Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
8 — Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Val Nainima brings strong basketball foundation as new assistant coach

Val Nainima is a stickler for 

basketball basics. Passing, dribbling, 
shooting. As most do, she understands 
them to be the foundations of 
basketball, and having a solid 
foundation is key to being successful 
on and off the court. Throughout 
Nainima’s entire basketball career, 
she’s continued to build on her 
foundation in each position.

Nainima hails from Rakiraki, Fiji, 

a small island in the South Pacific. 
She started playing basketball at age 
13 when her mom “wanted her out 
of the house”. Her mother’s friend 
was hosting a basketball basics clinic. 
From then on Nainima was hooked. 

During her high school years, she 

started building her reputation as a 
stellar point guard. She competed 
both on the Fiji National Team and 

the U-20 team. In both 2005 and 
2007, Nainima led her teams to gold 
medals in the South Pacific Games.

After her outstanding performance 

in high school, Nainima was recruited 
to play collegiately in America. She 
began her career at LIU Brooklyn 
under coach Stephanie Gaitley, now 
Fordham’s head coach. During her 
freshman season, she became the first 
player in the Northeast Conference to 
win both rookie of the year and player 
of the year in the same season. Her 
sophomore season provided similar 
success. Nainima became the fastest 
player in LIU history to reach 1,000 
career points.

“She’s one of the best, if not the best 

player, I think I’ve coached,” Gaitley 
said. “What I love about Val was 
when she stepped across the line, she 
was all business, but off the court, she 
was as nice as could be and had the 
respect of coaches and teammates. 
I mean, as a freshman, she was not 

only rookie of the year, she was player 
of the year. Her humble personality 
and her willingness to just care about 
others just kind of just set her apart 
from a lot of people. So not only was 
she an unbelievable player, but she’s 
an unbelievable person.”

Gaitley left LIU after Nainima’s 

sophomore 
season 
after 
which 

Nainima decided to transfer. Her 
success at LIU caught the eye of 
Dawn Staley, South Carolina’s coach 
and the U.S. Olympic coach. After 
transferring and sitting out a season 
due to NCAA regulations, Nainima 
was eager to get back on the court. 

The decision to transfer proved 

advantageous for Nainima. She 
received 
All-SEC 
Second-Team 

Honors and ended her collegiate 
career as one of the Gamecocks’ top 
3-point shooters and point-guards. 
Perhaps more importantly, Nainima 
learned 
valuable 
lessons 
from 

Staley, furthering her foundational 
understanding of the game.

“I’m not gonna lie, as a point guard 

she holds us to the highest standard,” 
Nainima said. “Everything is your 
fault. You’re accountable for every 
single thing. Even if you didn’t pass 
the turnover, you’d have to think like 
three, four levels ahead. And I gained 
so much within that amount of time 
that I was with her. And a level of 
toughness, a standard of eliteness. 
Of how to hold yourself at a different 
level compared to everybody else on 
a daily basis. And it’s stuck with me.”

After college, Nainima decided 

to try her hand at professional 
basketball. 
She 
played 
overseas 

in 
Germany 
for 
New 
Basket 

Oberhausen. Spending three seasons 
with the team, Nainima also coached 
a U17 team in the organization during 
her time overseas.

Shortly after Nainima’s stint 

overseas, Gaitley approached her 
about joining Fordham’s coaching 
staff. Nainima accepted and began 
her seven-year journey with the 
Rams, starting first as their video 
coordinator and later moving to 
assistant coach.

“And so I said, ‘Hey, listen, 

why don’t you come in as a video 
coordinator? And then we’ll continue 
to move you up’,” Gaitley said. “And 
that’s what we did. And she just 

continued to blossom every year. And 
she was a terrific assistant coach with 
a great future.”

At Fordham, Nainima was the 

guard-specific coach and helped the 
team to three NCAA Tournament 
appearances. 
Under 
Gaitley’s 

tutelage, she gained an appreciation 
for the details.

“She’s 
a 
defensive-minded 

coach,” Nainima said. “Obviously, 
I didn’t play a lot of defense, but it 
was great to see it from the other 
side and the amount of detail that’s 
put in the defensive side and being 
able to wrap it up with who I was 
naturally, as an offensive player, I 
learned so much.”

During Nainima’s time away 

from Fiji, she continued to compete 
for the Fijian National Team. To this 
day, Nainima remains an important 
member of the team. She’s been 
captain for the past 11 years.

“It’s one of the proudest moments 

of my life,” Nainima said. “I would 
say there’s nothing compared to 
wearing your national team jersey 
and name on your chest.”

Juggling playing and coaching 

can be a challenge. But Nainima has 
found a balance, and takes joy and 
pride in it. Playing for her national 
team is a great pride for Nainima, 
alongside coaching young women in 
the game she loves. Her continued 
experience playing for the team has 
helped her not only become a better 
athlete — but a better coach.

“Everything 
slows 
down,” 

Nianima said. “The more I coach, 
and the more I see things and the 
more I learn from other coaches 
around me, everything slows down. 
And then you can sort of cheat 
the system a bit. I know defensive 
formations, 
I 
know 
offensive 

formations. I know how not to work 
hard all the time, but smart.”

She’s also applied that mindset 

to a different role in the realm 
of basketball. She worked for 
Basketball 
Fiji, 
a 
grassroots 

organization intent on increasing 
the presence of basketball in Fiji. 
Nainima served as the development 
officer 
and 
high-performance 

manager. 

She launched the first Hoops 

for Health program in Fiji, which 
introduces basketball basics to 
young kids and highlights the 
importance of a healthy lifestyle. 
She also set up many tournaments 
for high schoolers and young players 
in Fiji that weren’t available to her 
when she played in high school.

Throughout it all, Nainima has 

understood the importance of 
grassroots basketball, especially 
considering her ties to it. Giving 
back to the community that has 
shaped her life’s trajectory is a great 
source of pride for Nainima. She 
hopes to continue to inspire kids 
like her from the South Pacific that 
basketball is possible for them.

“I love working with young 

people, Nainima said. “I love 
teaching basics. I mean, if I ever 

retired 
from 
coaching, 
that’s 

what I’d love to step into — more 
grassroots level basketball. It makes 
me so happy to give back to other 
Fijians as much as I can.”

Now at Michigan, Nainima has 

an opportunity to yet again build on 
her foundation. Wolverine players 
and coaches alike have expressed 
their love for her contagious energy, 
and her passion for basketball. 

“She’s just been phenomenal for 

us on her first couple of months 
on the job,” Michigan coach Kim 
Barnes Arico said. “She’s working 
with our point guards and just 
doing an outstanding job.”

Basketball has been Nainima’s 

entire life. From the start, she 
understood 
the 
special 
place 

basketball would hold not only in 
her career, but in her heart. 

“To me, I believe (basketball’s) 

a tool that’s used to impact a young 
person’s life or someone’s life,” 
Nainima said. “I think impacting a 
person’s life is huge. And basketball 
has been that tool for me. And I’ve 
been impacted by other people as well 
as, it’s not just not a one-way thing. 
And it’s made me a better person.

“It’s made me a better coach, a 

better player and I hope to give back 
to others the same way that basketball 
has for me.”

At this point in her career, 

Nainima’s foundation is sturdy. But 
if her winding basketball journey 
shows anything, the fire to build upon 
it remains burning inside her. 

ABBIE TELEGOF
Daily Sports Writer

TESS CROWLEY/Daily 

This year, the Michigan women’s basketball team’s mantra is all about being “the hardest working team in America.”

‘He doesn’t believe in off days’: DeVante’ Jones’s drive to succeed never ends

There’s 588 names listed in the 247 

Sports Composite rankings for top 
basketball recruits in 2017.

 DeVante’ Jones’s name is nowhere 

to be found.

 Jones, who hails from New 

Orleans, was a steady force in high 
school averaging 17 points, five 
rebounds, 6.5 assists and three steals 
his senior year at St. Augustine. The 
college offers, though, didn’t come. 

Louisiana is far from a fertile 

recruiting ground for basketball. 
Among that 2017 recruiting class, just 
two players from the state cracked 
the top 300 in the rankings and only 
seven are listed.

So, 
hoping 
to 
improve 
his 

recruiting opportunities, he moved 
to Massachusetts where he played a 
year at Notre Dame Prep. There, his 
scoring average jumped to 25 points 
per game, but while 588 other players 
found offers, Jones was mostly met 
with silence.

 His recruiting profile was 

completely blank. He didn’t have a star 
rating. He didn’t have a crystal ball 
prediction. There was no information 
about official visits or offers.

Now, Jones is coming to Michigan 

to take on a critical role with the 
team, as the Wolverines are lacking 
in guard depth. With the departure 
of starting point guard Mike Smith, 
it will be on Jones to fill in that gap 
offensively, and more importantly, 
guard the other team’s best ball 
handler — a role that Smith could 
rarely occupy. Jones, who boasts a 
6-foot-6 wingspan and whose three 
steals per game were third best in the 
country last year, believes he’s up to 
the task.

So five years later, how did Jones — 

a self-proclaimed “unathletic player” 
— go from a complete unknown 
to someone Michigan believes is a 
catalyst for a championship season?

It started with a willingness to 

outwork everyone in his way. 

***
There may not have been much 

information on Jones, but the guard 
will happily give you the scouting 
report himself, and he won’t hide the 
flaws:

 “Me being a kid (who was) very 

overlooked just because I’m 6-foot-

1, not very athletic, that’s why (my 
height is) a knock on my game,” 
Jones said. “A lot of people feel like 
I can’t do a lot of things that other 
guys with crazy athleticism, crazy 
height can do.”

 One person who did feel Jones 

could do all those things was Coastal 
Carolina coach Cliff Ellis, who had a 
front row seat to Jones’s development. 
When asked to speak about Jones, 
Ellis gushed about his former player.

 “He’s a guy that’s going to bring it 

every day,” Ellis told The Daily. “He 
really doesn’t have a weakness to his 
game. There are only three things you 
do with a basketball — dribble, pass 
and shoot — and he can do all three. 
He defends hard; he’s a tough kid; fun 
to coach; brings it every day.”

 But when pushed to expand on 

what makes him so fun to coach, Ellis 
doesn’t budge:

 “He brings it every day.”
 Maybe it really is that simple.
 Jones is an all-around player, 

and despite his shorter stature, his 
physicality and ability to disrupt 
passing lanes help him thrive among 
his taller peers.

 At Coastal, he redshirted his 

freshman year due to academic issues, 
but once he had a chance to play, he 
did not waste the opportunity. Jones 
went on to be a three-year starter 
with the Chanticleers — culminating 
in a Sun Belt Player of the Year award 
last season.

 His commitment to always 

putting in the extra work allowed him 
to reach new heights. 

 “The funny thing about DeVante’ 

is he doesn’t believe in off days,” 
former Coastal Carolina assistant 
coach Patrice Days said. “There were 
times when we had to tell him to get 
out of the gym. Whatever you asked 
him to do, he’s done it.”

 Jones is just wired to go the extra 

mile. Other players may be flashier 
or possess more raw skills, but when 
it comes to effort, those who have 

worked with him insist there’s no one 
quite like Jones. He lifted weights 
to become more of a hard-nosed 
defender and constantly worked on his 
jump shot to expand his range. It takes 
a certain mindset to turn yourself 
into a top college basketball player — 
especially without the expectations 
coming in — but Jones has it. 

As he transitions to Michigan, 

Jones is still attacking practice with 
the same ferocity he had when he 
was an under-recruited player out 
of high school. Much will be made 
about Jones’s fit as a smaller guard 
in a bruising Big Ten conference 
that features several elite big men. 
But size has never prevented Jones 
from being whatever type of player 
he wants to be.

 “I feel like my body size doesn’t 

really affect me,” Jones said. “I feel 
like I use my body very well. I’ve had 
comparisons to Fred Van Fleet, so I 
just try to implement his game using 
my floater, being crafty. But at the 

end of the day, I can’t always get to 
the rim or shoot layups so that’s why 
I’m working on my three ball. It’s just 
understanding the game so a lot of 
studying and watching a lot of film. 
It’s not really as hard as people think.”

 That workhorse mentality is 

second nature to Jones, and it comes 
through in his words. Adding a 
3-point shot. Making time for extra 
film sessions. He’ll shrug it off as part 
of the job. His teammates, though, 
have taken note of his relentless effort.

 “His mentality is that no matter 

how tall you are, how big, how strong, 
how fast, you’re not going to outwork 
him,” Coastal Carolina forward Isaac 
Hippolyte, who played with Jones 
the last three seasons, said. “This 
has been his mentality since I’ve met 
him and since I became a teammate 
with him at Coastal. He’s never going 
to take no for an answer. He’s never 
going to leave the court without 
coming out victorious.”

 Every year with the Chanticleers 

he was ready to take on whatever 
was thrown at him, even as the target 
on his back grew. Jones’s stat line 
improved each year, going from 13 
points, 3.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds as 
a sophomore to 17.4 points, 5.7 assists 
and 5.8 rebounds as a junior. Last 
season, Jones’s scoring average was 
again on the uptick at 19.3 but the rest 
of his numbers were more perplexing.

 Jones’s assists dropped to just 

2.7 per game, while his rebounding 
skyrocketed to an average of 7.2 — 
good enough for eighth-best in the 
entire Sun Belt Conference.

 Jones assessed the roster and 

figured out what he could do to best 
help the team. If Coastal needed more 
help rebounding, then he was going to 
go up and get some damn rebounds. 
That was the attitude instilled in him.

 “His sophomore year, he was 

second in the Sun Belt in assists, so he 
already proved that,” Days said. “So, 
I told him he had to prove to people 
that ‘you were a winner’ so he did 
whatever we needed him to do. His 
role changed, and he adapted to it.”

 At Big Ten Media Day, fifth-

year senior guard Eli Brooks and 
sophomore center Hunter Dickinson 
both expressed their confidence in 
Jones, saying he could win Big Ten 
Defensive Player of the Year. After 
just a few practices with the team, 
Brooks is already seeing the same 
traits in Jones that those at Coastal 
Carolina witnessed over four years.

 “When we play open gym and, 

even in practice, he’s everywhere,” 
Brooks said. “He brings it every single 
day so it’s just something that you can 
appreciate.”

The chip on Jones’s shoulder is 

more of a chunk at this point. 

He has never fit the mold of a top 

prospect, but he’s worked tirelessly to 
earn his spot in the college basketball 
ranks. In 2017, he wasn’t even a blip on 
the recruiting radar. In 2021, he was 
choosing between Michigan, Texas 
and other top schools for the next step 
in his collegiate career. 

This year, he wants to prove that he 

should’ve had the attention of those 
programs all along.

No recruiting profile can illustrate 

the player Jones turned out to be. 
He did it through hard work and 
never listening to the scouting report 
imparted on him.

 “He came in as a three star,” Ellis 

said. “He’s leaving as a five star.”

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily 

Michigan grad student guard DeVante’ Jones steps up to take on a critical role with the Wolverines, as the team lacks in guard depth after Mike Smith left big shoes to fill. 

JOSHUA TAUBMAN

Daily Sports Writer

