When you talk about athletes who make everybody around them better, look better and play harder, you talk about people like Peyton Manning in the NFL, or Kobe Bryant in the NBA.

But when you shrink the scale level of the leagues you’re looking at, you find the Ohio Valley Conference, for example. Enter Eastern sophomore guard Ta’Kenya Nixon.

I had to write this column because it was on the budget. But when I started writing, I wanted to write something about Ta’Kenya, a great person and a great player.

She had a double-double Saturday. That’s not something you just brush off your shoulder like Jay-Z. It’s not dirt.

For as long as I can remember, Eastern head coach Brady Sallee has said Nixon is one of those special players that can make everyone around her look good – including the coach.

So even though Sallee is already wearing a suit every game, Nixon goes out on the hardwood and makes him look better.

Time and time again, Nixon has done just enough to push the Panthers over the hump for a win.

She’s been doing that since she got on the campus last fall.

In her first game last year, against Ohio State, Sallee said that Nixon looked liked she should be playing with the Big Ten kids at Ohio State.

From then on, she’s been a star.

This season, Nixon is averaging 15 points per game, six rebounds and five and a half assists.

She’s nearly leading the team in all of those categories. To be exact, Nixon averages 6.2 rebounds per game. Junior forward Chantelle Pressley averages 6.3 rebounds per game.

Is that close enough to call?

Nixon is a safety blanket when the team needs her. You can always count on her. Nobody will tell you differently.

I was set back earlier this season when I sat down with Sallee and he told me that one of the areas Nixon improved was between her ears. What he meant by this was that she knows the offense better now than she did during her freshman season.

He said that last season, at times, Nixon was doing things on her own, conceivably “winging it.” This year, she has more knowledge, so she’s not winging it.

However, when she dishes a sweet behind-the-back pass to sophomore guard Kelsey Wyss for an easy lay-up, some might call that “winging it.”

Others, that’s just being creative.

So when you talk about athletes like Nixon, Manning and Bryant, you’re talking about players that make everyone look good.

While Eastern is 8-7 right now, you can rest easy because with Nixon, Sallee and Co. the Panthers are going to have a shot to win every night.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7944 or admcnamee@eiu.edu