Dequarius Nicholas was the very first student-athlete to arrive at Scotland Campus back in early August. The Georgia native showed up at the near-empty and pin drop quiet campus chomping at the bid for the opportunity to prolong his basketball career.
Before he had all of his bags unpacked, the heady and deliberate 6-foot-1 guard had found his way to the gym. He was soon launching a fusillade of jumpers and readying himself for the rigors of an around the clock post-graduate schedule.
Two weeks into pre-season workouts, Nicholas emerged into a high-energy source who set the tone fiercely in practice. He went full throttle not just in open gym scrimmages, but drills and obstacles intended to gauge one’s physical and mental moxie.
Whether it was a timed mile at the track, monstrous uphill sprints, a standard warm up, or a simple free throw shooting contest against a coach, the kid they call “DQ” was gung ho in every aspect of his prep experience.
Cognizant that this is truly his last window of opportunity, Nicholas’ time management and refusal to take any moment off has mirrored his rapid ascension.
The wheels of wonder soon began to turn.
Inquiring minds were eager to see if this unbridled energy would translate to a court filled with higher acclaimed cornerstones of Chris Chaney’s program.
Nicholas answered any lingering questions during the NERR Prep National Showcase last month. Against MacDuffie (MA) and UConn-bound point guard James Bouknight, it was Nicholas who willed his way to the rim and scored during critical moments.
He wound up with a game-best 23 points, including the go-ahead basket on a banker in traffic, helping lift Scotland to a promising 76-66 upset. Scotland Campus entered the event ranked No.10 overall. That pair of loud wins over Northfield Mount Hermon and Macduffie catapulted the program to a No.3 national ranking.
Nicholas again imposed his will last night, scoring 19 points as Scotland registered a thorough 102-75 throttling of a very underrated Olympus (N.J.) team. Scotland, which erupted offensively after Olympus closed within two, 50-48, at the start of the second half, was bolstered by significant balance in the scorebook.
Clarence Nadolny, who opened up his long range jumper after surfacing as an attack-first guard throughout the embryonic stages of the season, led the Knights with a game-best 20 points.
Austin Galuppo, a deft long range shooter who provided an immediate spark off the bench with 11 points in five minutes, added 19. A California native, Galuppo currently holds offers from Bryant and Southern Utah.
Karim Coulibaly, who has offers from St. Joe’s, Pitt, Tulane, UConn and others and is projected to sign late, chimed in with 15 points. A left-handed and multi-dimensional combo forward, Coulibaly was able to showcase his inside/outside game.
Nicholas appeared to be salivating at the prospect of a scholarship back in the fall. During one open gym with a pair of Division-I coaches in attendance, the Class of 2019 prospect caught fire in showman-like fashion. He was able to score it gracefully and with a viable killer instinct, his workload extracting excitement from a sea of onlookers.
Beyond a notable elevation on his improved deep jumper, Nicholas played a defensively stout brand of basketball which helped produced several stops.
It was perhaps much as you could have asked from a kid who came in lacking a real name for himself. Beyond a highlight reel here and there, Nicholas had minimal visibility.
And that is the unique advantage of the prep/postgraduate experience–it allows the lesser known to realize potential while subsequently enabling one to make up for lost time.
Though he didn’t walk out of the gym with a scholarship offer that day, Nicholas was far from deterred. That performance was perhaps the Class of 2019 product’s hard introduction to the unpredictable and inexact science that is NCAA recruiting.
Rather than letting his spirits dampen, the shifty guard continued to treat open gyms and practices as if a national championship was at stake. Several Division-I coaches took note of the diminutive but tough guard, who poses a threat with his ability to sky for rebounds over bigger foes and kick-start the transition game fresh off the defensive glass.
Finally last night, in the aforementioned win over Olympus, Nicholas was rewarded for what he’s worked diligently and relentlessly for.
After witnessing him play for the first time, Division-II Alderson Broaddus University (WV) plunked down a scholarship offer. With the numbers he’s been producing while flanked by highly-touted talent, this appears to only be the start for the high-octane guard.
