Drew Nicholas

Drew Nicholas
	Nicholas with Efes Pilsen
Personal information
Born	May 17, 1981 (age 43); Hempstead, New York, U.S.
Listed height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	Long Island Lutheran; (Brookville, New York)
College	Maryland (1999–2003)
NBA draft	2003: undrafted
Playing career	2003–2012
Position	Shooting guard
Number	4, 11, 12, 21
Career history
2003–2004	Fabriano Basket
2004–2005	Basket Livorno
2005	TAU Ceramica
2005–2006	Benetton Treviso
2006–2008	Efes Pilsen
2008–2011	Panathinaikos
2011–2012	Emporio Armani Milano
2012	CSKA Moscow
Career highlights and awards
	2× EuroLeague champion (2009, 2011); Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy (2006); LBA champion (2006); LBA Top Scorer (2005); Italian 2nd Division Top Scorer (2004); 3× Greek League champion (2009–2011); Greek Cup winner (2009); Greek League Finals MVP (2009); All-Greek League First Team (2010); 3× Greek All Star (2009–2011); 2× Greek All-Star Game 3-Point Shootout Champion (2010, 2011); Turkish Cup winner (2007); NCAA champion (2002); Second-team All-ACC (2003);

Andrew Lawrence Nicholas (born May 17, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) shooting guard, Nicholas was the leading scorer in the EuroLeague 2005–06 season, being awarded the Alphonso Ford Trophy. He is a two-time EuroLeague champion, winning in 2009 and 2011 with Panathinaikos.

High school

Born in Hempstead, New York, Nicholas played high school basketball at Long Island Lutheran, in New York, from 1995 to 1999.

College career

Nicholas played college basketball at the University of Maryland, College Park with the Maryland Terrapins from 1999 to 2003.^[1] In 2002, Nicholas helped Maryland win its first national championship.^[2] He made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference 2nd Team in his senior season in college.^[3] His most memorable moment came in the 2003 NCAA Tournament when he hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win a first-round game against UNC-Wilmington.^[4] He also hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give coach Gary Williams his 500th career coaching victory against NC State.^[5]

Professional career

Nicholas was selected in the 2003 USBL Draft by the Texas Rim Rockers (59th overall).^[6] He then moved to Italy for the 2003–04 season, signed by Fabriano Basket, in the Italian LegADue (Italy's 2nd-tier level league). He led Legadue in scoring with 27.1 points per game that season. He was signed for the 2004–05 season by Basket Livorno. He led Italy's top-tier level LBA in scoring with 22.8 points per game. At the end of the Italian League's regular season, he moved to Spain, signed for the remainder of the season by TAU Ceramica.^[7] He then went back to Italy for the 2005–06 season, signed by Benetton Treviso.^[8] He led the EuroLeague in scoring with 18.4 points per game. He moved to Turkey for the 2006–07 season, signed by Efes Pilsen. In March 2008, he briefly negotiated with the Israeli Super League club Maccabi Tel Aviv, on a three-year contract offer, but he was unable to reach a final contractual agreement with the club.

On June 24, 2008, he signed a two-year contract with Greek club Panathinaikos.^[9] Nicholas helped Panathinaikos win the 2009 and 2011 EuroLeague championships. He also won the Greek Cup in 2009, as well as the Greek League championship in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In July 2011, he signed with Italian club Armani Jeans Milano.^[10] In January 2012, Nicholas was waived by Armani Jeans Milano.^[11]

In July 2012, after being a free agent for 7 months since his departure from AJ Milano, Nicholas signed a one-year contract with the Russian club CSKA Moscow.^[12] However, on November 23, 2012, Nicholas reached an agreement to terminate his contract with the team, by mutual agreement.^[13] In July 2013, he officially announced his retirement from playing professional basketball, after having played his last game in 2012.^[14]

Post playing career

After he retired from playing professional basketball, Nicholas became a basketball analyst and sports commentator.^[15] In 2016 he joined the Minnesota Timberwolves as a scout.^[16] He then moved on to similar roles with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. He is currently the Director of Scouting for the Denver Nuggets.^[17]

Personal life

In February 2008, Nicholas refused to travel with Efes Pilsen for their away game against Partizan in Belgrade, due to a recommendation for U.S. citizens not to visit Serbia, which was related to the tension that was caused after the declaration of the independence of Kosovo.^[18] He was then banned from the club, and shortly after that he was released.^[19] He has an extensive front office resume and currently works with the Denver Nuggets in Denver, CO, where he resides with his wife and three children.

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	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

EuroLeague

†	Denotes season in which Nicholas won the EuroLeague
*	Led the league


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2005–06	Treviso	20	17	33.8	.479	.457	.827	2.8	2.7	1.1	.1	18.4*	16.6
2006–07	Efes	20	20	34.3	.429	.400	.726	2.5	2.5	3.8	.2	13.9	13.1
2007–08	Efes	14	12	32.5	.430	.353	.729	3.0	2.9	1.0	.1	16.5	14.1
2008–09†	Panathinaikos	22	16	23.5	.429	.408	.615	1.3	1.2	1.0	.1	8.3	6.0
2009–10		16	15	27.6	.433	.410	.667	1.2	2.2	.9	.2	10.5	7.9
2010–11†		20	6	23.0	.437	.415	.600	1.1	1.7	.4	.1	9.8	6.1
2011–12	Milano	14	8	26.4	.302	.297	.625	2.6	1.7	.5	.2	7.4	4.2
2012–13	CSKA Moscow	4	1	15.0	.067	.000	—	.5	.8	—	—	.5	-3.5
Career		130	95	28.2	.422	.391	.737	2.0	2.3	.8	.1	11.8	9.4

References

^ Player Bio: Drew Nicholas :: Men's Basketball - Maryland Terrapins
^ Drew Nicholas: 10 years after Maryland's national title
^ Bosh, Elder Earn All-ACC Honors
^ Nicholas twists Maryland past UNC-Wilmington at buzzer
^ COLLEGE BASKETBALL: MEN'S ROUNDUP; Williams's 500th Victory Is at Wolfpack's Expense
^ USBL Completes 2003 Draft
^ El Tau contrata a Drew Nicholas (Spanish)
^ La Benetton conferma l'ingaggio di Drew Nicholas (Italian)
^ Panathinaikos brings in Drew Nicholas
^ Milano lands Drew Nicholas!
^ Drew Nicholas and Olimpia Milano part ways
^ "CSKA Moscow inks two-time champ Nicholas". Euroleague. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
^ "CSKA Moscow, Drew Nicholas part ways". Sportando. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
^ "Drew Nicholas retires at 32". Sportando.net. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
^ Former Terps guard Drew Nicholas beginning new career.
^ "Timberwolves Announce Basketball Staff Additions". NBA.com.
^ "Nuggets make slew of front office, scouting hires, sources say". The Denver Post. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
^ Efes Pilsen without four Americans
^ Efes Pilsen releases Nicholas, Wright

External links

Euroleague.net Profile
FIBA Game Center Profile
Italian League Profile Archived 2019-01-21 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
Spanish League Profile Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
Turkish League Profile

[1] Player Bio: Drew Nicholas :: Men's Basketball - Maryland Terrapins

[2] Drew Nicholas: 10 years after Maryland's national title

[3] Bosh, Elder Earn All-ACC Honors

[4] Nicholas twists Maryland past UNC-Wilmington at buzzer

[5] COLLEGE BASKETBALL: MEN'S ROUNDUP; Williams's 500th Victory Is at Wolfpack's Expense

[6] USBL Completes 2003 Draft

[7] El Tau contrata a Drew Nicholas (Spanish)

[8] La Benetton conferma l'ingaggio di Drew Nicholas (Italian)

[9] Panathinaikos brings in Drew Nicholas

[10] Milano lands Drew Nicholas!

[11] Drew Nicholas and Olimpia Milano part ways

[12] "CSKA Moscow inks two-time champ Nicholas". Euroleague. Retrieved 21 August 2012.

[13] "CSKA Moscow, Drew Nicholas part ways". Sportando. Retrieved 29 December 2012.

[14] "Drew Nicholas retires at 32". Sportando.net. Retrieved 14 July 2013.

[15] Former Terps guard Drew Nicholas beginning new career.

[16] "Timberwolves Announce Basketball Staff Additions". NBA.com.

[17] "Nuggets make slew of front office, scouting hires, sources say". The Denver Post. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2023-03-23.

[18] Efes Pilsen without four Americans

[19] Efes Pilsen releases Nicholas, Wright

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Personal information
Nicholas with Efes Pilsen
Born	(1981-05-17) May 17, 1981 (age 43) Hempstead, New York, U.S.
Listed height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, New York)
College	Maryland (1999–2003)
NBA draft	2003: undrafted
Playing career	2003–2012
Position	Shooting guard
Number	4, 11, 12, 21
Career history
2003–2004	Fabriano Basket
2004–2005	Basket Livorno
2005	TAU Ceramica
2005–2006	Benetton Treviso
2006–2008	Efes Pilsen
2008–2011	Panathinaikos
2011–2012	Emporio Armani Milano
2012	CSKA Moscow

Career highlights and awards
2× EuroLeague champion (2009, 2011) Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy (2006) LBA champion (2006) LBA Top Scorer (2005) Italian 2nd Division Top Scorer (2004) 3× Greek League champion (2009–2011) Greek Cup winner (2009) Greek League Finals MVP (2009) All-Greek League First Team (2010) 3× Greek All Star (2009–2011) 2× Greek All-Star Game 3-Point Shootout Champion (2010, 2011) Turkish Cup winner (2007) NCAA champion (2002) Second-team All-ACC (2003)