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Demetris Nichols

Demetris Nichols profile
Drafted #53 in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Knicks
RCSI: 31 (2003)
Height: 6'7" (201 cm)
Weight: 211 lbs (96 kg)
Position: SF
High School: St. Andrew's School (Rhode Island)
Hometown: Boston, MA
AAU: NJ Playaz
College: Syracuse
Current Team: Avellino
Win - Loss: 18 - 17

Articles

Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Final Recap

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
Jun 04, 2007, 01:54 am
In terms of scoring the ball, Demetris Nichols was probably the most consistently impressive scorer here at the camp, showing just how deadly he can be as a shooter and how quickly he can put points on the board, going on a few scoring runs where he hit multiple shots in minutes. Looking at the final statlines of all the players here, one of the most notable ways a player really separated himself was how Nichols shot the ball from NBA three-point range. He hit a remarkable 9-of-13 from behind the arc, shooting a ridiculous .692. Other than Nichols, only one player at the camp even hit four NBA three-pointers.

Nichols is extremely confident with his outside shooting, and it’s interesting how in all the times we’ve seen Nichols in drills, both here at Orlando and at a private workout we viewed last week, he’s probably just as good a shooter in the real games, coming off screens, with a hand in his face, as he is taking place in the simulated drills. Other spot-up shooting forwards have come through this camp in recent years, with Steve Novak first coming to mind. Nichols did a good job in separating himself from these other players, in that it’s evident that he doesn’t consistently need players run for him and that he really makes the most of his possessions, finding open space on the floor and getting off a good shot attempt most times he touches the ball.

Nichols didn’t really impact the game in many other ways when he was on the floor, not filling up the stat sheet in any way other than scoring, but he played pretty good perimeter defense for the most part, showing he can play outside of Syracuse’s zone. Nichols didn’t do much to dispel the concerns about his ball-handling abilities, but he did make a few moves off one or two dribbles and got to the basket when there were open lanes, and he shows that he has the potential to improve his ball-handling over time.

The things that Nichols does excel at should definitely translate to the NBA, so there’s a very good chance he can make a contribution in his first year, coming off the bench and providing a scoring punch, as he doesn’t need much space to get off a high-percentage shot attempt from long range. Nichols will likely be an early second round pick in the draft, and it’s not tough to envision him having a Jason Kapono type season not too far down the road.

Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day Three

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
Jun 01, 2007, 02:29 am
The term “instant offense” certainly describes Nichols’ play so far in Orlando. His scoring totals have been unrivaled, and he is doing it with remarkable efficiency. Nichols is absolutely lethal as a spot up shooter, and has the length to get his shot off over most wing defenders. He is also good at making defenses pay for losing attention, capable of finding a soft spot in the defense and hoisting a shot before anyone can react.

The rest of Nichols’ game is less attractive, but he has the athleticism and length to contribute in other ways at some point. Nichols plays good defense at times, but could probably use his natural gifts to his advantage a bit more often in non-shooting areas. Nichols once again scored a large chunk of his points over a short period of time, but his shooting runs are proving to be game-changing here in Orlando. His team is now 2-0, and given the way he shot at Syracuse as a senior, it would be a surprise if Nichols didn’t light it up again tomorrow.

Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day Two

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
May 30, 2007, 05:12 pm
Demetris Nichols had a strong game to start off his week here at Orlando, living up to his expectations as one of the most highly touted players here. He had a typical Demtris Nichols game, putting points up on the board as quickly as he got touches, but not contributing much in any other statistical areas, though he did a solid job playing perimeter defense when his man got the ball.

As you can see from the statline, Nichols was very efficient in scoring his points, making the most off all his touches, as he’s not a player who consistently creates shots for himself. Nichols got out in transition and did a good job drifting to the open spaces on the floor, where his teammates got him the ball for his quick-release outside shot, which he knocked down almost every chance he got. Nichols scored 13 points in the first five minutes of the game by getting out in transition, finishing on lay-ups on the break, and even creating a fast-break himself, making an anticipation steal coming from behind his man, and dribbling the length of the court to lay the ball in the hoop. He played well in transition overall, not just scoring the ball, as he consistently was one of the first players on his team down the court, and also made some nice transition passing, even handling the ball in the open court when he needed to.

Nichols did try to mix things up a bit on offense, putting the ball on the floor more often than he did at Syracuse, though he wasn’t able to consistently score, but he didn’t force the issue either. On one possession he faked a shot before putting the ball on the floor in the lane, but he passed the ball to his teammate when he recognized a weakside defender coming over. On another possession he put the ball on the floor going left and went into a stepback jumper from the free-throw line, but he missed the contested shot. One of Nichols’ nicest plays on the day was when he dribbled left from the top of the key and went into a fadeaway jumper, but he got called for a conspicuous offensive foul for a push-off that might not have been there.

Defensively, Nichols was matched up with Dominic McGuire in the second half, and whenever he got the ball and tried to put in on the floor, Nichols did a good job moving laterally to stay in front of him, not letting him score the ball against him. He played aggressive man defense when his man had the ball in his hands, but got caught not boxing out at times when his man didn’t have the ball.

NCAA Weekly Performers, 2/14/07-- Part One

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
Feb 15, 2007, 02:38 am
The Big East’s leading scorer put on a fantastic display of shooting ability this weekend against St. John’s, practically doubling his 19.3 scoring average while showing off a nice array of long and mid-range shooting. Nichols has quickly gone from role player to offensive focal point for the Orange, and he’s done it in stunning fashion. While his points per game average has jumped up six points from 13.3 last season, his field goal and three point percentages have remarkably also increased, and significantly so. Usually when a player takes on a larger portion of offense, his percentages will drop, as he likely is forced to take some tougher shots, but Nichols obviously isn’t familiar with that trend. His field goal percentage on the year is at .483 while his three point percentage is at an outstanding .451, each up significantly from last season.

Nichols hasn’t made any wholesale changes to his game over this time period, as his game is still completely focused around his shooting ability, but he’s diversified his game so he is now reliable as more than just a spot-up shooter. Nichols has always shown flashes of ability with pull-up jumpers, fadeaways, and jumpers off curls, but he’s showing better consistency this season, hitting these tougher shots with much more regularity.

In this game against the Red Storm, Nichols was unstoppable at times, scoring on spot-up three pointers, coming off curls from mid and long-range, posting and facing up on the baseline, and going into a beautiful fadeaway jumper that no one was able to stop. Nichols’ release seems to be a tad quicker this year, and his motion turning into his shot when coming off curls is seamless and remarkably quick. His jump shot has a high release, consistent shooting motion, and he doesn’t show many problems adjusting when his shot is closely contested. In fact, he hit quite a few shots in that fashion over the course of this game.

For one stretch in the game, extending from the final play of the first half into the first five minutes of the second half, Nichols was virtually unstoppable. After hitting a spot-up three as time expired to close the first half, Nichols went on a scoring spree coming out of the gates at halftime. Nichols hit his first seven shots in the second half, most of which were contested. He hit three 3-pointers coming off curls, one long 2-pointer off a curl, two fadeaway jumpers on the baseline, and had an impressive putback attempt where he ran in from behind the free-throw line to make the tip-in.

While Nichols was hitting his jump shot nearly at will, he didn’t show much in terms of a dribble-drive game, which is not a consistent staple in his game. He doesn’t have a very quick first step, but due to the respect he garners for his shot, he’s able to use the threat of his shot to get a step at times, which he did a few times in this game to draw a foul. Finishing in the paint is not something Nichols excels at, but he’s improved his mid-range game so that he’s able to take advantage of these opportunities the defense affords him.

Defensively, Syracuse actually played man-to-man defense on quite a few possessions over the course of the game, so it was easier to get an accurate gauge on Nichols’ defensive abilities than in the past. Matched up against athletic swingman Anthony Mason Jr., Nichols showed no problems chasing him without the ball, getting through screens relatively easily and not giving up too much space to his opponent. Unfortunately, no St. John’s player made an attempt to take Nichols off the dribble, so his lateral quickness is still very much in question, as it’s normally masked by Syracuse’s zone defense. To Nichols’ credit, he showed good awareness in the zone defense, was active on the weakside when he needed to be, and did a good job boxing out on the defensive glass.

Nichols’ position will definitely be small forward at the next level, so his lateral quickness is something many scouts will be curious about. He’s done an excellent job improving some of the finer aspects of his offensive game, and with his improvements he will very likely hear his name called in the second round of the draft. Nichols would do himself well to attend one of the pre-draft camps this summer, where he could show that he’s capable of defending small forwards on the perimeter.

Top NBA Draft Prospects in the Big East (Part Two: #6-#10)

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Nov 11, 2006, 05:39 pm
At 6’8 and 212 pounds, Demetris Nichols plays SF in college and definitely projects as a SF in the pros. He has decent athleticism and length for his position, sufficient enough to play in the NBA. It is tough to see Nichols being able to play either SG or PF in the NBA, though, as he wouldn’t have the strength to defend PF’s, nor the quickness to defend SG’s.

At Syracuse, Nichols’ primary role is hitting spot-up jumpers, especially from behind the arc, where 201 of his 386 field-goal attempts came last season. The fundamentals of his shot are solid and he has a consistent, high release point. He releases the ball with decent quickness, and won’t have problems getting his shot off in the NBA, though it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit faster with his release.

When Nichols is spotting up and has time to get his feet set, he is very confident in his shot, and he hits it with good consistency. Nichols also is a pretty good shooter coming off screens, though he doesn’t show the same confidence as when spotting up. The numbers back this up; in a 24-game sample from the 2005-06 season, Nichols hit his spot-up jumpers at a 43% clip while only hitting jumpers off screens at a 36% clip. Nichols can sometimes look hesitant when coming off a screen, especially if he doesn’t have much space, as he doesn’t like to put up his shot in close quarters. He also likes to have time to set himself, sometimes second-guessing himself if he doesn’t have the time, leading to him passing up a shot attempt or not going up into his motion with the same confidence.

Nichols would do himself very well to spend some time working on shooting his jumper coming off screens, and getting more comfortable with his shot when he doesn’t have time to set his feet or when he doesn’t have much space. He only shot 36% from behind the arc last season, which is respectable, but he should be continuing to put in more work to improve.

Nichols’ offensive game is predominantly based around his outside shot, though he does have a semblance of a dribble-drive game. Usually he will use the threat of his shot to get a step on his man, as his first step is not very explosive. He can actually go both left and right, though he rarely will take his drives all the way to the basket. He prefers to pull up for a jumper, can do so anywhere from 5-15 feet from the basket, and is decently effective in doing so. When he does rarely take the ball into the painted area, he often doesn’t create a high-percentage shot attempt, and rarely draws contact, as evidenced by him only taking 93 free-throw attempts as opposed to 386 field-goal attempts this season.

Nichols has no semblance of a back-to-the-basket game, and it’s unlikely he will try to develop one. Nichols doesn’t make many careless passes, but doesn’t rack up many assists either. He can make all the standard passes a role player needs to. He understands his role and doesn’t play outside of it.

Despite spending the majority of his time on the perimeter, Nichols actually does a good job crashing the offensive boards, making it a priority to do so, and possessing decent touch on putbacks around the basket. Defensively, he is also an adequate rebounder for his position.

Definitely projected as a small forward at the next level, it’s tough to get a gauge on Nichols’ perimeter defense, as it is masked within Syracuse’s 3-2 zone. Nichols plays at the bottom of the zone, and rarely gets in situations where his lateral quickness is tested one-on-one. Because of the zone, he also doesn’t spend any time chasing players around screens, as a small forward would need to in the NBA. For these reasons, his defense is a major question mark, especially considering he doesn’t have especially good athleticism.

NCAA Tournament: Atlanta Bracket NBA Draft Prospects

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Landry Fields
Landry Fields
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Mar 15, 2006, 03:58 am
Nichols possesses good size, but lacks the athleticism and shot-creating ability you’d like to see in a small forward prospect. He’s a very streaky player who loves the three point shot, and when his shot is falling, Nichols is a very dangerous player. Right now he lacks ball-handling skills, a killer instinct and the ability to score consistently from other places except for beyond the 3-point line. If he wants to become a legit NBA prospect, he must improve his 36.7% shooting from behind the three point line.

In the NCAA Tournament, Demetris can help Syracuse win by playing confidently. He seems to be off when he plays tentatively, so if he comes out and plays every game with confidence, Nichols will be at his best more often. Right now, Demetris Nichols lacks the ability to create his own shot and athleticism that most NBA prospects have, so he could help himself out greatly by becoming a more consistent player.

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