The idea that sophomore superstar S’Mya Nichols would take over as the face of the Kansas women’s basketball team — in both production and promotion — has gone swimmingly well so far.
As the Jayhawks get set to enter Big 12 play with a monster game on Saturday against Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse — 4 p.m. tipoff on ESPN+ — there’s one statistic that shows Nichols’ success better than any other.
Free throw shooting.
In addition to ranking third in the Big 12 Conference in scoring at 21.1 points per game (which ranks 13th nationally), Nichols enters the weekend leading the nation in both free throw makes (98) and free throw attempts (123), hitting 80% of her foul shots on just over 11 attempts per game.
“She’s been pretty successful in creating opportunities to draw fouls,” KU coach Brandon Schneider said of his leader while previewing Saturday’s matchup. “She understands that a lot of her success is related to added shooting around her. You don’t lead the country in free throws attempted without people being worried about other players on the court.”
Having talented shooters spreading the floor around her has opened up driving lanes for Nichols and kept defenses from clogging the paint to keep her from getting to the rim.
Her skill set, savvy and shrewd determination make her a handful in any one-on-one matchup. But the fact that she’s in it for more than just herself is what makes her an effective leader and a bona fide weapon.
After a recent win over Kansas City, Nichols, who was named a USBWA National Player of the Week a few days ago, was asked to describe her scoring strategy against the Roos. As it turned out, her answer could be used after pretty much every game she plays.
“I just shot when I thought I should shoot,” she said. “I was really just being aggressive going to the basket, but I was really just reading the defense and my teammates were all open and I was just making the right play.”
Schneider pointed to a high-level example of that line of thinking during last weekend’s win over Penn State. Instead of it coming in a 30-point rout like the game against Kansas City, this one came in the final minute, with the game on the line. And Nichols still delivered.
“S’Mya’s gonna adjust. A really good indicator of that is what we considered to be game point the other night against Penn State. S’Mya drew two players, made the right pass and then that player made the right pass. That’s how we’re gonna have to play. No different than a good post player; if you draw two defenders, then you need to pass the ball. And I think that’s what S’Mya’s shown.”
As her numbers show, though, she’s also shown that, if the opportunity is there for her to create the play for herself, she has both the confidence and talent to do just that.
Nichols’ ability to get to the free throw line — 12 times or more in 6 of KU’s 11 games so far — is only part of what makes her shine.
Because she’s such a physical and dynamic threat to drive, defenders occasionally lay off of her. That leaves her uncontested looks from 3-point range and she’s knocking those down at a clip of 41.4% so far this season.
Beyond that, she’s doing all of this damage in just 29.6 minutes per game, which has allowed her to remain fresh and effective on a consistent basis.
While their non-conference schedule was challenging, the 10-1 Jayhawks also know that what awaits in Big 12 play will be even tougher.
Most of these teams will have seen Nichols at least once, and many of Schneider’s counterparts spent at least a portion of the offseason thinking about how to handle Nichols in Year 2.
“My guess is that people will have a plan A, B and C for S’Mya,” Schneider said. “And then we’ll adjust accordingly.”
The Baylor Bears (9-2) saw firsthand what Nichols is capable of a season ago. During the 2023-24 season, she hit the perennial powerhouse program for 22 points in a home win and 23 points in a road loss. She got to the free throw line 16 times combined and also shot a combined 14-of-25 from the floor in the two games.
And that was as a freshman.
With a better understanding of college basketball and complete control of a team that’s on a bit of a roll, Nichols and her teammates enter Big 12 play with a ton of confidence.
“It looks good and it feels good,” she said of the product on the floor. “We’re all connecting, we all have an understanding of what we need to do to contribute to the team. I think it all started (when KU won the Paradise Jam) in the Virgin Islands. We had three tough teams to play out there and, at the end of the day, it took culture to win.”
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
