Neal: Anthonett Nabwe prepared for her version of ‘March Madness’

Anthonett Nabwe, at the end of track practice last week, shot hoops at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse. She drove to the basket and double-pumped while making reverse layups. Then she hit some short jump shots.

Nabwe, who fell in love with the sport as a 12-year old, laughed, smiled and put her hands on her head in disbelief when her playing partner, Isaiah Schafer, made an improbable 30-footer.

While Nabwe shot hoops, her throws coach, Peter Miller, was asked for a status report before the Snowshoe Open, scheduled for the following day.

“In the shot [put], we’re just missing a piece somewhere, but she usually competes pretty well no matter what,” he said. “But in the weight, she’s going to have a special day.”

A day later in the same facility, Nabwe — you can call her Annie — did something no women’s college track athlete has done this season. Her weight throw of 23.56 meters (77 feet, 3¾ inches) during the Snowshoe Open was the longest toss in the nation this season. The redshirt sophomore has been named Big Ten field athlete of the week four times this indoor season.

Wait. You’re wondering what Nabwe’s track exploits have to do with basketball?

Not much. Yet at the same time, a lot.

Nabwe grew up in Monrovia, Liberia, where she played some soccer but gravitated toward basketball. The soccer-crazed country, she said, cares and invests in little other than that sport. She yearned to go further in basketball but realized that meant she needed somewhere with access to more coaches and facilities. So her family decided to move.

“This is where there’s better opportunities here than in Liberia for women’s sports, and education, and jobs, too,” Nabwe said. “So that was like the main reason. And I have family here.”

Her family settled in Jamestown, N.D., before her freshman year of high school. She, as expected, went out for basketball at Jamestown High School. With enrollment around 700, coaches always are on the lookout for bodies.

Art teacher Michael Dietz, also the track coach, immediately heard stories about Nabwe.

“They were like, ‘Mr. Dietz, you’ve gotta go see her. She can go up and touch the rim,’” Dietz said during a phone conversation. “I’m like, what?

“I watched her. She took one step and grabbed the rim.”

Nabwe is 5 feet, 8 inches tall. “Five-nine in shoes,” she added.

Ever try to dunk? “I’ve tried but my hands are too small,” she said with a chuckle.

Teammates talked her into trying track. She liked the 100-meter dash. The 200, not so much. Too long. High jump was challenging for her to take off on one leg, Dietz had her try the throwing events, and things clicked.

“I don’t think I’ve coached an athlete as explosive as she is,” Dietz said.

Nabwe was a two-time state champion in the shot put and discus at Jamestown. She also finished in the top three in the 100-meter dash her final two years. A thrower running sprints? That gives you an idea of the athlete she is. She also lettered in basketball and volleyball.

Nabwe picked Minnesota over Nebraska, Baylor and UCLA.

After a redshirt season, Nabwe set the NCAA freshman record in the weight throw and won the Big Ten indoor title. As her technique catches up to her phenomenal athleticism, Nabwe has become one of the better throwers in the country. In outdoor, she already is the Gophers' career leader in shot put and is in the top four in discus and hammer throw. Indoors, she’s second in program history in shot put and third in hammer throw.

Nabwe now heads to the Big Ten indoor championships, which begin on Friday in Indianapolis. The NCAA indoor championships are scheduled for March 14-15 in Virginia Beach, Va. — and she expects to be there.

This is Nabwe’s version of “March Madness.”

She still likes to shoot hoops, and the staff makes sure a basket is lowered from the rafters of the fieldhouse for her and others to use once they are done with track practice.

Nabwe dreams of being an NCAA champion and competing in the Olympics in the throwing competitions, something she didn’t imagine when she moved to North Dakota from Liberia.

But that’s how her love of basketball led her to track and field.