Nicky Anosike

"I knew it was right - it was the right timing for me to get back out there. This is our calling - this is what we want to do. We just need the community to support us."

"I grew up living in the New York City housing projects with my seven siblings and my mom. I grew up in poverty so sports was something that helped me to go to college and travel the world and become a pro - things that would have never happened for someone like me."

"My vision for the space behind me is really an indoor court. A place where we can have two courts going and train athletes and players can have a chance to become great right in their own backyard. I envision a place where I can train those athletes and I can be a part of their journey because I understand what it is to be a young girl and doesn’t have much, but has a heart to be successful and I want to help."

"You better believe if we get the community to back us up on this, the girls are going to be out here working too. Whatever we can do - whatever is legal, we don’t want anyone to get hurt - the girls are going to be out here working to make sure they’re a part of this so they appreciate what they have."

"These girls are going to go as far as we push them. So if we keep pushing them, if we have the resources to keep pushing them, then I think that we'll be shocked and amazed at where these girls can go in the next 10-15 years. And hopefully they come back and give back to the next generation of girls after them. But we just need the community to stand behind us, push us, give us resources, whatever we need to help us give these girls what they need to be successful. That's the most important thing."

"Just as I needed the mentorship of the women in my life to become the woman I am today, our girls also need us. It is our responsibility to encourage the next generation of women to be strong, smart and bold. We cannot wait for someone else to do it. As my coach used to say, if you don’t know whose job it is, it’s yours."

"Everywhere I turned when I grew up in a New York City housing project there was despair and there was struggle and there was just so much strife, but when I got to go to basketball, I just felt like I could breathe. I felt like I was safe...I became passionate about it. I want other young girls to find their passion, regardless of their circumstances at home."

"I think any time innocent blood is being shed, whether it is on the Palestinian side or on the Israeli side, it’s heartbreaking. I don’t pick a side. I don’t think that that is appropriate. I just want the killing of innocent lives to stop."

"Last year (2020) I gave my absolute all to the team. I had film sessions every day, I hired a strength and conditioning coach, and we had weights three times a week. We had practice two hours on days we didn’t have games. Before and after practice, I would stay with girls and work on their skills. We had skill sessions where groups would come on certain days. We had pre-game meals. There were so many things that I was able to do last year that I want to be able to do this season, but I can’t devote that amount of time to the team. I know that if I came back, the girls would know the difference between what I gave them last year and what I’m giving this year. I gave them 100 percent last year. This year, I wouldn’t be able to do that. They deserve a coach who’s going to give them 100 percent. If I came back knowing I was only giving 75 percent, 80 percent, I would be a hypocrite. Everything that I taught them last year was: ‘What’s the point of doing it if you’re not going to give your all?’ If I come back not giving my all, that makes me a hypocrite. It’s not who I am. I want to give them 100 percent, they deserve 100 percent, and they know what my 100 percent looks like."