Carl Nicks
Personal information
Born (1958-10-06) October 6, 1958
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolEnglewood Technical Prep Academy
(Chicago, Illinois)
College
NBA draft1980: 1st round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career1980–1989
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Number3, 12, 22, 24
Career history
1980Denver Nuggets
1980–1982Utah Jazz
1981–1982Billings Volcanos
1983Cleveland Cavaliers
1983–1984Toronto Tornados
1984–1985Saint-Étienne_Basket
1985–1987BC Oostende
1987–1989ASPO Tours
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Orlando Carl Nicks (born October 6, 1958) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player.

Amateur career

A 6'1" guard, Nicks played high school basketball at Englewood High School in Chicago and then signed to play college basketball at Indiana State. Nicks played sparingly in his first season, averaging 2.2 ppg in 24 games played. In academic trouble with a 1.6 GPA, Bob King, the head coach, recommended that Nicks leave the Sycamores and go to a junior college to work on his academic and basketball skills. He spent the 1977–78 season at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida, where he averaged 22.4 ppg. Nicks credited the experience, stating, "I wanted to play basketball. I respect the game. I know I can play this game. I know I can play this game at the highest level. I knew that. So I went down there and I grinded. I was isolated and it made me grow up."[1]

With a 3.5 GPA in hand, a focused Nicks returned to Indiana State, averaging 19.3 ppg, earning the nickname "Mr. Intensity." Nicks combined with teammate Larry Bird in 1978-79, and helped lead Indiana State to the championship game in the NCAA tournament, with their only loss coming in the final, with the Magic Johnson led Michigan State Spartans defeating the Sycamores 75-64.[2]

In his senior season, Nicks averaged 26.8 ppg, earning honorable mention All-American. Nicks was twice named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference first team (1979, 1980). He was also named to the USA Select Team in 1979 for a tour of the People's Republic of China.[3]

Professional career

After being selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 23rd overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft,[4] Nicks played for Denver, averaging 6.1 ppg in 27 games before being traded to the Utah Jazz in December 1980. He would finish the season with the Jazz, averaging 6.3 ppg. He would spend the 1981-82 season in Utah, averaging 7.4 ppg in 80 games played. He was released by the Jazz at the end of the season, but signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Cavaliers, playing 9 games for the Cavs in their 1982-83 season before his release, bringing his NBA career to a close. In 156 career NBA games, Nicks averaged 16 minutes, 6.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists.[5]

He spent played for the Toronto Tornados of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1983–84 season, averaging 24.3 ppg.[6] Nicks then spent five seasons in Europe, playing initially for Saint-Étienne in France, and then for two years B.C. Oostende in the Belgian BNXT League (1985-1987). Nick then went back to France, playing for Tours Métropole Basket from 1987-1989 before retiring.[6]

Personal life

After retiring as a player, Nicks coached alongside Bill Hodges, his former head coach at Indiana State, at Mercer University before moving to Indianapolis in 1998. He was a coach in the Pike Township system and ran a program for at-risk teenagers for Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital before rejoining former Sycamore teammate and then Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird with the Pacers as a scout.

In 2007, Nicks was inducted into the Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame[7] and his #22 Sycamores jersey was retired in 2018.[8] He reflected on his experiences at Indiana State, stating, "It all worked out for me. If someone had asked me back then if I would ever think about a jersey retirement, I would ask them if they were crazy. But moving forward, it happened ... and I'm just real grateful about it."[3]

Career statistics

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  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1980–81 Denver 27018.3.436.000.5931.83.01.0.16.1
1980–81 Utah 40015.4.510.000.5371.51.7.8.06.3
1981–82 Utah 80116.5.454.000.5672.01.7.8.17.4
1982–83 Cleveland 9216.4.441.000.6472.91.2.7.07.0
Career 156316.5.462.000.5701.91.6.8.06.8

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1976–77 Indiana State 24—7.0.370—.4811.1———2.2
1978–79 Indiana State 34——.464—.6673.5———19.3
1979–80 Indiana State 27——.441—.7754.2———26.8
Career 85——.449—.7143.0———16.8

References

  1. ↑ Benbow, Dana Hunsinger. "Carl Nicks: The forgotten ISU basketball phenom overshadowed by Larry Bird". The Indianapolis Star.
  2. ↑ "1978-79 Indiana State Sycamores Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  3. 1 2 "Carl Nicks gets to see No. 22 retired by ISU". 16 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Nuggets sign Carl Nicks". South Bend Tribune. July 22, 1980. p. 30. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ "Carl Nicks Stats".
  6. 1 2 "CBA-Carl Nicks". www.nasljerseys.com.
  7. ↑ "Carl Nicks (2007) - Hall of Fame".
  8. ↑ "Carl Nicks To Have His No. 22 Jersey Retired This Season". Indiana State University Athletics. 10 October 2018.
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