One of the more unlikely stories on the local basketball scene came up with a happy ending Tuesday afternoon.
Butler senior Karen Nimo capped off her one and only season playing high school basketball with a college scholarship.
The 5-foot-10 Lady Bulldog inked her letter of intent to play basketball at Eastern Florida State College, a junior college in Cocoa, Florida.
Nimo chose ESF over more than dozen colleges including five NCAA Division I schools, including BYU, Morehead State, Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Albany State and South Carolina State.
But for anyone who may question her choice to temporarily spurn Division I overtures for the JUCO route, Nimo has a message.
“People automatically consider JUCO to be substandard whenever it comes to mind,” Nimo said. “Making a choice was difficult because of my 4.2 GPA. But I thought about a quote from Kobe Bryant that made me make my decision. He said, ‘We can all become masters in our craft, but that decision requires sacrifices.’ That decision to sacrifice was made.”
That means Nimo will sacrifice the immediate gratification of making a one-year jump from high school to D-1 ball so that she can fly under the radar a little bit longer in order to make the kind of improvements to her game that will help her accomplish her ultimate hoop dreams.
Nimo said there was no shortage of things to like at the school she considered. But ESF had intangibles that set itself apart.
“The environment is extremely competitive,” she said. “It’s filled with individuals who, like me, are far more serious about the game than average. For me, culture, surroundings and education are essential. Plus, the coaches made me feel warm, and they were welcoming. And they just seemed like good people, and good people are hard to come by these days.”
Nimo made the most out of her only year of high school ball while averaging 11.1 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 steals per game for a Butler squad that upset Thomson to capture the Region 4-AA title and came within a three-point loss to Murray County from playing in the Class AA Final Four.
She’s joining a solid program that finished this past season with a 27-5 mark overall and a 21-0 record in its conference. Nimo says it’s the perfect place to continue her education for now, both in the classroom and on the court.
“For me, this is just another opportunity to increase my stock as a player while sharpening my skills in preparation for the big leagues,” Nimo said. “Futuristically, I can see myself playing at the high-major D-1 level. Yes, I could’ve taken one of the D-1 offers I had. But realistically, they will always be there, along with all my other offers. And if a coach wants you, then they want you, no matter where you play.”
She’s set to leave for Florida “in mid-June,” and said she’s “eager to learn and extremely excited to get started” on her collegiate journey.
“I’ve already begun to study my new team’s offense, as well as the schools they play in their conference.”
Nimo’s also been taking advantage of the GHSA’s new Name, Image and Likeness opportunities afforded to student-athletes in a vote that past earlier in the school year.
Nimo says she’s gotten NIL offers from “numerous collectives and companies that have reached out.” And has, so far, collaborated with Crossover Culture, Moolah Kicks and Alyne Pre-Workout.
Between her rare path to college ball and her NIL opportunities, the soon-to-be Butler graduate is taking each opportunity afforded to her as a way to not only increase her own platform, but be an inspiration to others.
“It’s an absolute honor to be considered an influence to the people around me,” Nimo said. “I’m forever grateful for everything that’s happening to me.”
