It took Olivia Olson a minute to adjust to the college game. Actually, it took 40 — but it probably felt like a blur for Olson, the freshman guard whose collegiate basketball debut came against the defending national champions then-No. 1 South Carolina. Under the bright lights of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, surrounded by screaming swarms of garnet and black, the pressure was as high as it could’ve been. So Olson’s performance in the close loss — 2-for-12 from the field in 36 minutes — was understandable.
But since then, she hasn’t looked back.
“(Olson) has been unbelievable,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said Saturday after Olson’s 14 second-half points were a silver lining in the Wolverines’ blowout loss to then-No. 21 Michigan State. “I thought after the South Carolina game, she has completely settled in and grown throughout the season. Her decision making, her ability to score, her ability to affect the game. … She’s just an elite, elite, elite player, and her confidence has grown. … She is just a superstar, and she’s been unbelievable for us.”
Touted as a three-level scorer coming out of high school, Olson was a key piece of Michigan’s top-10 recruiting class. In practices leading up to the season, both her maturity and her intense effort stood out to the rest of her team. It didn’t take long for her ability to score to become clear, either.
Four days after that defeat to the Gamecocks, Olson had 17 points against Lehigh. Then she scored 23 against Central Michigan the following game. Since then, Olson has scored double digits in 15-of-17 contests, en route to becoming the Wolverines’ leading scorer at 15.9 points per game.
As one of the Big Ten’s more physical guards, Olson has no trouble in the conference, driving to the rim and converting at a high rate. Olson’s bag isn’t the deepest, but she can be lethal if she gets to her spots — and she almost always does. Olson frequently draws her defender to just past the free throw line, before stopping on a dime and pulling up for a midrange jumper, which seems guaranteed to drop through the hoop before it even leaves her hands.
“She does so many other things than scoring too,” freshman guard Syla Swords said Nov. 20. “She’s gonna drop 20 on any given night, but she’s willing to do the rebounding, she’s willing to give assists to me, like, I don’t know how I end up with the ball in my hand sometimes when (Olson’s) driving, but she always finds a way to make the right play. And I think that’s a testament to who she is as a player, and the way she’s bought into Michigan basketball, just willing to do whatever she can to help our team win.”
Olson’s going to score — but it’s not just her unwavering offensive production that has been crucial for the Wolverines through some tumultuous matchups. On defense, Olson does whatever it takes — from diving on the floor for loose balls to chasing down the other team’s fastest player for a clutch block — to keep Michigan going.
“(Olson) has just played such a huge part on our team,” junior guard Brooke Quarles Daniels said Jan. 11. “Her ability to be a good defender, a good rebounder and being able to score, she’s a three level scorer and that helps us out, (if) we’re struggling offensively. (Olson) gives us a spark, and she keeps us in the game.”
Olson’s not going to light it up from beyond the arc like Swords is. She’s not going to bring the ball up the court, and she’s not going to be the primary facilitator for the Wolverines’ offense. What she can do — and what she has done in nearly every game this season — is get buckets and defend at a high level.
And if she can keep up that consistency, Michigan can continue to lean on her as the season draws on.
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