playing her rookie WNBL season with the Sydney Flames <\/a>after a stellar college career at Stanford and TCU \u2013 well-known for her ruthless attack on the boards. <\/p>\nI can only imagine what the backyard battles were like when they were growing up. One thing is for sure, there wouldn\u2019t have been a single backwards step taken by either of the sisters. <\/p>\n
While she\u2019s often not the tallest player on the court, Antoniette explains her rebounding thought process and how Agnes has influenced her game. <\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/692cceb21824a7f2b3c2de3f_GettyImages-2182852753.jpg\")
Antoniette Emma-Nnopu #7 of the Weber State Wildcats works the ball in agaisnt Maye Toure #21 of the Utah Utes during the second half of their game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on November 7, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo: Chris Gardner\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cJust getting in there and using your strength over height, I feel like is a really good tactic to use,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAgnes went to the AIS, while I had a different pathway, and I feel like looking up to her has really helped my game and so that’s why [our style] kind of looks quite similar. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe really inspires me.\u201d <\/p>\n
Being by Agnes\u2019 side as she went through the college recruitment process also made Antoniette realise that going to college was what she wanted too. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was there for Agnes\u2019 visits, I was witnessing all of that and just taking it in, and I just felt like it was something that I wanted to do,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, it\u2019s so different in Australia, you just go straight to it professionally and I still wanted to do school and basketball at the same time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just thought college would be perfect, because you get to hone in on being an athlete and also being a student at the same time.\u201d <\/p>\n
That decision has certainly served Antoniette well, as has the decision to transfer to Weber State. She mentions coach Jenteal Jackson\u2019s openness being a major factor in her decision to join the Wildcats, knowing she had to expand her game before turning pro. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had two great years at UNCG, but their coaching style was more old school; post players weren\u2019t allowed to leave the paint area, they weren’t allowed to dribble or shoot,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to expand my game, knowing that after college I was going to go back home and continue playing NBL1 and hopefully play WNBL, so I knew I had to improve my outside game.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the main focus as to why I entered the portal last season and then just Jenteal Jackson’s transparency, she told me straight up, \u2018I saw you at your old school and you were good, but that’s not going to determine whether you’re playing, you\u2019ve got to show up every day. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t make empty promises, she\u2019s always been transparent, and she cares for you as a person, more than just being a player.\u201d <\/p>\n
That connection and belief between player and coach has helped Emma-Nnopu blossom into one of the most productive and versatile forwards in the Big Sky Conference, and while her goal to make it to the WNBL one day is very real, she remains focused on finishing off her college career in style. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt would really mean a lot [to play in the WNBL],\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust being able to take it to that next level would really be a highlight and if I get to play with my sister that would even be amazing. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting back home and playing professionally, but right now I\u2019m focused on finishing this season off very strongly.\u201d <\/p>\n
Whether she\u2019s dishing out dimes, going to work in the paint or controlling the boards, Antoniette Emma-Nnopu is going to leave it all out there.<\/p>\n
About the Author<\/p>\n
Hayley Wildes is passionate about all things Australian women\u2019s basketball and loves to highlight the stories of players from all levels and competitions across the globe. From our own backyard in the WNBL, to the WNBA and the Opals, and everything in between, Hayley has you covered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Already a powerhouse inside, Antoniette Emma-Nnopu is showcasing some different skills in 2025-26 Antoniette Emma-Nnopu does all the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-319481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}