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Demetris Nichols

Demetris Nichols
Personal information
Born (1984-09-04) September 4, 1984 (age 40)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Andrew's School
(Barrington, Rhode Island)
CollegeSyracuse (2003–2007)
NBA draft2007: 2nd round, 53rd overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career2007–2019
PositionSmall forward / power forward
Career history
2007Cleveland Cavaliers
2007–2008Chicago Bulls
2007–2008→Iowa Energy
2009New York Knicks
2009Iowa Energy
2009–2010BCM Gravelines
2010–2011JA Vichy
2011Cholet Basket
2012Metros de Santiago
2012–2013Sioux Falls Skyforce
2013Capitanes de Arecibo
2013–2014Krasnye Krylia
2014–2016CSKA Moscow
2016–2017Panathinaikos
2017–2018Cedevita Zagreb
2018–2019Sidigas Avellino
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Demetris Nichols (born September 4, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He can play at both the small forward and power forward positions. Nichols played college basketball with the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team, and has been a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

High school career

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Nichols was coached by Mike Hart at St. Andrew's High School, where he helped his club to a 28–8 record and won the New England Prep School Athletic Conference title, tallying 15 points and 13 rebounds in the championship game against Lawrence Academy. His senior year, he averaged 18.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game.

He was a three-time Street & Smith's Magazine Honorable Mention All-American, a 2003 third-team Parade All-American, the 2003 Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year, and the EA Sports Roundball Game All-American.[1] He was rated 50th overall and 14th among small forwards by ESPN.com. He was successfully recruited by Syracuse University.[2]

College career

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Nichols appeared in 26 games for the Orange during his freshman year, starting 15 of them. His best performance of the season was a seven-rebound and team-leading 17-point performance against Providence.[3] He also scored 10 points against BYU[4] and nine points against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament,[5] in which Syracuse advanced to the Sweet 16.[6] In his sophomore year, Nichols would start the first eight games of the season before he was forced out of the lineup with a back injury.[7] He would play in 27 games that season, averaging 3.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.[8]

Nichols posted the sixth-best scoring average improvement in Syracuse history, going from 3.9 points per game as a sophomore to 13.3 points per game in 2005–06 in his junior year. He ranked second on the team in scoring and third in rebounding (5.8 rebounds per game). Nichols scored a season-high 28 points against Connecticut[9] and averaged 13.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in the Big East Tournament.[8]

Nichols' senior season proved to be his best one at Syracuse, as he was a unanimous selection for the All-Big East First Team. He was also a NABC and USBWA All-District First Team selection after leading the Big East in scoring (18.9 points per game) and finished third in conference play (17.9 points per game). He also set a Syracuse record in Big East games with a career-high[8] 37 points, including seven three-pointers, to go along with 10 rebounds against St. John's.[10]

In March 2007, Nichols was elected to participate in the 19th Annual State Farm College Three-Point Championship. He finished second to Aaron Brooks.[8]

Nichols finished his Syracuse career tied for 28th in career scoring (1,344), third in three-point goals (205), fourth in three-point field goals attempted (573) and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (.358).[8]

Professional career

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Nichols was taken in the second round (53rd overall) by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2007 NBA draft, but immediately traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for the Knicks' 2008 second round draft choice.[11]

Nichols participated in the July 2007 Las Vegas Summer League with the Knicks and averaged 15.6 points on 53 percent shooting, including 23 points in the final game against the Denver Nuggets. He was second on the team in scoring as the Knicks went a perfect 5–0.[12]

Following the summer league, Nichols fired his agent after the Knicks were attempting to work out a deal to send Nichols to Europe for the 2007–08 season. Originally, the Knicks had wanted Nichols to play in Italy because they had 17 contracts and only 15 roster spots. When Nichols heard of the arrangement, he fired then-agent Bill Duffy in favor of Bill Neff and refused the Knicks' request. On October 1, Nichols was signed to the Knicks roster along with four other newcomers.[13] However, he was subsequently released by the Knicks on October 25, as the team needed to cut down its roster to 15 players.[14] Then on October 29, he was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers to fill the 15th spot on their opening day roster. Nichols sat on the bench for the first month of his time with the Cavaliers, but saw his first action on November 28, scoring 2 points in 8 minutes of playing time.[15] On December 5, 2007, Nichols was waived to clear roster space after the Cavs re-signed Anderson Varejão to end a contract dispute.[16] He was subsequently claimed by the Chicago Bulls and assigned to the Iowa Energy of the D-League.[17] After averaging 19.3 points per game in 14 appearances in the D-League, he was recalled to Chicago. He played his first game with the Bulls on January 23, 2008.[18]

He began the 2008–09 season with the Bulls, receiving marginal minutes in two early-season games. However, he was waived November 17.[19] He rejoined the Energy in January 2009, scoring 11 points in his first game back in Des Moines.[20]

On March 6, 2009, Nichols signed a 10-day contract with the New York Knicks.[21]

On December 1, 2009, Nichols signed with the French team BCM Gravelines.[22]

In the summer of 2010, Nichols played for the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA Summer League.[23]

In November 2010, he signed a contract with French club JA Vichy, until the end of the season.[24]

In August 2012, Nichols played for the Metros de Santiago, of the Dominican Republic.[25][26] Later that year, Nichols joined the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League.[27]

On February 4, 2013, Nichols was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[28]

In September 2013, he signed a contract with the Russian team Krasnye Krylia.[29]

On August 18, 2014, Nichols signed a two-week tryout contract with CSKA Moscow.[30] Nichols eventually extended his contract until the end of 2014–15 season. CSKA Moscow finished the season by winning the VTB United League, after eliminating Khimki with a 3–0 series sweep in the league's final playoff series.[31]

On July 24, 2015, he re-signed with CSKA for one more season.[32] He parted ways with the team on June 18, 2016.[33]

On September 2, 2016, Nichols signed with Greek club Panathinaikos for the 2016–17 season.[34]

On July 30, 2017, Nichols signed with Croatian club Cedevita Zagreb for the 2017–18 season.[35]

On August 5, 2018, Nichols signed a deal with the Italian club Sidigas Avellino for the 2018–19 LBA season.[36]

International career

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Nichols was a member of the 2002 USA Development Festival East Team that finished 3-2 and earned the silver medal. He averaged 14.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in five games.[37]

Nichols was invited to try out for the 2004 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men's Qualifying Team. He participated in the first round of July workouts, but did not make the team.[38]

The Basketball Tournament

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Demetris Nichols played for Boeheim's Army in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. In 4 games, he averaged 14.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1 assist per game all while shooting 63 percent from 3 point range. Boeheim's Army reached the Northeast Regional Championship before falling to the Golden Eagles.

Media/Broadcasting

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In 2019 Demetris Nichols started his broadcasting commentary journey with ACC Network Extra where he covered Syracuse Men's Basketball games via television, radio and the internet. Nichols was also the color analyst for the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League on MSG Network in 2020.

Podcast

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2020, Nichols also had a Podcast with the Field of 68 called, "Demetris with a Splash of Fanta" where he and John Fanta covered all of College Basketball (Division 1). They interviewed players and coaches.

Coaching

[edit]

2021, Nichols became a Grad Assignment

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Cleveland 3 0 4.7 .125 .000 .000 .3 .0 .0 .0 .7
Chicago 11 0 2.7 .333 .300 .000 .4 .1 .0 .3 1.2
2008–09 Chicago 2 0 2.5 .250 .000 .000 .0 .5 .0 .0 1.0
New York 2 0 4.5 .400 .000 .500 1.0 .5 .0 .5 2.5
Career 18 0 3.2 .281 .200 .500 .4 .1 .0 .2 1.2

EuroLeague

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† Denotes season in which Nichols won the EuroLeague
* Led the league
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2014–15 CSKA Moscow 27 1 12.3 .556 .575* .833 3.2 .3 .6 .4 4.6 4.5
2015–16† 23 3 12.1 .479 .366 .667 1.4 .7 .5 .5 4.0 3.7
2016–17 Panathinaikos 32 19 15.2 .453 .354 .875 2.3 .3 .3 .3 3.8 3.6
Career 82 23 13.4 .474 .426 .800 2.0 .4 .5 .4 4.1 3.9

Domestic leagues

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Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Iowa Energy D-League 14 37.4 .450 .333 .778 4.2 2.8 1.1 1.0 19.3
2008–09 18 39.2 .475 .417 .850 5.4 3.1 1.2 1.2 22.1
2009–10 BCM Gravelines LNB Pro A 27 16.6 .415 .357 .774 2.1 .6 .4 .3 6.7
2010–11 JA Vichy 21 34.6 .498 .342 .833 5.4 2.2 1.5 .9 18.2
2011–12 Cholet Basket 8 25.9 .500 .500 .889 3.5 1.5 1.0 1.0 14.9
2012 Metros de Santiago Dominican LNB 8 27.8 .580 .267 .733 3.8 1.1 1.6 .9 11.6
2012–13 Sioux Falls Skyforce D-League 49 36.0 .510 .362 .852 5.4 2.3 1.4 .8 18.7
2013 Capitanes de Arecibo BSN 15 30.9 .567 .344 .822 3.9 2.6 1.1 .9 14.2
2013–14 Krasnye Krylya Samara Region VTB United League 22 30.5 .525 .421 .824 3.7 1.4 1.2 1.1 14.0
2014–15 CSKA Moscow 33 14.1 .433 .483 .735 2.2 .5 .5 .4 5.1

References

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  1. ^ "Demetris Nichols Profile". SUAthletics.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  2. ^ Recruiting priorities are changing
  3. ^ Friars' first win at SU in seven tries
  4. ^ Brigham Young vs. Syracuse - Play by Play - March 18, 2004
  5. ^ Syracuse vs. Maryland - Box score - March 20, 2004
  6. ^ Warrick's 26 carries 'Cuse to Sweet 16
  7. ^ Syracuse has never lost to Albany - "Demetris Nichols gave the Orange a big boost with 10 points after missing three games with a sore back"
  8. ^ a b c d e "Demetris Nichols Prospect Profile". NBA.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  9. ^ Huskies put up road block, halt Orange's 12-game win streak
  10. ^ St. John's 64, Syracuse 60 - Box score - January 21, 2007
  11. ^ Waters, Mike (June 30, 2007). "Knicks deal for Nichols". Syracuse.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  12. ^ D’Agostino, Dennis (July 15, 2007). "Running the Table, Vegas Style". NBA.com. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  13. ^ Beck, Howard (October 1, 2007). "Knicks Add Rookie Guard". New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2007.
  14. ^ "Knicks waive guards Jordan, Nichols, Russell". ESPN. October 25, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  15. ^ NBA - Cleveland Cavaliers/Detroit Pistons Box Score Wednesday November 28, 2007 - Yahoo! Sports
  16. ^ Varejao can opt out of new Cavs deal after second season Updated December 5, 2007
  17. ^ "Bulls Assign Nichols to D-League". RealGM. December 18, 2007. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
  18. ^ Bulls vs. Pacers, Boxscore Archived 2008-01-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on January 23, 2008.
  19. ^ "Bulls waive Demetris Nichols". Bulls.com. November 17, 2008. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  20. ^ "Energy: Banged-up Jeffers leads Iowa to 4th straight win". Des Moines Register. January 30, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  21. ^ KNICKS SIGN DEMETRIS NICHOLS
  22. ^ "Gravelines land Demetris Nichols". Eurobasket.com. December 1, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  23. ^ "NBA Summer League Rosters - Vegas". Ridiculousupside.com. June 28, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  24. ^ Demetris Nichols à la JAV ! Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
  25. ^ Viewmemories.com
  26. ^ "Adris del León y Víctor Liz conducen Metros a derrotar Indios". Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  27. ^ Skyforce Announces 2012-13 Training Camp Invitees Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ 2013 NBA Development League All-Star Game Rosters Announced Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ "Former Syracuse player Demetris Nichols signs with pro team in Russia". Sportando.net. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  30. ^ "CSKA Moscow signs big man Nichols". euroleague.net. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  31. ^ "CSKA wins championship!". vtb-league.com. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  32. ^ "CSKA Moscow, forward Nichols remain together". Euroleague.net. July 24, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  33. ^ "Thank you, D!". cskabasket.com. No. 18 June 2016. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  34. ^ "Panathinaikos inks champ Nichols". Euroleague.net. September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  35. ^ "Big signing for Cedevita – Demetris Nichols joins the Orange crew". aba-liga.com. July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  36. ^ "Scandone Avellino signs Demetris Nichols". Sportando.basketball. August 5, 2018. Archived from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  37. ^ Faber, Brandon (June 25, 2002). "Final Rosters Set for 2002 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on July 5, 2004. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
  38. ^ "Nichols Invited to USA Basketball Tryout". SUAthletics.com. June 10, 2004. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2007.
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