Bob Lutz: Northwest’s Nicholson is always proving himself worthy
By the time people finish talking about Perry Ellis and Conner Frankamp, they’re out of breath.
So how would you like to be the third best basketball player in the City League this season? It’s a league in which Ellis and Frankamp are stealing the spotlight, leaving just a sliver for everyone else.
That’s where you can find Northwest senior guard Craig Nicholson. He’s the guy mostly in the dark, trying to make a name for himself in a season that is cementing the legendary status of Ellis and Frankamp.
On Thursday, Heights’ Ellis was chosen to the McDonald’s All-America team, the first City Leaguer to make the grade since Greg Dreiling and Aubrey Sherrod 31 years ago. Frankamp, meanwhile, prepared to follow up back-to-back games of 47 and 48 pointswhen he plays against South tonight.
And Nicholson? He went about his life as one of the most obscure really good players in league history. Already, the 5-foot-9 Nicholson has moved into the top 20 on the league’s all-time scoring list. He is the leader of the second-place team in the City League and tonight he could help the Grizzlies do something that would steal the spotlight from Ellis, Frankamp, Heights and everything else going on in Wichita.
Northwest plays at home against Heights, which could tie the state’s longest boys basketball winning streak of 59, set by Moundridge in 1993. Northwest, which lost to the Falcons 56-52 last month at Koch Arena, is all that stands in the way.
“I’m really excited about this game,” said Nicholson, who does some of everything for Northwest. “But I keep quiet before games like this. I don’t try to start nothing.”
Nicholson’s cousin is Heights senior guard Terrence Moore. Nicholson has known Ellis since they were in grade school and he plays on the same summer team with North’s Frankamp. There are no strangers in the City League.
“We always like to get a shot at Heights,” Nicholson said. “Since I’ve been at Northwest, we’ve never beaten them. I think we’re 0-7.”
Heights has been cruising of late and looks primed not only to break Moundridge’s streak but to win a fourth straight Class 6A championship. Ellis is playing the best basketball of his career and, as usual, his supporting cast is top-notch.
Even at home, Northwest is a big underdog. But that’s nothing new for Nicholson, who has been trying to prove himself as a basketball player ever since he picked up a ball.
There were a few Division I schools sniffing around earlier, but they eventually were scared off by Nicholson’s lack of size, he said. So he has signed to play at Fort Hays State, where he’ll arrive in the fall with a giant chip on his shoulder.
Nicholson isn’t angry that some of the bigger schools that were recruiting him backed off, but he’s disappointed. But he’s also excited about playing in the MIAA.
“To hear people say that you’re too small, I’ve heard that a lot,” Nicholson said. “I want to show some people that they were wrong about me. Fort Hays is a great school and the community of Hays is good, too. I just look forward to proving people wrong, like I have so far.”
Nicholson isn’t a flashy player. He’s one of those guys that finds a way to score a needed basket, thread a key pass or even grab an important rebound. He’s omnipresent. He holds his own and then some when he matches up with Frankamp, and won’t back down against Ellis and Heights.
I don’t know if the Grizzlies can pull this off tonight. It’s a humongous task. Heights won’t wilt in the moment, that much is for sure. The Falcons have been in many big games during the past four years and they’ll treat this like they treat every other encounter.
Nicholson said his excitement doesn’t stem from getting a chance to go against Ellis or end Heights’ winning streak.
“It’s about winning the City League,” he said.
Heights is 10-0 in the league and Northwest is 11-1. A win tonight would vault the Grizzlies into first place, kill a 58-game winning streak and finally give Nicholson some of that spotlight he so richly deserves.
This story was originally published February 9, 2012 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Northwest’s Nicholson is always proving himself worthy."