Tracking the College Basketball Stars of the Future=====

ECU & C-USA Hoops Recruiting Report Saturday, February 22, 2003 By Thad Mumau Special Correspondent

New England sharpshooter keen on Pirates

©2003 Bonesville.net

There is a certain sweet-shooting guard who wants to play basketball at East Carolina. He is just waiting for a scholarship offer.

Whether it comes may depend on what Pirates head coach Bill Herrion thinks when he sees Shane Nichols and his Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame Prep School team play the weekend of Feb. 28. The occasion will be a two-day tournament hosted by Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy.

Nichols has simply been on fire recently. He sank eight three-pointers twice in three games and had a stretch in which he made 48 treys in eight games. He threw in a season-high 35 points in New York City against Globe Tech Junior College and did it in just 25 minutes of playing time.

He nailed eight threes in that game and again in a 24-point effort vs. Maine Central Institute. For the season, the 6-1, 190-pound wing guard is averaging about 16 points per game. However, he is averaging 24 points over the last 10 games.

"That’s really a lot," Notre Dame Prep coach Bill Barton said, "and I’ll tell you why. We play 10 or 11 kids every game, and Shane usually plays 20-25 minutes a night. (Games are 40 minutes like college.) At the start of the season, we were using three guys at his position, and he was getting about 15 minutes a game.

"We have never had a player to average 20 points over a season here. The teams we play all have mostly Division I players, most of them fifth-year seniors."

Nichols is one of those fifth-year seniors. Although his grades were fine after graduating from Radford (VA) High School, he decided to attend Notre Dame Prep in order to get more exposure as well as more attention from college coaches.

Hometown Radford University offered a scholarship last year, when Nichols averaged just under 20 points per game. Then, there was a coaching change, and things didn’t work out. Long Island University offered back in September.

"He didn’t want to go to school in New York City," Barton said. "I think the longer he waits, the more big schools that will offer. Several are just waiting to look at some things.

"A while back, at the New England Prep Invitational, there were 35 college coaches in the stands, and that’s when East Carolina started liking Shane. He averaged over 20 points a game in that tournament.

"(ECU assistant) Greg Herenda has seen him play two or three times. Shane was in Greenville for an AAU event during the summer. I know he really likes East Carolina. If they offer, I think he will commit.

"I’ll tell you something. If East Carolina gets him, it will be a steal. They will be getting a great player that a lot of people don’t know about and they will be getting a great kid. They won’t even know he’s there except for the way he works and plays. He just goes about his business.

"Shane is the best kid I’ve ever had," Barton said. "He doesn’t do a lot of talking; he just works hard and plays hard. While other kids are telling you how good they are, he is in the gym working on his game.

"He is the only one out of 16 players on our team that has made every practice and workout. I told him the other day to take off for a practice, that he could use the rest. But he refused to miss the practice.

"The perfect description of Shane is Old School," Barton said. "He does what he is supposed to do. Every night he’s in the gym working. He leads our team in charges taken. The other night, he took the first bad shot I can remember him taking. I didn’t even say anything."

Barton said Nichols, a left-hander, has become Notre Dame Prep’s first option offensively. And that’s on a team that also has guards Will Blalock and Gary Ervin, headed for Iowa State and Mississippi State, respectively.

"Shane is the best shooter in New England," Barton said. "He has a quick release and he does a good job of getting himself squared up and ready to shoot before he receives a pass."

Nichols is academically qualified for freshman eligibility.

St. Peter’s has offered and Wagner is likely to follow suit soon. Denver University is planning to send a coach to see Nichols play.

"I wish I had five players like Shane," Barton said. "You can take five like him and beat five so-called great players. He is an outstanding player and a better kid. You don’t get to say that very much."

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02/23/2007 02:40:16 PM
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