Basketball a family affair for Nordins

Leah Nordin isn’t the only member of her family with a basketball background.

The Shawano Community High School senior has spent the last four years raising eyebrows as one of the state’s top players and will head to the University of Wisconsin later this year to suit up for the Badgers’ women’s team.

Nordin’s younger brother, Jackson, is a junior on the Shawano boys team this season and their father, Nick, also played high school basketball in Shawano.

Nick walked on at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he played in the late 1990s for future University of Wisconsin men’s coach Bo Ryan and current UW coach Greg Gard, one of Ryan’s assistants.

“High school basketball was really challenging for me,” he said. “I didn’t play basketball until sixth grade. I loved working hard. My last coach, Chas (Proschinske), said, ‘Good luck, you’ll never play for Bo, you’ll never make the team.’ That empowered me even more. I walked on with Bo Ryan. I was not a starter, I was not a full-time player, but I was on the scout team and enjoyed every second of it.”

Ryan ended up coaching the Pioneers to NCAA Division 3 national championships in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. Nick was with the team for the back-to-back championships.

He has compiled a list of Leah’s accomplishments over four seasons.

Heading into this year’s state tournament, they include breaking the all-time program scoring record of 2,321 points, breaking the all-time rebounding record of 1,026, scoring her 2,000th point, grabbing her 1,000th rebound and becoming the seventh girl in state history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds as a senior; being named to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 2 All-State Team as a sophomore and junior; being named to the Bay Conference All-Conference First Team as a freshman, sophomore and junior; setting a school record with a 36-point game as a freshman; and breaking that record with a 40-point game as a sophomore.

Nick and his wife, Brenda, watched Leah score 29 points and pull down 14 rebounds Feb. 19 in her final regular-season game, a Bay Conference matchup with Xavier in Appleton.

“One of the biggest things we attribute to her success is Brenda got her started early in tae kwon do,” Nick said.

“We do a lot of hand and footwork coordination, a lot of self-defense, a lot of punches,” Brenda said. “I’d drag her by the hair across the floor. She can take a punch and get right back up.It is so wonderful watching her grow and take chances. She’s rolled her ankle a few times that made us nervous, but nothing major. I attribute that to tae kwon do with a lot of footwork and diving on the floor.”

“She has been able to take instruction and create on her own,” Nick said. “She is so driven. She’s always wanting to go to the high school and shoot. She actually wears us out now. Her mentality and work ethic is second to none.”

“She has Nick’s height and my grit,” Brenda said. “I do a lot of studying on the mental aspects of women in sports. I funnel that right to Leah, and it’s great that she’s utilizing it.”

Shawano is a No. 1 seed in a WIAA Division 2 sectional that also includes Marinette, Rhinelander, New London, Waupaca, Pulaski, Marshfield, Lakeland, Wausau East, Merrill and Antigo.

After a first-round bye Feb. 24, the Hawks’ tournament run will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 27 with a home game against Lakeland or Wausau East.

If Shawano advances to a sectional final, it could set up a rematch with Rice Lake, a team that includes Nordin’s future teammate, Wisconsin recruit Adaline Sheplee. Sheplee was a junior on a Rice Lake team that eliminated the Hawks from last year’s tournament with a 54-46 loss in a sectional final in Mosinee and went on to finish second at state.

“They’re projected to be right there with us,” Nick said. “There’s already a little chatter going on about those two (Nordin and Sheplee) meeting together.”

The Hawks have only been to state once, losing to Monroe in the Class A semifinals in 1989. This year’s state championships are set for March 12-14 at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

“It would definitely be something to remember,” Leah said of the opportunity to wrap up her high school career at state. “A couple of us have already been to that stage, so we kind of already know what to expect. We were there for volleyball and I’ll never forget it. It was a completely different atmosphere and it’s something you can really enjoy.”

A trip to the Resch Center would be a great way to end his daughter’s high school career, Nick said.

“Even if it’s a letdown, there’s a major next step in Madison,” he said. “What’s beautiful is they play on Wednesdays and Sundays. We’ll be able to make some of those games, especially the Sunday games. We’re going to have to get a bigger vehicle, because the grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles are all going to want to come, too.”