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Yemi Nicholson

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Yemi Nicholson
Nicholson with Trefl Sopot in 2014
Personal information
Born (1983-06-07) June 7, 1983 (age 41)
Oregon, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High schoolOverland (Aurora, Colorado)
College
NBA draft2006: undrafted
Playing career2006–2014
PositionCenter
Career history
2006–2007Belfius Mons-Hainaut
2007Villa de Los Barrios
2008Austin Toros
2008–2009Eisbären Bremerhaven
2010–2012Prostějov
2012–2013Czarni Słupsk
2013–2014Trefl Sopot
Career highlights and awards

Bertengeh O. "Yemi" Gadri-Nicholson (born June 7, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Denver Pioneers.

Early life

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Nicholson was born in Oregon to parents who had immigrated from Sierra Leone.[1] He lived in Texas before moving to Colorado in 1994 where he attended Overland High School.[1] Nicholson almost failed to make his high school basketball team and instead possessed greater abilities as a saxophone player.[1] He earned a scholarship to study music at Fort Lewis College.[1]

College career

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Nicholson grew from 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) to 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) during his freshman year at Fort Lewis and his father encouraged him to try playing basketball again.[1] He walked-on the Fort Lewis basketball team midway through his freshman year and played for three minutes in one game during the 2001–02 season.[2]

Nicholson was playing a pickup game in Denver, Colorado, in 2002 when he was noticed by Denver Pioneers player Rodney Billups.[1] Billups recommended Nicholson to Pioneers head coach Terry Carroll who invited Nicholson to join the team.[1] Nicholson sat out the 2002–03 season as a redshirt.[1]

Nicholson had a paltry debut with the Pioneers during the 2003–04 season and averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.[1][3] He had a breakthrough season in 2004–05 as he averaged 18.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.[2] Nicholson was named as the 2005 Sun Belt Player of the Year.[3] He received frequent attention of National Basketball Association (NBA) scouts during his senior season in 2005–06.[2] Nicholson averaged a league-best 19.8 points per game and was selected as the 2006 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year.[4]

Professional career

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Nicholson participated at the 2006 NBA Pre-Draft Camp.[5] He was not selected in the 2006 NBA draft and joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2006 NBA Summer League where he played sparingly.[6]

Nicholson began his professional career with Belfius Mons-Hainaut in Belgium in the 2006–07 season.[6] He played for the Austin Toros during the 2007–08 season where he averaged 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game.[7] Nicholson also played in Poland, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.[8]

Post-playing career

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Nicholson lives in Denver with his wife and two sons.[8] He operates a recording studio named Yemi's Studio.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i McPherson, Doug (June 1, 2005). "Standing tall". University of Denver Magazine. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Anderson, Kelli (January 23, 2006). "Stealth Stars". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "DENVER'S NICHOLSON, WKU'S PORTER-TALBERT NAMED SUN BELT PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: All-Sun Belt teams announced". Sun Belt Conference. March 2, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  4. ^ "Nicholson Named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year". University of Denver Athletics. March 1, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "Almond at NBA Pre-Draft Camp". Conference USA. June 6, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Chambers, Mike (May 8, 2016). "DU star headed to Belgium". The Denver Post. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  7. ^ "Yemi Nicholson minor league basketball statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Blankenship, Niko (February 25, 2021). "Black History Month Profile: Yemi Nicholson". University of Denver Athletics. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "Meet Yemi Nicholson". Canvas Rebel. August 28, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
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