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The Daily OrangeMBB | No rest for Nichols as draft approaches
Former SU forward headlines Orange draft hopefuls
By John Clayton
Posted: 6/27/07, 11:51 PM EST Section: Sports
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On Sunday, Nichols wrapped up a whirlwind month of workouts during which the former SU standout visit eleven different cities and teams. The Nichols nationwide tour ended in Dallas, where Nichols worked out for the Mavericks.
And yet despite the exhaustion, rest has been hard to come by lately for Nichols.
"Yeah, I'm feeling pretty nervous," Nichols said. "The last few days I haven't been sleeping well."
There will be plenty of time to sleep after tonight, when the future of Nichols and two of his Syracuse teammates, center Darryl Watkins and forward Terrence Roberts, will be determined at the 2007 NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden (ESPN, 7 p.m.). All three players will sit glued to the telecast, remote controls set aside, hoping that their name is one of the 60 called.
But of the three, it is undoubtedly Nichols who has the best chance to be drafted. The small forward averaged 18.8 points a game last season, best in the Big East, but truly solidified his status a month ago at the NBA's pre-draft camp held in Orlando. Nichols attended the three-day camp along with Watkins and 62 other NBA hopefuls.
Nichols' draft stock skyrocketed when the Boston native shot 15-for-23 from the field and, more importantly, 9-for-13 from 3-point range. Overall for the three-day event, Nichols averaged 13.7 points per game, among the best at the camp.
"I was just ready to play," Nichols said. "I just felt like I was the best player on the floor at all times. I had good shots and I wasn't afraid to take any shots. I wanted to show what I do best, so all the doubters could reevaluate me and stuff like that. I just wanted to go put on a show, and I did."
As a result of that "show," Nichols has gone from a second-round floater who could end up being drafted almost anywhere in the draft's latter half - or not at all - to an almost certainty to be picked Thursday night.
Still there is a natural ambiguity for Nichols, who must cope for the first time with not having control over where his basketball career will take him.
"I have no idea," Nichols said regarding where he might eventually land. "I've heard 30, top 25, top 35. So we'll see where I go. But I'm just waiting for Thursday. So just pray and hope for the best and see what happens."
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