By Rani Hodges for NBL1.com.au
The Newcastle Falcons’ import Nicole Munger is happy to be back playing in the NBL1 East.
After her NBL1 debut last season, where she scored a league-record 53 points, Munger was picked up by the WNBL’s UC Capitals for the 21/22 WNBL season.
Munger is a Michigan Alumni and was the team captain for the University of Michigan in 2022.
Munger is a long way from her home state of Pennsylvania, but she has found a new home in Newcastle.
“I really just wanted to come back to Newy, when I finished the NBL1 East season last year I was planning to go back to Spain instead of this WNBL circuit,” Munger said on the East Got Game podcast.
“I didn’t end up doing that, there were a couple of issues with that Spanish team, and it just didn’t feel right.
“I decided to stick it out over here and they gave me a home, they gave me a job, my visa was still good so I was blessed to be able to stay for a bit longer.
“When it came time to make my decision, I think it was pretty easy for me, I wanted to come back.”
Munger said she experiences chills before every game playing for Newcastle, with their rich history of championship success dating back to the late ‘80s and the more recent Waratah League success displayed on the home court each week.
“When I get to play there it is really special cause of the atmosphere that we have. It’s an old school feel, you know the history that’s been played there and the legends that have come through,” Munger said.
“To get to play there, I look up and I get the chills before every game because there's so many people that have come before me and come before us and played some great basketball there.”
With less than a calendar year in the country, Munger has become an ambassador for the NBL1 and its East conference.
She believes the potential for it is through the roof and with her own experience taking her from Newcastle to the WNBL, it’s easy to see why she has invested back into the community this season.
“[It has] such potential (NBL1).. It’s our second year, it’s still a baby. All the other conferences have had a couple more years to develop, to take imports in, to get the timing of it all," she said.
"The sky’s the limit, I think it’s just a matter of time. You even see it this year with some of the contracts offered in this league are matching the other conferences, which is really, exciting.
"You have teams who are looking to bring in high-powered imports, grow their associations from their youth level up, it’s really, really exciting what’s going on."
Munger commented that Penrith Panthers star Tahlia Tupaea’s 45-point explosion gave her a scare as each week someone gets closer and closer to taking her league record.
“It’s bound to be broken,” she said.
“It’s really cool as every week I look the double-doubles are just getting bigger. It’s been really, really exciting, stats are being filled… It’s super exciting for the league."
Feature image via: Shane Myers
