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20 CAVALIER CORNER me this year. I'm able to see everything and know where people are going to be. "I just kind of go with the flow. Kind of trust what I work on." Toussaint has adapted well to taking on the point role and the Hoos are playing well because of her unselfish attitude, but scoring is still her first love. Asked to describe her game, Toussaint quickly offered the word "entertaining." "I'm from New York! I'm a gamer," she said with a sly grin. "I feel like I've worked to get to where I am and I just kind of know I could beat anybody that is in front of me. "I'm not playing flashy or anything, but I kind of just want to entertain the crowd and get the win. It's something I've always done. I want people to have a good time." "I think she has the ability to be a dynamic player," Graham added. "Whether it's her passing ability, leadership, scoring ability and being a contributor on defense. She's definitely growing into a dynamic player." Boyle concurred. "She's got a lot of pizzazz to her game," the seventh-year head coach noted. "She's got a lot of flair to her game. She's quick. She's fast. She scores. She plays defense. She gets steals. "She's kind of out in front, but I think her athleticism separates her. She plays fast. Anytime you play fast, you're athletic and you're skilled, good things can happen. "I think she enjoys the game, enjoys the spotlight, enjoys playing in front of a group of people." Considering that Toussaint was Virginia's leading scorer in its 68-53 loss at No. 7 Mis- sissippi State in the season opener Nov. 10 and in UVA's 60-59 home loss to No. 15 Maryland Nov. 29, she does to seem to have a knack for stepping up in big games. But with a maturity beyond her youth, Toussaint recognizes that being a great athlete with incredible skills is not enough in the ACC. "It is a lot more than that," she insisted. "Becoming who I want to be takes practice and hard work. It did start with talent, but at this level of college basketball, everybody is talented. "If you want to get a leg up, you have to practice and work hard." To find players that will develop beyond their raw skill set and athleticism, Graham explains that it is critical in the recruiting process to find athletes that understand that talent is not enough. "I think you try to identify in the recruit- ing process the players who are going to be coachable and I think Nicky is extremely coachable," Graham said. "I think the coach- ability piece is huge as far as the player's de- velopment and the player wanting to develop and listen to what the coaches have to say." The attitude to do the hard work, the weight room work and applying the coach- ing she receives in practice and in games is paying dividends for Toussaint and the Cavaliers. "Nicky was an ACC All-Freshman, but she puts time in at the gym," Boyle said. "I think she's a very confident player so we use her in multiple ways. "One area of growth this year is she has become more of a consistent scorer for us. Her field goal percentage is better, but I don't think people realize that on the defen- sive end of the floor, a lot of times we have her guard the opponent's best player. "That speaks volumes about her being able to play both ends of the floor." Through 22 contests, Toussaint was third on the team in steals (24) and fourth in de- fensive rebounds (64). She has led Virginia in scoring in four games and dished out five or more assists nine times, including five times in nine ACC contests. In fact, she has already surpassed her assist total (74) accu- mulated in 31 games last year. Despite the obvious statistical improve- ment from her rookie season and what ap- pears to be a smooth transition from scorer to combo guard, Toussaint reiterates that she is still developing and her game is still evolving for a team looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. "I'm not where I want to be, of course, but looking back at the last couple games I feel like there's growth," she said. "I'm not too worried about how I performed in those previous games only because I did what I could, but of course, I want to be better. "I've focused a lot on passing the ball and I haven't been scoring as much as I can and that's going to be important coming up in bigger games. I need to work more on creat- ing my own shot. I'm a streaky scorer, but with that there needs to be consistency. "I think I'm getting to where I want to go slowly but surely. It's a process and I just have to trust it." Through 22 games, Toussaint had already set her career high in assists with 82. As a rookie, she dished out 74 in 31 outings. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA