Nikki Greene's coming to play for the Penn State women's basketball team next year already has the current players buzzing, especially over her ability to dunk.
"That would totally hype me up," sophomore Julia Trogele said, while junior Tyra Grant laughed to the side. "I would love that! I've never played with someone who can dunk, other than maybe a guy."
The 6-foot-4 high schooler from Diboll, Texas, signed with Penn State on Nov. 17.
She joined the already seventh-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to Blue Star Basketball. Greene chose to play for Penn State over highly touted programs such as Rutgers and Texas.
Greene ranked No. 19 among high school recruits according to HoopGurlz/ESPN.com, and was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) High School All-America Game presented by Nike. The game will be played at the Women's Final Four in St. Louis.
Greene elected to come to Penn State because she felt she could fill the Lady Lions' need for a dominant post player. She said the immediate connection she made with coach Coquese Washington and her staff helped her lean Penn State's way, even though the team joined the recruiting process late.
While some programs started scouting Greene when she was a freshman, Penn State didn't see her play until her junior year.
"Penn State got extremely lucky to have gotten Nikki because she had an opportunity to go to a lot of those big-name schools, programs that are already established," said Laura Knight, Greene's coach at Diboll High School.
"But Nikki had a great connection with those coaches. She just immediately loved them, and that's something that's important to Nikki, and I think she wants to help make Penn State get better and be a contender."
Greene said the atmosphere around the team reminded her of her high school, something she was looking hard for in her search for a college.
During her recruiting visits to State College in June and September, Greene talked with several Lady Lion players, including Grant, Evelyn Lewis and the team's young guards. The players told the high school All-American how they'd love to have someone to pose a serious threat down low.
"They were saying they needed a post player pretty bad, and I saw that they needed that when I watched them play," Greene said. "And so I just took it upon myself."
Since the graduation of Amanda Brown in 2007, Penn State has been without a dominating presence in the paint, something the rest of the Big Ten has used to its advantage.
The Lady Lions have gone 10-27 in the Big Ten the last two seasons. In the team's regular season finale last week, Ohio State's Jantel Lavender and Star Allen combined for 53 points on 22-for-39 shooting.
That may change next year with the addition of Greene.
Washington expects the signee to provide a physical presence inside while also being able to run the floor with the rest of her fast-paced offense.
"She's an athlete," Grant said. "She's big and we need someone like that. She seems to be someone that's not just a one-dimensional player. She's not gonna be able just to shoot it. I feel she's very versatile."
Greene's impact on the team could extend to entertainment as well. The center has been slam-dunking since junior high, starting with tennis balls in 8th grade and working her way up to basketballs in 10th.
Knight said Greene dunked during warmups for Diboll High School before the officials came onto the court. She has yet to convert a dunk in a game, although that hasn't been entirely her fault.
"I always attempt it but opponents always try to either foul me or cut-block me so I won't dunk on them," Greene said.
Greene said she would "definitely" dunk with success in her time at Penn State. That and the rest of her skill set have the current crop of Lady Lions awaiting her arrival.
"We had Amanda Brown that was able to do a lot for us my freshman year," Grant said, "and with another one like that, I feel we'll be able to do some great things."
