Defend the Block: Nainima Talks KBA Impact, Playing for Fiji and Coming to Michigan
5/19/2021 2:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
This week marked the first week on campus for new assistant coach Val Nainima, who joined the University of Michigan women's basketball coaching staff after spending the last seven seasons at Fordham and playing collegiately at South Carolina for current US Olympic coach Dawn Staley. She joined Brian Boesch on this week's "Defend the Block" podcast at the 27:35 mark.
"Crazy, that's how I would describe it," Nainima said about the last few weeks after being hired. "The amount of support from the fan base, from Michigan and all around the women's basketball community has been amazing."
Nainima came to Michigan after spending the last seven seasons at Fordham, both as the video coordinator and an assistant coach.
"Obviously, I had been following Michigan this year," Nainima said. "It was such a great breakout year for the entire program. I was really taken aback and humbled that she wanted me to come over. It was basically a no-brainer, just seeing the trajectory of the program and Coach Arico's history as a coach. When I heard her vision for the program moving forward, I was totally on board with it.
What was it about head coach Kim Barnes Arico that really hit home for Nainima?
"Her passion for the game. Her passion to win and her vision to always be better," she said. "When I spoke to her, being an alum from South Carolina under Dawn Staley, I was reminded when I walked into my first meeting there. Coach Staley said that she wanted to win a national championship, that we were going to win a national championship and be very prominent in the women's basketball community. That took my heart.
"I was like, 'wow.' At that point, we weren't at that level yet. When a vision is set and to see it come to fruition in 2017 (when South Carolina won the national championship), I witnessed firsthand how a vision from a leader can propel an entire program to greatness. Talking to Coach Arico, that vision she shared with me about this program winning championships, whether it's Big Ten or national championships, it really took me back to South Carolina. I love that challenge. I love that she likes to challenge herself and challenge those around her."
Nainima ended up at South Carolina after playing two seasons at LIU Brooklyn for current Fordham head coach Stephanie Gaitley. When Gaitley left LIU Brooklyn, she reached out to Staley, who was Nainima's favorite player. Staley had just left Temple for South Carolina, and just the mention of her name was enough to change Nainima's mind from turning professional to staying in the collegiate game.
Nainima made her way to the States after growing up in Fiji, where it was an accident that she fell in love playing basketball.
"It's a small island country in the South Pacific with less than a million people in our country," Nainima said. "Lovely beaches, great people and I love my culture. When I was in year 8, my mom wanted me out of the house. We had a friend who ran a basketball camp and she threw me into that camp. I have never turned back from that. I absolutely fell in love with it. I loved watching the Olympic Games on TV and just was taken aback by it."
Nainima has played for her national team since she was 17, most recently competing in 2019 with Fiji.
"It is a huge honor," she said. "There is nothing that can compare to putting on that jersey for your national team. I will do it as long as I can contribute in a valuable sense. I will never take a spot from someone who I know can give more than I can."
She has been in Ann Arbor for only a few days, but the players in this program have already made an impact on her.
"I have been able to meet some of the players, like Naz Hillmon and Danielle Rauch," Nainima said. "Who they are as people and the chemistry they show with each other, that's huge for me and for propelling this program to the next level. Being here, seeing how hard they work on the court, you can't fake that. You can't fake how hard a team will work for each other, work for the coach that they are under. That really took me back. Now that I have finally gotten to meet Naz and Danielle, it's very evident that the chemistry is real."
