FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 15, 2020) – For her final collegiate season, JJ Nakai is coming home. Northern Arizona women's basketball head coach
Loree Payne announced the addition of Nakai, a Flagstaff native and former prep star at Coconino High School, on Wednesday following a season at Nevada. Nakai will have one season of eligibility remaining entering the 2020-21 campaign.
"We're obviously really excited to bring JJ home," Payne said. "We've been recruiting her the past couple of years – first out of Pima (Community College) – and she made the decision to elsewhere, but we're excited that she wants to come home. She is a flat-out scoring point guard and she can play an up-tempo offensive style. That'll fit in perfectly with what we want to do here. For her to finish out her career in her hometown in front of her family and friends; it'll be special for her and our program."
Nakai transfers into the Lumberjack women's basketball program after spending the 2019-20 season at Nevada where she played in 21 games and made one start versus Utah State. The 5-7 guard averaged 14.3 minutes per game and averaged 3.8 points per game during her lone season with the Wolf Pack.
Nakai scored a season-best 12 points against San Jose State and tied a season-high with three triples – a number she hit on three occasions. She posted four games with at least nine points and six games with multiple treys, while totaling 79 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals across 21 games.
She arrived at Nevada after a record-breaking two-year career at Pima Community College. She set school records with 1,397 points and 442 assists and became the first Pima women's basketball player to be named the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) Player of the Year outright. She ranked third nationally in scoring and assists with 24.1 points and 6.7 assists per game in her sophomore year in Tucson.
At Pima, Nakai garnered NJCAA Division II All-American honors and led her team to 47 wins in two years. She recorded 11 30-point games and shot 41.5 percent behind the arc while drilling 151 three-pointers.
Nakai, a three-sport prep athlete in basketball, cross country and softball at Coconino High School, helped her team win consecutive conference basketball championships in 2016 and 2017. She was stellar in her senior season, averaging 20.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 3.4 steals per game on her way to first team All-State recognition.
Nakai was a three-time All-Region First Team pick and two-time Arizona Daily Sun Player of the Year. In her final high school season, she was also named to the 4A All-Conference First Team and earned both Grand Canyon Region Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors.
