Academic trouble nearly ended it early. A 1.6 GPA pushed Nicks from Indiana State to a Florida junior college, and he came back with a 3.5 and a purpose. Nicknamed Mr. Intensity, he ran alongside Larry Bird to the 1979 NCAA final, then averaged 26.8 points as a senior. Denver drafted him 23rd overall in 1980 and traded him to Utah that December, where he played through 1982.
After playing stops in France and Belgium he came home to coach and to serve, running a program for at-risk teenagers through an Indianapolis hospital before scouting for Bird's Pacers. Indiana State inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2007 and retired his No. 22 in 2018.
HOW HE CAME & WENTDenver traded him to Utah for Billy McKinney in December 1980, a few weeks into his rookie year. He played all 80 games the next season, then the Jazz released him in 1982 and he finished with nine games in Cleveland.
No photograph of this signature is online yet.
| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980–81 | UTA | 40 | 15.4 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.0 | .510 | .000 | .537 |
| 1981–82 | UTA | 80 | 16.5 | 7.4 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | .454 | .000 | .567 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 2 SEASONS | 120 | 16.1 | 7.0 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | .469 | .000 | .558 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗