Nicholas adds right energy to Eagles
Khary Nicholas was a late comer to basketball, preferring soccer and cricket until he dunked on an outdoor court in a ghetto of his native Trinidad. His hard-working parents left him with a grandmother, moving to Tacoma to start a better life. The middle and tallest (6-foot-7) of three sons, he joined them before his sophomore year in high school.
Foss High School, with current Eagles Marc Axton and Rachi Wortham, won the State 4A title his senior year. He went to Tacoma Community College where he hooked up with former Eagles Brendon Merritt and Josh Bernard and won the NWAACC title his second year when he averaged 10.1 points and 7.6 rebounds. He redshirted at EWU his first season and played 28 minutes in eight games last year.
The talkative and enthusiastic communications major is averaging 2.6 points and 2.1 points in 10 minutes off the bench this year:
S-R: Is the team ready to begin Big Sky Conference play?
Nicholas: I think we should do really (well). We’re starting to get it now. We have a pretty young team … we’re just figuring out how hard to play. We’re going to surprise a lot of people.
S-R: What is the difference between last year’s team that was 4-9 entering conference play and this year’s team that is 3-10?
Nicholas: Last year had two seniors, Alvin Snow and Brendon Merritt, carrying the team on their back. With those cats gone, this year we have one, which is Marc Axton. He kind of has the load on his back, but I think others are going to step up.
S-R: What is your role?
Nicholas: My role is pretty much easy: Back up the bigs, Matt Nelson and Jacob Bettinger; bring energy; rebound as much as I can; take open shots when I get them.
S-R: What is the best part of playing a preseason schedule that includes three ranked teams?
Nicholas: In the Big Sky Conference you don’t play these guys. Playing at UW … that was really cool. The Gonzaga game in the Arena … was pretty intense. Going down to Tucson, playing Arizona in front of 14,000 people, that is the stuff you dream about. I’ve got a picture on my wall of me guarding (Arizona’s) Channing Frye. I’ll keep that for the rest of my life. You get the opportunity to be out there against the great ones like Nate Robinson (UW), Rony Turiaf (GU). I can tell people, “Believe it or not, I played against these cats.”
S-R: What is the difference between coach (Ray) Giacoletti (now at Utah) and coach (Mike) Burns?
Nicholas: Coach Giacoletti is a great man, real cool, a great person to talk to. … Coach Burns, I love that man, I just love him. … When he was first named head coach, I was the happiest person on earth. He recruited me. Coach Burns is more relaxed, more fun-going. He interacts with everybody.