Nunu Agara ready to step up in her sophomore season for Stanford basketball

A promising freshman campaign has her Agara poised to take on a big role this year

Feb 10, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; The Stanford Cardinal logo at center court before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

When the college basketball season starts, the quest for the national championship commences with some teams looking to continue their trends as perennial contenders and seal the deal, while others hope to be that Cinderella team that turns heads. For Stanford, this season will begin a new era, which means making a name for themselves in a new conference after years and years in the Pac-12. And to do that, it will have to rely on up-and-comers such as NuNu Agara, who will surely be core pieces to the new-look Cardinal.

As a freshman last season, Agara got some valuable experience, playing in all 36 games while averaging 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in about 14 minutes per game. Now coming in with newfound confidence, Agara believes that experience she got last year will help be a very key piece this season.

“You can never replace experience,” Agara said. “I think having that freshman year under my belt, I know a lot of things better than I did last year. I’m stepping into more of a leadership role as well so being able to talk to my freshmen, talk to my upperclassmen and making sure everyone is on the same page.” 

Playing for a program like Stanford can create pressure, but Agara makes sure to think about what she does and be grateful for it all, remembering that at the end of the day, she is playing a game.

“I don’t think there’s really much pressure to be honest,” Agara said. “People are working three jobs and I’m playing college basketball here at this amazing facility at this amazing institution. So, I don’t really see pressure as that big of a thing. I could see it as having fun and playing basketball.”

After serving as a bench player last season, the departures of players like Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen opens the door for players like Agara to really step up. Knowing that there would be an opportunity for her, she has stayed locked in all offseason long.

“I knew that once Tara retired, once Cam left, once Hannah Jump left, once Kiki left, I knew that there were going to be tremendous opportunities for me, especially with those two posts gone,” Agara said. “I have to actually ask them about what they did to prepare last year to have such a great season, and just be more intentional with what I’m doing in terms of working out, eating habits, sleeping habits, just like dialing it in a little bit more with everything.”

A versatile player, Agara is capable of being anywhere on the floor, and adjusts her play based both on the tempo of the game and who she is playing against, feeling that the offense that is implemented at Stanford sets her up for immense success.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Agara said. “I go with the mismatches and where people are guarding me, so they put me in great positions. Our offense is really catered to my kill spot, so being able to get to those consistently and I feel like if I get to those, I can pretty much score.”

Even though she is only a sophomore, Agara has already noticed the difference in this season compared to last season, especially when it comes to how her teammates view her. Determined to learn as much as she could last year, she is now someone who players are starting to learn from.

“It definitely has changed,” Agara said. “Last year, I was a freshman so I was a baby and just soaking up everything. Honestly, I didn’t really care if I played or not. Just learning from Cam, Kiki and Hannah, the seniors, people that have played and just soaking all that up has definitely changed. And now, the freshmen are asking me questions. Being able to relay what I’ve learned and teaching them has definitely been the biggest change.”

Having gotten a year to fully adjust to the college athlete lifestyle, Agara has now started to really lock in. In addition to being where she is now on the basketball court, her class schedules have intensified, alluding to how the standards set at Stanford create a strong drive to be great in all areas of life.

“Right now, it’s just taking it up a notch with everything,” Agara said. “In terms of even school, I’m taking grown up classes now. Now, I’m in harder classes and presenting papers. But, I would say that in terms of basketball, it’s just another level. You’re surrounded by greatness and excellence all around you so you have to step it up.”

With everyone on the team this year needing to be ready to step up, Agara has noticed that Paye’s scheme is much more fast paced, as with the lack of someone super tall like Brink, much more speed and athleticism will need to be displayed.

“I feel really good about it,” Agara said. “It’s less slow and more catered to our personnel. We’re a lot faster. Obviously, we don’t have 6 '5 ", 6' 4”, 6’3” in there so being able to run, I think that will be our advantage.”

Agara showed immense promise in her personal game last year, but she was also a part of a team that finished 30-6 and made a run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen in Tara VanDerveer’s final season as the coach. While Agara wants to build off of her performances and take another step forward as a player, she is also more determined than ever to show the college basketball world that Stanford is still a winning program.

“Just have a breakout year,” Agara said of her goals. “That’s number one. And just winning. Obviously, we want to win. Stanford is Stanford and we want to keep that excellence. With Tara gone, everyone is expecting us to do nothing and proving ourselves right, not proving them wrong, but proving ourselves right and knowing we can get the job done as well.”

A new slate of opponents will provide Agara and her team plenty of new experiences when it comes to who they play and where they will travel to, with Agara specifically looking forward to taking on last year’s ACC champions, Notre Dame, not only because of the rich history but in being able to play against some of her old friends.

“I’m looking forward to Notre Dame, for sure,” Agara said. “Their guards are amazing, their posts are amazing. One of their posts, Liza Karlen, was my AAU teammate in Minnesota so playing against her for the first time in a couple of years, I can’t wait.”

Tipoff on the new season is nearing and while expectations on The Farm may not be as high as they usually are in this transition season, Agara will look to shine and attempt to have Stanford make some serious noise in their new conference.