Central Bucks West's Nicole Munger Closing A Special Career
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Nicole Munger laughs about it now. The Central Bucks West senior guard was once a tiny ball of energy up in everyone's face defensively, with knee burns diving for loose balls and ripping by defenders each time she had the ball.
Munger was always unusually talented. But there was something else that was a little unique about her then that has paid huge dividends: "Yep, I was the little girl with the big feet," Munger says, laughing. "My freshman year, I was 5-foot-2. But everyone knew I was going to grow, because I had size 11 shoes. My father is 6-4. My mother is 5-11. I was this little girl with these big feet—and I'm still growing."
Munger, now 5-foot-10, has grown physically, and grown in stature. Bound for Michigan on a basketball scholarship, Munger does it all. She involves her teammates, rebounds, shoots, defends and there isn't a loose ball within a mile of her that she won't dive to get.
She's evolved into one of the best female basketball players in the state and is the best player in Central Bucks West history. She's led the Bucks to their greatest season this year, at 32-1, which includes the Bucks' first PIAA District 1 Class AAAA championship.
A four-year starter, Munger is a major reason why the Bucks have reached the PIAA state championship for the first time in school history, taking on defending state champ Cumberland Valley (31-1) at Hershey Park's Giant Center on Friday at 6 p.m.
Yep, "the little girl with the big feet" has been something special. With elite players like Munger, they grow and then develop a skill set once they feel comfortable with their height. With her, it was the opposite. Her adept ball-handling and skill set emerged early and then she grew. And grew, and grew—eight inches since her freshman year.
"I never want to say being small was a disadvantage, but I never had the upper hand growing up and it made me work that much harder and developed my work ethic," Munger said. "I always thought of myself as the underdog. I got teased a little growing up and I embraced it. I learned to laugh about it. I have an attitude that I like to prove people wrong and that's where it came from.
"I remember going to practices with my dad when I was younger and something wouldn't go my way. He always told me to keep my head up, that I was going to grow. He told me it's not about my size; it's how big my heart is that matters. That's always stuck in my head. You can say I think small, because I had to fight for everything that I got."
Munger has been the mainstay for the Bucks in a span when they have won more games than they have in any previous four-year period. This 32-win season is a school record for victories in a season. The Bucks never reached the state basketball finals—boys or girls—in school history until now.
"Nicole was always highly skilled, and she was this tiny girl who could really play—plus Nicole was absolutely tenacious," Bucks' coach Terry Rakowsky said. "Nicole is so passionate about basketball she is one of the few players that I ever coached who I would pay to see practice. She's all-go, all of the time.
"We had a practice the other day, and we were scrimmaging, and Nicole was knocking people out of the way like it was the state championship. Nicole brings an attitude that's been contagious throughout the program. Nicole is the best that's ever come through here. I'm going to really miss her—I'm going to miss this group. How could you not? They're amazing."
The championship game will end a special time. Win or lose, the Bucks have already established themselves as the greatest team in the history of the school. Win or lose, Munger will go down as the new standard of Central Bucks West players that follow her. Win or lose, Munger will also miss her teammates, especially seniors Mackenzie Carroll, Corrinne Godshall and Peyton Traina.
They're more like sisters to Munger than teammates.
"This is a dream we all had since we were freshmen and our focus is going to be on the game, but it is going to be tough playing the last time with Mackenzie, Corrinne and Peyton," Munger said. "Me and Corrinne sat down and did the math. We've played every single game together since eighth grade. Our whole team is so tight-knit; we're all best friends. It will be bittersweet and we have one more game to enjoy playing with each other. We're hoping to end it the right way."
