Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

The Ottawa Gee-Gees have been one of the top teams in the OUA for a long period of time. Over the past five years they’ve had a guard start almost every game for them by the name of Natsuki Szczokin. Now in her final year, she is having one of the best statistical seasons of her career, and her development has made her one of if not the best point guard in the OUA. Let’s talk about her and what all she does.

Natsuki is the engine for the Gee-Gees this season as they’ve pushed to a stunning 17-2 record. Playing the second most minutes of her career at roughly 30 per game, she is putting up numbers game after game and on the court a lot of what the Gee-Gees do starts with her.

Starting on the defensive end, to me we’ve really seen her instincts shine. WIth her quickness, she excels at getting into passing lanes and swiping at balls to create turnovers and transition opportunities. Over the past three seasons, we’ve seen the growth of her impact defensively. Her quick burst and athleticism gives her the ability to keep with any guard in the OUA, and with her awareness of not only tendencies but opportunities she can capitalize on, she is one of the best at creating possessions for her team and really taking away whoever she is defending from the scoring options for the other team.

Natsuki will run with you when she’s on defence, and on offence she has evolved her game to a point where she’s a focal point for defences, and that still doesn’t always work. Natsuki has scored in double-digits in every game this season for the Gee-Gees, and the way she’s done it has changed each game, showcasing her versatility.

Over the past two years she’s taken a significant number of more threes, and that aspect of her game especially playing off the pick and roll, has been to me what has set her over the top this year. Adding to her ability to find passing lanes after attacking the paint, she’s taken the pop out more often, taken more threes off screens and has really become a guard who can do it all, a defensive nightmare for another team.

Initiating the offence she can get herself a three which she’s taking more of, and with defenders focused on her shot more, her quickness allows her to blow by defenders and get to the paint where she can finish through contact or find her passing lanes she’s been known to create, putting defenders in a bind of defending the three while not getting too close allowing a drive.

She recorded triple-digit assists last season and she’s well on her way to that this season coming down the stretch, and playing in an offence that really creates scoring opportunities and has really capable scorers at all five positions, she’s taken her slice of the pie from more areas, and she’s become an all-around threat.