Nicole Kubik made more steals than any other Division I player in 1999.

After all, she was named the 1999 National Defensive Player of the Year by the Women's Basketball News Service after making 136 steals -- the most by any Division I player -- last season.

But defense, says Kubik, starts with desire.

When asked about the best way to teach young girls how to play good, solid defense, Kubik said, "The first thing is that you've got to get them to want to play defense.

"Starting off, kids are concerned about playing offense because it's fun," Kubik said during a recent chat with ESPN.com. "But 90 percent of defense is hard work and guts. You can make up for a lot of fundamental mistakes if you work hard."

On Tuesday, Kubik also talked about the Big 12 race, the conference's best players and her dreams to play in the WNBA. If you missed Kubik's chat, check out the edited transcript below. And make sure to check back next Tuesday as Louisiana Tech's Betty Lennox stops by our next Women's Hoops Spotlight chat guest.

Nicole Kubik: Hello. I'm really happy to be doing this right now. It's really exciting and hopefully I'll be able to answer your questions.

Craig: Nicole, Great season. I notice that your scoring is down slightly from last year but your assists totals have increased. Has your role changed from last year to any extent?

Nicole Kubik: Actually my role has changed a little bit throughout the season. I started out as a point guard and midway through the season, Melody gained eligibility and that shifted me to the two-guard. I think my scoring has picked up a bit in our conference player, in just adjusting to the new role. But as far as it being down, we have a lot more people that are able to score this year than last year.

HuskerPower: Do you think that the addition of Melody Peterson is the reason that the team has rebounded from those early season losses to Drake, BYU and Wisconsin among others?

Nicole Kubik: First of all, Melody can play great on-the-ball defense. So personally, that's taken the pressure off me in having to guard the other team's point guard all the time. And for the team, she has great penetrating abilities, which has allowed me to get away from the ball and get lost a little bit, to where teams aren't completely focused on me.

Her presence has helped us rebound, but mainly, we're playing better team defense. And she's part of the reason why our defense is better.

new coach: what's a good way to try and teach young girls how to play good, solid defense?

Nicole Kubik: The first thing is you got to get them to want to play defense. Starting off, kids are concerned about playing offense because it's fun. And 90 percent of defense is hard work and guts. You can make up for a lot of fundamental mistakes if you work hard.

ACER: Who would you like to play WNBA ball with if you got the chance? Are there any teams looking at you?

Nicole Kubik: I think first of all, the coaches have been contacted by some WNBA teams, and yes, I would like to play. Right now, however, my main focus is to finish out a good senior year. And if the WNBA happens for me, I'll be very happy.

If it doesn't, I haven't ruled out playing overseas for a year, and then maybe returning to play here. Also, I eventually want to get into coaching.

GoshenTop: How was the transition to Coach Sanderford's style of coaching? He is known as an "uptempo" style of coach, did it take time getting comfortable in his system.

Nicole Kubik: Actually it didn't take long. My sophomore year was his first year here. And we only had 12 days of practice before we played in the Preseason WNIT. And we ended up finishing second to UConn, knocking off Alabama and his old team, Western Kentucky. As far as jumping right into things, I think we adjusted pretty well.

THE KUBIK FILE

Kubik, a 5-foot-10 guard from Cambridge, Neb., notched one of the best seasons in school history in 1999, ranking second in the nation with a 4.1 assists per game average. Kubik's 136 steals were the most by any Division I player in the nation, and also was a single-season school record. She also started 33 games, averaged 5.6 assists and 19.8 points and shot 41.2 percent from the field en route to leading Nebraska to an 11th seed in the NCAA Tournament. By the end of the season, Kubik also had picked up the National Defensive Player of the Year award from the Women's Basketball News Service, which also selected her as a second-team All-American. Women's Basketball Journal named her a first-team Defensive All-American, and The Associated Press tabbed Nebraska's career steals leader (310 entering this season) as an honorable mention All-American.

Robert Rouch: Where do you think Nebraska will end up in the Big 12 this year, especially with Kansas and Iowa St. having such great years?

Nicole Kubik: Right now I think the Big 12 is up for grabs. Right now Oklahoma is the surprise of the league. We have a tough game tomorrow against Iowa State, and we'll know more after that. But I'm looking to finish in the top four of our league. I think it's important to try to get a bye for the first round of the Big 12 tournament.

Ryan Ferrin: Hi Nicole, Great season so far! My question is, what do you feel it will take for you Lady 'Skers to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament?

Nicole Kubik: Right now we're not looking ahead to anything. Our first thing is to make the NCAA Tournament, and that's not a lock. But as far as going deep into the tournament, anything can happen. Any team can be beaten at any given time, and the main key for any tournament victory is how well people play defense and how well people rebound. You can't really expect teams to shoot high percentages. You have to rebound to make up for that.

Little Red Wagon: Nicole, How much did the loss of Stephanie Jones for the year hurt the frontcourt and the team, and what do you think of the newly remodeled Devaney Center and HuskerVision? Which helps motivate the team more: the screens or atmosphere created by the pep band and the fans? What PARTICULAR aspect do you enjoy most in the Devaney Center? Good luck during the rest of the season.

Nicole Kubik: Losing Steph was a big loss (ACL) for us. She had just made her way into the starting lineup, and looked very promising. And having the extra body in there really helped, and she was a scoring machine. So scoring-wise, that was a big loss. Right now, for her sake, our goal is to get to 31 games and get the season back for her (so she'll get her freshman season back).

HuskerVision is great, but it's more for the fans. We don't really get pumped up by the screens because we're not watching them. But it's a way for the fans to really get into the game more. I think most teams would agree that above all, it's the fans who get us the most fired up during games.

#1 Huskers fan: What do you find the difference between high school and college ball?

Nicole Kubik: The main difference that I've found is the intensity level. Every day you have to come to practice prepared to play your hardest -- or you're going to look bad. In high school you were lucky to play with one or two teammates that were really good. But in college, everybody is good. Everybody has deserved that scholarship.

Doug: Nicole: How much did the pre-season "hype" affect the teams performance in the early part of the season? Did you feel any extra pressure personally with the pre-season attention you received? Finally ... Cambridge is not as dominant as when you and your sister played,does that bother you?

Nicole Kubik: I think any time you have preseason expectations there is going to be a little bit of added pressure. And we as a team welcome the pressure, but didn't play up to our ability. And it took a little while to get back that fire that we played with last year, as well as that work ethic that it takes to beat teams that are possibly more athletic than we are.

As for Cambridge, I'm the type of person who wants to see everybody from my hometown do well and succeed. It's not that they're giving up, it's just that they don't have quite the athletes we had when I was back in high school. They're not bad, though. They're not dominating, but by no means are they a bad team.

HuskerPower: What happened? You went from road loser to road demons. Knocking off KSU and KU and almost talking out UCSB, what has changed from last year?

Nicole Kubik: We welcomed the road this year. Last year so many people told us we couldn't win on the road, and we started believe it. This year, we decided to forget what everybody said, and we've made it a goal to match their intensity at home. And once you match that initial intensity and weather the storm a bit, it's almost like you're playing on a neutral court.

Blends: Nicole, Congrats on a great season! Do you consider yourself to be the best women's player in the country? If not, who do you think is the best player?

Nicole Kubik: To start, I think the Big 12 conference has a lot of great players ... Lynn Pride of Kansas has great athletic ability. And someone who's sneaking up on people a bit is Texas' Edwina Brown, who I believe could be the best in the nation as far as doing it all. She rebounds. She can dish. She scores when she needs to and can play defense well. She's a great all-around player. And then Stacy Frese is one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation. So as far as the Big 12 goes, it can match up with any conference.

Husker1: what was your biggest influence growing up?

Nicole Kubik: I'd say my family. I come from a big family; three brothers and three sisters (I'm the second youngest). And just watching them play sports in high school and junior high, I picked it up from there and even today, my family makes it to quite a bit of our games and is always willing to lend a helping hand to help me get better.

HUSKERFAN: WHAT DO LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR COACHING STAFF?

Nicole Kubik: The thing that I like the most is that they're honest people. They're not going to lie to you. They'll tell you if you play bad, but they'll also let you know if you played well. And when they came here my sophomore year, they made me the player that I am today. Without them, I'm not sure I'm doing this chat right now, and I don't think our team would be as good as we are right now.

Joe: Nicole, Do you think that in-state recruiting has helped the Lady Huskers as opposed to out of state recruiting?

Nicole Kubik: I think the talent level in the state of Nebraska is increasing. Right now we have a junior in high school that is probably the top recruit. Everybody wants her. And I think it's important playing for your home state. There's an added incentive when you step on the court and hear everybody cheering for you because they've watched you grow up all through high school. There's such a feeling playing for your home state and home crowd.

jibberish: I have been given the chance to play at the collegiate level. My question is, do you think that all the time, and all the extra hours, day in and day out are worth it? What have you sacrificed to play?

Nicole Kubik: It's totally worth it. If you truly love to play basketball, you would not change it for the world.There are going to be days when you feel like you don't want to go to practice and days when you feel like, "What am I doing there?" But when it all comes down to it, when your career is almost over, you cherish everyone of those days ... the days you get yelled at, the days you play well. Everything about it you wouldn't change for the world.

As for sacrifices, between school and basketball, you don't have a lot of time for a social life. So I might have sacrificed a bit there.

But when I think about the sacrifice, I say I have the rest of my life to socialize, and when I'm 50 years old I won't ever play basketball like I do now.

That's all the time we have for now.

I want to thank everybody for writing in and asking their great questions. Hopefully I answered them well. Go Big Red.