KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Danielle Adams was biting at the bit so hard Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair had to pull on the reins.
"Easy, easy" he said under his breath as Adams talked about her confidence after a 22-point effort that helped the Aggies hand No. 3 Nebraska its first loss of the season.
"I don't think anybody can [stop me]," the powerfully built 6-foot-1 Adams said. "I'm pretty aggressive inside and pretty strong, and my teammates depend on me."
After what he had just seen against Nebraska, Blair wasn't disagreeing with Adams. He just prefers to stay under the radar, and Adams was getting into that blackboard material range.
"I want her to be confident but not cocky," Blair said. "I think it was the way the question was worded to her. I don't necessarily want [Baylor's] Brittney Griner to have that posted or [Connecticut's] Tina Charles and other great post players in the league and country. So try to milk that comment of hers down."
Blair was right about the question, which was worded in a manner that made it easy for the junior college transfer who has given the Aggies more options on the offensive end a chance to swing away.
She's right about one thing: Nebraska couldn't stop her. She hit 10 of 15 shots and put back two of her own misses. She also played a huge part in getting Big 12 player of the year Kelsey Griffin in foul trouble with the her box outs. And she made some hustle plays that stopped Nebraska's attempts at making second-half runs.
Nebraska's Kala Kuhlmann tried to go strong to the basket, and Adams stepped in the way and blocked the shot. The ball fell to the ground behind Kuhlmann, and while sprawling to the floor, Adams slapped the ball to Sydney Colson, who turned and found a wide open Tyra White for an uncontested layup. As the ball went through the net, Adams picked herself up, smiled at no one in particular and pumped her fist.
Adams had scored 10 of the Aggies' previous 12 points, but that play stuck with her more than the scoring.
"That was probably the first hustle play that I ever made, so I was pretty excited about it," Adams said. "I just anticipated [Kuhlmann] driving, and I tried not to get the foul. I was proud I got that whole transition started."
It was the kind of individual play coaches remember, and it showed another facet of what Adams brings to the Aggies. She has given Blair what he's never had at A&M before, a post player teams have to gameplan around.
Adams has soft hands, much like former Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris. She can shoot the 3, which she loves doing early in games (to Blair's dismay sometimes). She can bull her way to the rim after catching the ball down low, where she has the ability to feather in a fadeway jumper if an opponent manages to stop her. And Blair says she's the best passer from the post he's ever coached.
This weekend she's had the chance to play in front of family and hometown friends. With all of that support, maybe Blair shouldn't have cut Adams off while she was describing her game.
Offensively, when she's in sync, she is difficult to stop.
Richard Croome's e-mail is richard.croome@theeagle.com.