ZS: Which programs have offered you thus far and who is beginning to knock on the door as far as expressing interest?
MN: I received an offer from IUPUI. I spoke with Coach (Jason) Gardner for about an hour and he was a really cool guy.
Eastern Michigan and UT-Chattanooga have offered. I've heard from USF, Jacksonville State, Jacksonville (FL), and I spoke with Danny Manning and coach Jamill Jones at Wake Forest. South Carolina, my Godfather (Frank Martin) is the head coach there. He's basically told me if I continue to get better and do what I gotta do here, there will be an opportunity for me. Coach Martin actually coached with my father in high school, on a team that had Steve Blake and Udonis Haslem.
ZS: At Mater Academy, you played for an all-time great amongst South Florida coaches in Marcos "Shakey" Rodriguez. Being that he coached Frank Martin, he coached your father (Malcolm Nicholas) and he's piled up 600+ wins, it was a unique situation for you. How did you relish the experience?
MN: Oh man. His knowledge of the game and just how much he knows is crazy. Every day was a learning experience under coach Rodroguez. Every day I stepped on the court I learned something new and picked something up that I could add to my game.
He ran a motion offense that gave me the freedom to score and create.
ZS: Which components of your game are you working at to improve and what time do you envision during this post graduate season?
MN: I'm looking to play the point in college so I'm focusing on using this year to get bigger and get stronger. I always felt my IQ on the court was pretty good and I saw the floor well, so playing the point and controlling the game fits in with my style.
I like to get people involved first and then when I need to go get a bucket I'll look to score. We've got a lot of guys who can play here and with high-level competition throughout the year here, there's always a challenge on our hands.
ZS: Which aspects played into your decision to attend Believe and how did you wind up here?
MN: It's funny, when I was weighing my decisions I only had offers from Hartford and Canisius in Buffalo. Frank Martin spoke with me and told me it would be a great opportunity to take an additional year to develop. Frank basically placed me here. He reached out to coach Tyson (Waterman) about getting me in here and the rest is history.