the WNBA.

Her playing prowess led to seven double-doubles in 2009, giving her a career total of 12, both franchise records.

Should someone strike a discussion with Anosike this season about her stat sheet, she suggests finding another topic.

"I don't like to talk about last year, it was a whole different team," she said.

Anosike had little time to adjust to this year's differences before media day and the Lynx's 2nd preseason contest with Chicago. She returned from Poland May 1st after competing in her second straight championship series with her overseas team.

Turns out little time was needed for her to absorb the vibes of support.

"Everyone really believes in us. From the interviews to the locker room, everyone's really excited," she said.

The upbeat attitude played a role in fan attendance. Last year, despite a heavy recession, the Lynx had their highest reported attendance since the 2002 season and this year figures to break the 2009 mark.

Forget talk about making the playoffs. Anosike has already been approached by reporters about the chance to bring a WNBA championship to Minnesota.

"We've let the fans down the last two seasons by not making it to post-season," she said. "We owe it to ourselves, owe it to our fans, owe it to the organization. We have no more excuses to make."

One "excuse" Anosike believes the Lynx crossed off was learning to be ready for any situation, a lesson the Lynx learned the hard way when Seimone Augustus suffered a torn ACL just six games into the season a year ago.

There will be more areas to learn as the Lynx are commanded by Cheryl Reeve, who starts her head coaching career after spending nine years as an assistant, most recently with the Detroit Shock.

Anosike already sees herself on the same page as Reeve.

"She's not interested in just making the playoffs," Anosike said. "She's trying to bring championships to Minnesota. That's right up my alley."

Contemporary social topics are also up her alley. In between practices and games overseas, Anosike would host several conversations on Twitter, often inquiring about social justice that included plot lines from reality shows to exploring cultural differences between the states and her Nigerian ancestry.

Skeptical of Twitter at first, Anosike believed the micro-blogging site helped others discover her personality when not in uniform.

"People think I'm this really mean person. They thought I was stuck-up," she said. "The feedback I was getting was 'Wow Nicky, we're really surprised at who you really are.' "

"I felt Twitter would be an awesome way to show people I'm laid back, funny, cool to be around," she said.

Her online followers needed little assistance receiving that message.

"It doesn't matter what I tweet. They support me, they encourage me, they're just really loyal fans," she said.

Lynx fans will get their first chance to show their loyalty May 16th at 6:00 p.m., when they host the Washington Mystics in their home opener at Target Center.