ONTARIO —

From Nagasaki to Seattle, Washington to the north shores of Lake Superior, it’s been an interesting journey for Lakehead University Thunderwolves women’s basketball guard Chiaki Nakamura as she prepares for her first year as a CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport: Canadian equivalent of NCAA) student athlete.

The 177-cm guard is the first Lakehead women’s basketball player to ever hail from Japan and is the only Japanese woman playing university basketball in Canada. The business administration major brings a smart and technical game to the Wolves line up, and is expected to help bolster a young backcourt who lost two-time OUA all-star Debra Sandberg to graduation at the end of the 2007-2008 season.

Nakamura comes to the Thunderwolves after spending the past two seasons playing in Seattle for the Seattle Community College Storm. In her second year with the Storm, Nakamura averaged just under 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, while shooting 40% from the field. She helped lead the Storm to a fifth place finish at the 2008 NWAACC tournament.

Nakamura was recruited from the Storm along with teammate Darnellia Russell, the highly touted former Roosevelt High guard (and focal point of acclaimed documentary, “The Heart of the Game“), who, prior to this season’s start, decided to return to Seattle to be with her family. Due to differences in eligibility rules between Canadian and American schools, Nakamura is able to play three years of CIS basketball while getting her degree. She’d only be eligible to play one year south of the border.

This was a major factor in her decision to come north, and now that she’s here, Nakamura says she’s settling in to her new surroundings nicely.  “I like it a lot here,” she says.  “The people are very nice.”

On the court, Nakamura’s strengths lie in her court vision, passing ability and touch from beyond the three point arc. Coaches and team mates alike have spoken highly of the unique style she’ll bring to the Wolves line up this season. “Chiaki’s great,” fifth year senior, and co-captain Kathryn Verboom says with a grin. “I think coach [Jon Kreiner] said it best, when he said nobody else he’s ever seen in the OUA (Ontario University Athletics conference) like her. It’s true, she’s a great shooter, great passer, great driver, and she can see the floor so well. She’s, I think, really the connection between our wings and the post in getting the ball inside.”

Thunderwolves women’s basketball coach Jon Kreiner echoes this. “Chiaki is a European style player, who can really shoot the ball,” he says after practice. “She can post up, she sees the floor really well; she’s kind of a point guard in a forward’s body so she can play a number of positions and is very versatile. We’re definitely looking for good things from her stepping in and contributing right away.”

Speaking after a mid-September practice, Nakamura says she’s adjusting to basketball at the CIS level. “It’s pretty good,” she says. “There’s more body contact, and it’s more aggressive, so I have to be more aggressive.”

Lakehead is now 3-0 in preseason play. In Lakehead’s three wins, Nakamura started slow in the first game but seemed to find her shooting rhythm in the second win over the University of Manitoba last week. She netted 14 points off the bench for the Wolves.  In Lakehead’s win over St Thomas University, she really found the range; hitting for 15 points on 3-4 shooting from three-point range.

Nakamura’s exploits in Canadian University basketball at Lakehead can be followed by going to the school’s website at www.thunderwolves.ca.

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