Girls Basketball: Libertyville’s Kruckman brings a selfless approach to the court
By bill mclean Contributor January 30, 2012 11:06PM
Libertyville's Nicole Kruckman (No. 45) goes up against Stevenson's Julia Dabrowski during earlier action this winter. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media
Updated: April 2, 2012 1:55AM
Some call her “Krucky.”
Others prefer “Kruckles” or “Kruck” or “Kritter.”
Said Libertyville High School senior Nicole Kruckman, who plays three sports and answers to all those nicknames: “I have too many nicknames.”
There’s one more: “Spot.”
Yes, “Spot.”
Her father, Jeff Kruckman, came up with that one.
“I think Nicole was 3 years old when my son first called her that,” said Irene Kruckman, a huge Nicole Kruckman fan in the fall (volleyball), winter (basketball) and spring (softball). “She was under a table at home at the time, hiding and making noises. Her father yelled out ‘Spot,’ like she was a pet puppy.
“The nickname stuck,” she added.
What Wildcats girls basketball Kathie Swanson calls Nicole Kruckman, a 6-foot center on an 18-6 team: indispensable.
“She focuses on what she needs to do for the team,” Swanson said. “When she plays defense, she plays as if she has the responsibility to guard five players. Help defense — Nicole takes a lot of pride in that, and her teammates trust her a lot, appreciate what she means to our team.
“Nicole,” she added, “doesn’t care about recognition, about box scores. And that, to me, makes her a rare teen.”
Kruckman averages nearly five points and seven rebounds per game.
Modest to modest-plus stats.
But she came up big in a 39-36 overtime defeat of Stevenson on Jan. 21, scoring eight points and coming down with 10 boards — eight at the offensive end.
“She’s tough, physical, works incredibly hard in games,” Swanson said. “Nicole also practices the same way she plays.”
She played middle blocker for the school’s volleyball team, thwarting kill attempts and thereby shifting momentum to her team’s side.
Look for Kruckman to play either third base or first base on the softball team in the spring. Count on her glove to kill would-be down-the-line doubles and triples.
“I’ve always liked playing defense in my sports, especially in basketball,” she admitted. “Help-side defense … That’s something that’s been ingrained in me, by my father, since I was little. You make stops on defense, and then the one you’re guarding gets annoyed. The more she gets annoyed, the more likely she’ll lose her cool.”
Jeff Kruckman (LHS, 1981), creative nickname giver, stands 6-7. He played for former Wildcats hoops coach Max Sanders and suited up for D-III ball at Marietta (Ohio) College.
Nicole’s mom, Susan, is a nurse, a career Nicole plans to pursue at either Illinois Wesleyan or North Park.
Nicole Kruckman hopes to play basketball only in college.
But Grandma Kruckman thinks that hope will expand.
In no time.
“Oh, she’ll change her mind and play volleyball as well, as soon as she watches her first volleyball match in college,” insisted Irene Kruckman, who lives right around the corner from LHS and likes to “shovel down M & M’s and trail mix” while watching her granddaughter battle in sports.
“It’s in her blood … competition,” she added. “She’s got that drive, and she puts her heart and soul into everything she does.”
That assessment, in a nutshell: spot-on.
Update: Libertyville beat Mundelein 49-21 on Friday night, two days after routing host Carmel Catholic 56-28. Wildcats senior Alex Haley netted a game-high 23 points in the Carmel game and scored 16 against the Mustangs.
Classmate Kerry Risley, a 5-11 forward/center, tallied 14 points Friday night.
Against Carmel, Libertyville senior guard Eileen Knauff had eight points, seven rebounds and four steals. Junior teammate Olivia Mayer finished with 10 points, and Kruckman struck for six points and came down with four boards.
The Wildcats (18-6, 8-3 through Friday) sat one game behind NSC Lake leader Stevenson.
On the schedule: Libertyville visits Grant at 7 p.m. Friday.
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