Kaitlin Oki /Nevada Sagebrush
The African word Ubuntu has been adopted by Nevada to mean, “I am because we are.” The mantra was inspired by Nelson Mandela.
By Alexa Ard
Last year the theme of the Nevada women’s basketball team was “It’s about the name on the front,” but this year it is defined by the African term Ubuntu, one meaning of which is “I am because we are.”
Wolf Pack head coach Jane Albright had mostly heard the term from Nelson Mandela, and she has now adopted this motto for her 15 players. Albright explained that the women of her team are all a part of each other in a way. The players have bought into the idea of Ubuntu and have often expressed that they’re more than a team — they’re a family.
“When we all feel like we’re playing for something bigger than the score, we’re all better,” Albright said. “That’s why our theme this year is Ubuntu, which is “I am because we are.” We’re doing it for each other. It’s more fun than anything individual.” Albright added that it’s kind of the African way of saying, “the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”
In more than one game this season, Nevada has had 10 or more players put numbers on the scoreboard. The five starters are usually seniors Danika Sharp and Arielle Wideman, juniors Emily Burns and Mimi Mungedi and sophomore Terilyn Moe.
However, Albright said that Nevada’s bench players have enough talent to enter the game early and give the starters the rest they need. This has given the Wolf Pack an upper hand compared to the other teams of the Mountain West Conference who mostly play the same five to seven players. It is because of the strong bench that Nevada’s starters can come back in at the end of the game still feeling fresh and overpower the worn down opponent.
“This team really embodies ‘team’ as much as any team I’ve coached in my 31 years of coaching,” Albright said. “That’s the way basketball should be played.” The head coach can’t even pinpoint who the most improved player would be. “I could go down the list and tell you every single person has improved, even someone like Danika, who is the leading scorer, has really, really improved,” she said. Albright sees a lot of love in this team, but freshman Iman Lathan also added that they are a team that likes to have fun.
When Nevada was scheduled to face Colorado State on Jan. 29 and Air Force on Feb. 1, the players remained in Colorado the entire week, and they turned one regular night at the hotel into a music video production. Lathan and sophomore Nyasha LeSure were lip-syncing to “Drunk in Love by Beyoncé,” while Sharp added in the music and freshman Ashlee Jones added the special effects. Lathan said other girls from the team acted as fans and groupies.
The two freshmen, Lathan and Jones, have had a smooth transition to college level play, and the family feel that the team provides has been a big reason why. “Everyone looks after everyone,” Jones said. “The coaches take care of us. Teammates take care of us. We’re all really close.” Sharp has recently hit a milestone with Nevada by scoring over 1,000 points in her four years with the Pack. She doesn’t think of herself when reflecting on this record, though.
“It feels good to know that all my hard work has paid off,” Sharp said, “but I just want to be a good role model for the kids coming in, such as Ashley and Iman. Ashley is a shooter and she plays a lot like me, so hopefully my help and my work that I put in here goes into her.”
Wideman said that Nevada also has a unifying chant it says in the huddle. Albright will shout ‘Wolf Pack women,’ and the team responds, ‘play hard, stick together.’ There are 15 different individuals on the team, but every time they step on the court, they battle together with one identity. “I think this will be the group that we will all look at to change the culture of what it’s like to play on the women’s basketball team here,” Albright said.
Alexa Ard can be reached at aard@sagebrush.unr.edu.
