Carl Nicks (basketball)

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Carl Nicks
Personal information
Born (1958-10-06) October 6, 1958 (age 63)
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 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall
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
1984–1985
1985–1987BC Oostende
1987–1989ASPO Tours
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Orlando Carl Nicks (born October 6, 1958) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. At 6'1" 175 lb, Nicks played guard during his career. A graduate of Chicago's Englewood High School, Nicks finished with NBA career averages of 6.8 ppg, 1.6 apg and 0.8 spg over those three seasons and remains the most "recently" (1980) Indiana State University player drafted by the NBA.

College career[]

In his freshman season at Indiana State, Nicks only averaged 2.2 points in 24 games. Bob King, the head coach, recommended that Nicks leave the Sycamores and go to a junior college to refine his skills and work on his game. He spent the 1977–78 season at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida, where he averaged 22.4 points a game, returning the next season to Indiana State. When he returned he was a more mature and more confident player. It was the 1978–79 season that he started improving and that's where he earned his nickname; Mr. Intensity. That year he averaged 19.3 points but it was the 1980 season that he really came out and started scoring, averaging 26.7 points a game. Nicks started with Larry Bird in 1978–79 and helped lead Indiana State to the championship game in the NCAA tournament by averaging 19.3 ppg, 5 apg, 3.5 rpg and 1.8 spg on 46% shooting.[1]

Nicks was twice named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference first team, in both 1979 and 1980. He was also named to the USA Select Team in 1979 for a tour of the People's Republic of China.

Professional career[]

After being selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 23rd overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft,[2] Nicks played in three seasons with three different teams: the Nuggets (1980), the Utah Jazz (1981-1982), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (1982-1983). Nicks for the Nuggets before being traded to the Utah Jazz on December 22, 1980 for Billy McKinney. He backed up Rickey Green with Utah. He was subsequently released by the Jazz early in the 1982 season and was signed as a free agent by the Cavaliers.

In 156 career NBA games, Nicks averaged 16 minutes, 6.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists.[3]

He spent played for the Toronto Tornados of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during the 1983–84 season and then spent five seasons in the French professional league following his NBA career, playing for Saint-Étienne in 1984–85 and for ASPO Tours from 1987 to 1989.

Personal[]

After retiring as a player, Nicks coached alongside Bill Hodges, his former head coach at Indiana State, at Mercer University.

He then settled in Indianapolis, beginning a career at Methodist Hospital.

In 2005, Nicks was hired as a college scout by the Indiana Pacers and in 2014, he was promoted to manager – player relations with the Indiana Pacers.[4]

Honors[]

  • In 2007, Nicks was recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference as one of the Missouri Valley Conference's "50 Greatest" Players.
  • Nicks was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.[5][6]
  • The 1978–79 men's basketball team was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.[7]
  • On February 16, 2019, Nicks’ number 22 jersey was retired by Indiana State.[8] His is the third jersey retired by the Sycamores' Men's Basketball program; the others are Duane Klueh and Nicks' teammate Larry Joe Bird.

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 27 0 18.3 .436 .000 .593 1.8 3.0 1.0 .1 6.1
1980–81 Utah 40 0 15.4 .510 .000 .537 1.5 1.7 .8 .0 6.3
1981–82 Utah 80 1 16.5 .454 .000 .567 2.0 1.7 .8 .1 7.4
1982–83 Cleveland 9 2 16.4 .441 .000 .647 2.9 1.2 .7 .0 7.0
Career 156 3 16.5 .462 .000 .570 1.9 1.6 .8 .0 6.8

College[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1976–77 Indiana State 24 — 7.0 .370 — .481 1.1 — — — 2.2
1978–79 Indiana State 34 — — .464 — .667 3.5 — — — 19.3
1979–80 Indiana State 27 — — .441 — .775 4.2 — — — 26.8
Career 85 — — .449 — .714 3.0 — — — 16.8

References[]

  1. ^ Benbow, Dana Hunsinger (January 17, 2019). "Carl Nicks: The forgotten ISU basketball phenom overshadowed by Larry Bird". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  2. ^ "Nuggets sign Carl Nicks". South Bend Tribune. July 22, 1980. p. 30. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. ^ "Carl Nicks Stats".
  4. ^ Finch, Jackie Sheckler (April 1, 2015). "Carl Nicks, '80: As manager of player relations for the Indiana Pacers, Carl Nicks says his life and career has come full circle". State Magazine. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Carl Nicks (2007) - Hall of Fame".
  6. ^ "Hall of Fame".
  7. ^ "1978-79 Men's Basketball Team (2000) - Hall of Fame".
  8. ^ Hughes, David (February 16, 2019). "Carl Nicks gets to see No. 22 retired by ISU". Tribune-Star. Retrieved February 16, 2019.

External links[]

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