VERMILLION, S.D.–Six years after moving to Vermillion to become a Coyote, South Dakota alumna Nicole Seekamp will return home to her native Australia to play for the Adelaide Lightning of the Australian Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in 2017-18.
Seekamp, the 2015-16 Summit League Player of the Year, graduated in 2016 ranked second in program history for career points (2,056), assists (628) and steals (265). During Seekamp's tenure, the Coyotes advanced to the program's first NCAA Tournament, won the 2016 Women's National Invitational Tournament and qualified for four consecutive postseason berths.
Seekamp's professional rookie season was spent in Poland with AZS PWSZ Gorzow Wielkopolski. The team finished off the 2016-17 regular season in fourth place with a 15-7 record. Seekamp handled the point for AZS, averaging 11.3 points, five assists and 1.5 steals per game.
"It was definitely an adjustment," Seekamp said of her first professional season in Poland. "After playing under Amy [Williams] with that same group of players at USD for so long, you feel like a family. It gets easy to play with them because you know exactly where they are going to be and their tendencies. Communicating with the coach and teammates in Poland was difficult because of the language barrier and I struggled a bit in that aspect."
One of Seekamp's favorite things about playing in Europe was having the ability to travel to different countries. A two-hour train ride took her from Gorzow Wielkopolski to Berlin, Germany, where she visited a few times and explored. During an off-week in November, Seekamp visited the U.K. with stops in London, England, and Dublin, Ireland. She also spent the Christmas holiday in Paris, France.
Signing with the Adelaide Lightning will not only place Seekamp just three hours west of her hometown, Renmark, but provide her with a familiar face in the coaches' box.
Adelaide Lightning head coach Chris Lucas also works with the Australian National Team and the Australian developmental program. Seekamp played under Lucas in 2013 at the Four Nations Tournament in China as a member of the Jayco Emerging Australian Opals team.
"We had a good relationship in the past," Seekamp said of Lucas. "That's how we came into contact and we continued having conversations. When I went home after this past season ended, I met up with him and it all went forward from there."
"I'm really excited to have Nicole as a part of our team this season," Lucas said in a press release announcing Seekamp's signing. "She's an athlete with a great work ethic who is always looking to improve her game. She will bring versatility to the player group, both offensively and defensively. Her personality is exactly what we are looking for in terms of our team culture and chemistry that we are building."
After six years of living and playing more than 9,000 miles away from home in either South Dakota or Poland, Seekamp relishes the opportunity to be closer to home.
"I'm excited and looking forward to it," Seekamp said. "I will get to see my family a lot more and they will be able to come see me play more often, which is nice.
"With Chris' help, I know I can get better as a player and keep developing. It's an exciting time to be at the club with the new team and we want to win a championship."
Five-time WNBL Champions, the Adelaide Lightning's last title came back in 2008. The Lightning also finished first in the regular season standings during the 2011-12 season. Lucas, who previously coached the Lightning from 2004-07, was brought back ahead of the 2016-17 season.
Another advantage of Seekamp returning home to Australia is having the ability to watch Coyote basketball games during daylight hours. Adelaide is 14 hours and 30 minutes ahead of South Dakota, meaning a 7 p.m. start is 9:30 a.m. for Seekamp.
"It was tough to watch games last year because a 7 p.m. tip off in South Dakota was 2 a.m. in Poland," said Seekamp. "I read the recaps and box score the next day. I thought the Coyotes had a great year after losing four starters and with a coaching change. A lot of the younger girls played outside of themselves and played really well. It was promising to see and hopefully they can go into next year and do even better."
