Boston College Athletics
Q & A with Nicole Boudreau
November 04, 2014 | Women's Basketball
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -
Nicole Boudreau is a junior guard and captain of the Women's Basketball team. The Massachusetts native has been a starter since her freshman year. She has been named to the All-ACC Academic team for two consecutive seasons. Last season (2013-2014) she led the team in assists and was second in scoring. She also has started in every game since arriving on BC's campus and is enrolled in the Carroll School of Management. Here is a chance to learn a little more about Nicole Boudreau.
Now that this is your third season, do you see a change in the culture of the team over the past 3 years?
I think absolutely, that's kind of one of the things we have been trying to change. Not that the culture of the first two years was horrible, but I don't think it was productive in us winning basketball games so, the new culture we are trying to develop is more about being one, being a team, and playing for each other. It's not about being you but being a team. So, sacrifice and do whatever you can for the team is really the kind of culture we are trying to push now and I think we are doing a good job with it.
Going off of that, what would you say are the team's goals in order to work towards that culture or just in general for this season?
To be honest I think, at least for myself and I know a lot of people have said it; one of our biggest goals is just making the NCAA tournament. And in order to do that we have to win a lot of games so, it's not easy, especially in the ACC. So, in order to win games in the ACC you have to be together. We're not the biggest or strongest team, that's just not the way we are, but we play together, we play smart and if we do that then I think we can be successful. That just shows our culture change is really important, and we have to keep it going and not stray off the path in order to win games and make the tournament and prove some people wrong this year.
And how about personal goals for yourself, any certain numbers you're going for or anything like that?
Not really, I don't really care about that stuff to be honest with you; I really just want to win. I think I am a very competitive person, I'm sure anyone will tell you that, and I just want to win and whatever is best for our team. I am willing to do so if it's scoring x-amount of points or if it's getting rebounds or cheering my team on from the bench, whatever it is, I'm willing to do, because I just really want to win that badly.
There are 6 new people on the roster this year, how has it been, going through the process of getting them all on board with the culture of the team and acclimated to everything?
Being a freshman is tough, I feel like it was just yesterday I was a freshman so I kind of understand where they are. But culture wise, I think they are awesome. They have no problem fitting in, they get along really well which is actually pretty surprising because usually it takes a little bit for freshman to kind of get their footing but, they've gotten along with us really well and they are great people. So, culture wise it's been perfect for them. Obviously basketball wise it's a lot of learning. It's a big jump from high school to college ... just with the fundamentals and different stuff they never had to do in high school because they were all the best on their teams, but those are the things you need to do in college to be successful. There are definitely some growing pains and learning pains but, every week, every day, they are getting better. We're not there yet, but they have made tremendous growth since they have gotten here so I am excited for what they can do.
What has it been like to be a captain this year, has anything changed for you as far as the team dynamic goes?
Not really, I think luckily for me the team trusts me, so it's not like anyone is feeling like "oh my gosh, she's the captain I can't talk to her," definitely nothing like that. And also, what's good for us is that there are a lot of leaders. Just because I have the title of a captain doesn't mean that other people can't step up and lead and people have. We've got some seniors and some juniors, even some freshman are stepping up so, it hasn't really changed anything. I still have my input on things and other people put their input on things and we have that dynamic where you shouldn't really get upset if someone is trying to help you out, because everything is for the best interest of the team. So no, we have a lot of leaders on our team, I'm not the only one.
At this point, which one of your teammates would you say has made a huge improvement in her game from last year, and what is that difference?
That's a good question; I would say right off the top of my head Kelly Hughes. Last year she was a tremendous freshman for us. She stepped up in big games and was a scorer because she could shoot threes. But I think her game has evolved. She's a lot more confident on the floor, she's a lot more diverse in her offensive game, really good cutter, obviously still a really good shooter, stuff like that so I think her offensive game has gotten much more comfortable and she has gotten more confident in herself. And defensively, for a lot of high school-ers coming into college defense is one of the toughest transitions and she struggled a little bit last year, but I think she is coming into her own and she's been able to stop some people. I think her confidence is really helping her to become a better player, and playing with her is really fun so I am excited to see what she's going to accomplish this year.
What would you say has been your favorite memory so far being on the basketball team and involved in everything?
That's a tough one, we spend 24/7 with these girls so we have so many memories, but probably basketball wise, one of the best memories was actually my freshman year. We beat Rutgers here, Kerri Shields had a lay-up at pretty much the end of the game to win it and that was an awesome experience. Rutgers is a great program so it was a really good win for us and it was a really cool and memorable moment.
What would you say are your favorite and least favorite things about being a student-athlete at BC, it's probably pretty challenging sometimes?
Yeah that's one of my least favorite parts is just how much time you have to put into it. It's just a lot of work and you don't really have much time for yourself. It's worth it in the end but there are some times when it's just a grind and all you want to do is sleep. But for best parts of it, I feel extremely lucky to be in the situation that I am in. I am going to school at Boston College, a great school and I'm playing the sport I love so what could be better than that. We have an awesome Director of Basketball Operations Chris Brann and he gives us basically everything we could ever need. Our road trips are really fun, he takes us to cool places, we eat great food, and we get a lot of cool gear from Kelly Kenny and a lot of different stuff. We just have more opportunities than I could even imagine and I am extremely lucky. It gets hard but I'm definitely trying to make the most of it.
What kind of stuff do you do to prepare for your games and get excited and pumped up?
I'm not the most superstitious person, but before every game I always have to go in the hot tub and I have to listen to music and take a nap, stuff like that. For me it's important to get ready for the game and try not to be too nervous because if I am it's going to be a disaster, so I don't want to psych myself out. Some people listen to like pump up music but I listen more to country to kind of calm me down. I've just always been that way, I'm not sure why. I do stuff to calm me down and get my rehab in for my back, and little normal stuff that will keep me calm, but I'm not too superstitious in what I do.
Do you have a favorite pregame meal?
I always love when we have noon games, so we have breakfast for a pregame meal. We have like omelets and pancakes and that's my favorite. My go to is an omelet with ham and spinach and mushrooms and then just one pancake and water to keep me hydrated, it's very delicious.
What is your favorite place to hang out on campus and why?
My room. I love to just lie in bed and relax. But besides my room, an actually BC related place would probably be Hillside. I love the food there, it's a cool little place to hang out, and its right by Conte so we're not too far and we can just relax and have good food.
What is your major, and what do you hope to be doing in 5 years?
I am majoring in marketing and management and leadership so I have a double major. To be honest I have no idea what I want to do with my life which is pretty scary. I want to play basketball for as long as I can, so I want to play professionally as long as my back holds up and as long as my game holds up. I would like to play for as long as I can and then I'm not sure. Maybe something with basketball or something with sports, I've always been a big lover of sports so if I could somehow get involved with ESPN or something with sports, that would be cool but right now that's about as far as I've gotten.
By Megan Healy
