If Janaa Pickard had her way, she'd be a finesse post. The 6-foot-1 fifth-year senior would venture into the high post, stroking 15-17 footers with her textbook backspin, and float around the arc, taking threes. If head coach Nyla Milleson had her way, Pickard would be mucking it up in the low post most of the time.
Both styles have occurred this season. Pickard, who missed her sophomore year with a torn ACL in her knee, is having the most productive season of her career, averaging career-highs of 13.8 ppg and 9.3 rpg while shooting 48.3% from the field, 28.6% from the arc and 73.1% from the line. She plus transfers Taylor Brown (18.2 ppg) and Sandra Ngoie (12.4 ppg) form the Big Three for the Patriots (6-12, 0-6 in A-10).
“We're still working a little bit on her consistency,” Milleson says of Pickard. “We'd like her to be a tad bit more aggressive down on the block. She'd prefer to step out and shoot. She's a good free throw shooter. I think we can get a little more production if she'd be a little more aggressive on the block. We've been really pleased that she's trying to be a leader for us.
“A fifth-year senior, she's producing for us. … I wish we could have her a couple more years. She's probably the perfect type of fit in our system where we want that strong body to go to the block but yet be versatile enough to hit the outside shot.”
Pickard, who has graduated with a degree in marketing and is currently working on an additional degree in accounting, has geared up for a big final year since the spring when Milleson was named Mason's coach.
“When our coaches got here in the spring, first of all that was motivating in itself, them being here and us getting to see what their vision was and buy into that,” says Pickard, who stayed on campus over the summer, taking courses and working out with conditioning coach John Delgado.
Assistant coach Tajama Abraham-Ngongba, herself an outstanding post player at George Washington, gives Pickard credit for making changes in her game later in her career: “I know it's not easy making changes, especially for a fifth-year senior. She's trying.”
Because of her inside-outside versatility, Pickard's nickname is “X Factor.” Make no mistake, playing inside forces Pickard to leave her comfort zone of the perimeter.
“It's always an adjustment, but I feel like my team needs me there,” says Pickard, who leads the team with 2.0 blocks per game, about going inside. “I'm not as consistent as I need to be -- I acknowledge that. I'm proud I have adjusted. One thing our coaching staff has taught me even when you think you're working hard, you're not. So I feel I've learned how to work hard.”
At 6-1, Pickard was an undersized post in the CAA, where she played in previous seasons. The size disadvantage has increased in the A10.
“The toughest part of trying to play inside is I feel small sometimes,” Pickard says. “I'm undersized compared to 6-4, 6-3 post players. That's always difficult. I've learned that in the post it's a game of feet. Whoever has the fastest footwork will probably win.”
Pickard learned how to improve her footwork, strength and conditioning the hard way after she tore her ACL in the opening exhibition game of her sophomore year and missed the remainder of the season.
“I was devastated,” Pickard says. “I actually learned from it. It taught me how to work hard. You never know how much you love playing until you can't do it anymore. You get so far back -- you can't run, you can't jump. I'm really sensitive to other people and their injuries now.
“You take for granted what you can do until you can't. You have to get back to that point and get even better. It makes you work.”
Pickard, who describes herself as a “bit of a perfectionist,” isn't content with her big jump in production, largely because the team isn't winning, which she thinks will change under Milleson.
“At this point, I'm nowhere near satisfied,” she says. “None of us are. We'd like to see our hard work convert into wins. We'll just keep working until it does. Overall I've learned what you put in is what you get out. It might not happen as fast as you want, but ultimately it happens.”
