FAMILY REUNION
WELCOME BOOST FOR CHARGER
HOBART Chargers’ basketball rivals beware: there’s a very happy and content Tre Nichols about to take the competition by storm now that he and his family are reunited. Nichols’s wife Dominique Edwards and daughters D’Yani, 4 and Tanayah, 7, arrived in Hobart this week.
LIFE as a professional basketballer has taken Chargers import Tre Nichols to places around the globe he once thought he’d never visit.
The native Texan has played in Mexico and China, had a stint in Saudi Arabia late last year and now finds himself in Hobart having spent three seasons in Western Australia.
And while the point guard is blessed to have such a job, the constant travel also has its downsides — worst of all spending up to six months at times away from his family.
That is why the arrival of wife Dominique Edwards and daughters D’Yani, 4, and seven-year-old Tanayah for the remainder of the SEABL season have brought an extra spark to his step — and that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the competition.
Nichols has been an electric force for the Chargers this year, with his scoring prowess, wizardry dancing around defenders and court vision a major reason why the team has eight wins and three losses despite numerous injury hurdles.
But now with the opportunity to shine in front of his biggest fans for the first time, the 28-year-old is determined to show the sacrifices he makes are all worth it.
“The travel, that’s definitely the hardest part for sure, hands down,” Nichols told the Mercury. “But at the same time I have a good crew as far as my wife and my two girls, they have been around the sport all their lives and they understand the sacrifice and work and commitment it takes on my behalf.
“I get their support from all angles, but mentally for me that is the hardest part, being away from them. I am just happy they can be here in Hobart with me during this time.
“It played a big part in me coming out to Hobart, I have been to different parts of the world and they have never got to experience a different country while I have been playing.
“I am usually away at least six, seven months of the year … it is hard, but I am happy, I am full of energy now they are here and they get to finally see me play professionally.
“They got to see me play semi pro back home, but this will be their first time seeing me play professionally on this level.
“A lot of excitement and I’m full of energy, I am ready to play now, but we will rest this weekend with the bye and get back to it.”
Basketball grabbed his attention from a young age and like most youngsters of his generation one of the greatest NBA players in history, Michael Jordan, was one of his idols, but it was another star who he really looked up to — and is part of the inspiration behind the No. 3 he wears for the Chargers.
“My family is full of athletes, that started me as a youngster,” Nichols said. “My dad was a big football player, he played with the Dallas Cowboys and had a basketball background as well. Mum was a track star. I was always destined for some type of athletic ability. Once dad put a ball in my hand at a young age I fell in love with it.
“Watching the NBA, the Michael Jordans and my all- time favourite Allen Iverson, that’s what started me off.
“Watching those guys play the game the way they do at their height, especially someone like Iverson, it was amazing.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be the tallest. Just to see him play with so much heart and will at his height, he inspired me as a youngster.”
Listed at 180cm, Nichols has never let his smaller stature be a deterrent and after putting up some serious numbers in the first half of the SEABL campaign he is attracting the attention of several NBL sides.
Nichols is the second leading scorer (25.9 points per game) in the league behind Melbourne Tigers guard Tom Wilson — who is on the Sydney Kings roster — is fifth for assists (5.4) and fifth in steals (22).
“Personally, I think I’m ready, it is just a matter of the work you put in and hopefully an opportunity presents itself,” Nichols said of his NBL ambitions.
“I just want to control what I can control, and do what I can here to help this club win ball games and overall win a championship.
“Whatever comes from that I will be ready.”
One man who has no doubt Nichols could be an invaluable asset for an NBL club is Chargers coach Anthony Stewart.
Stewart made one of the toughest calls of his tenure by bringing in Nichols to replace last year’s guard Chris Whitehead, and it is a move he has not regretted.
“He is everything I expected him to be, he is knocking on the door for NBL,” Stewart said.
“A lot of clubs will be looking at third imports … I would see him being definitely someone who could fill that and then work his way into gaining minutes.
“Tre is a smart point guard who can create, he is one of the quickest guys I have seen off the dribble, he is hugely athletic and then he has one of the best shots I have seen that he has developed during his college and professional career.”