| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1981-04-30)April 30, 1981 (age 43) Long Island,New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Longwood (Brookhaven, New York) Christ The King (Queens, New York) Sachem (Long Island, New York) |
| College | UCLA (1999–2000) |
| WNBA draft | 2003: 3rd round, 39th overall pick |
| Drafted by | New York Liberty |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 20 |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Nicole Anne Kaczmarski (born April 30, 1981) is an American former professionalbasketball player. A standout player inhigh school, she received aGatorade Player of the Year award, was namedMiss New York Basketball and earned a spot in the 1999USA Today All-USA high school basketball team. Heavily recruited by colleges, Kaczmarski eventually enrolled atUCLA and played one season for theirwomen's basketball team.Kaczmarski then enrolled at theState University of New York at Stony Brook. Afterward, she had brief stints with twoWomen's National Basketball Association teams, theNew York Liberty and theLos Angeles Sparks. In 2011, she became acolor commentator for basketball telecasts.[1]Kaczmarski's high school career and college recruitment were chronicled in thedocumentary filmRunning Down a Dream.[citation needed]
ALong Island native, Kaczmarski first gained national recognition atLongwood High School, where she was named women's high school basketball Freshman of the Year byESPN RISE.[2] She led the team at Longwood to a 10-2 record and a three-way tie for the league title before falling in the quarterfinals of the Class A Playoffs againstWalt Whitman High School.[3] Kaczmarski, also known by her nickname "Kaz" subsequently had a brief stint playing forChrist The King Regional High School alongside futureUniversity of Connecticut and Women's National Basketball Association starSue Bird. She played most of her high school basketball atSachem High School, where she set a Long Island women's high school basketball record with 2,583 career points.[4] Kaz played her first varsity basketball game at Sachem as an eighth grader.[5] She led Sachem to the state title as an eighth-grader.[6] She Helped lead Sachem to state title over Lockport in March 1995.[7] During her high school career, she was named both Gatorade Player of the Year and Miss New York Basketball and was a selection to the 1999 USA Today All-USA high school basketball team.[8][9] In the Suffolk final in 1999 as a senior, she had 45 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and six steals in a win over previously undefeated Bellport.[10]Highly recruited, she decided to attendUCLA.[4][11] One of the last games she played as a high school player was theWomen's Basketball Coaches Association All-America game.[12] Kaczmarski's high school career and entrance into college basketball were documented in the 1999 filmRunning Down a Dream.[13]
At UCLA, Kaczmarski started atpoint guard early in the 1999-2000 season due to an injury to regular starter Erica Gomez. Eventually, she was shifted to theshooting guard position.[14] Kaczmarski faced some early season struggles, but improved later in the season, ending with an average of 11.7 points per game and having set a school record by hitting seventhree pointers during a game atWashington State University. Kaczmarski was also namedPac-10 Player of the Week during the final week of the regular season and was a selection to the conference all-freshman team.[14]
Kaczmarski did not return to UCLA for her sophomore year as she had been suffering fromLyme disease, as well asplantar fasciitis due to an injury she suffered at trials for theUSA BasketballWorld University Games team.[15][16] Kaczmarski returned to school at the State University of New York at Stonybrook, but never returned to college basketball.[17]
In 2003, Kaczmarski was drafted in the 3rd round of the2003 WNBA draft as the final pick of her hometownWomen's National Basketball Association team, theNew York Liberty.[18] She was unaware that she had been drafted until a friend called to congratulate her.[19] Kaczmarski did not make the Liberty's regular season roster but started playing professionally in Austria and Greece.[20][21] She then had a brief stint with theLos Angeles Sparks in 2005.[22]
Kaczmarski pursued a career in healthcare and graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in health science.[23][24] In 2011, she returned to basketball as an analyst for theCablevision channel MSG Varsity[25] and for theSt. John's Red Storm.[1] The following year, Kaczmarski became the first female athlete to have her jersey retired by Sachem High School and only the fifth ever.[26][27] As of October 2020, she ranks third for most career points scored in Long Island women's high school basketball.[28]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |1999-00 | UCLA | 29 | - | - | 40.7 | 35.6 | 84.1 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.0 | - | 11.7 |
| Career | 29 | - | - | 40.7 | 35.6 | 84.1 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.0 | - | 11.7 | |
| Statistics retrieved fromSports-Reference.[34] | |||||||||||||