SE: Nicholson Ready to Define New Role with K-State Women's Basketball
Jul 07, 2021 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Earlier this summer, Mike Nicholson was in Warrensburg, Missouri with a problem most basketball coaches would kill for:
What came next at Central Missouri, after a DII national championship in 2018 and a pair of conference championships and Final Four appearances?
Then Nicholson got a phone call from K-State head coach Jeff Mittie.
Looking back on it now, the 2021 WBCA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year said a new opportunity with the Wildcats found him.
"I'm not a big grass-is-always-greener kind of guy," Nicholson said. "But I think the big thing was Coach Mittie's vision of how you can still impact a basketball program even though you're in an off-the-court position."
As the Chief of Staff for K-State Women's Basketball, Nicholson brings three decades of coaching experience to a role that will impact the Wildcats program 365 days a year. It's a natural fit for someone who, according to his former head coach, "outworks" everyone in college basketball.
"He's relentless, he's a bulldog," Central Missouri head coach Dave Slifer said, in an interview after Nicholson took home national honors. "If somebody is recruitable, they know him."
But "Coach Nick" is also a self-effacing presence around the Ice Family Basketball Center, working out of a converted conference room less than a month after arriving in Manhattan.
His off-the-court role will be a new challenge, but it's one Nicholson is already starting to define in his first month on the job.
"To me it's simply, what can I do - within the rules - that helps put our players in the best possible position to win the Big 12? What can I do to help the staff?" he said. "You're the guy that's bringing energy, making sure that everyone is staying positive and knowing that you're someone they can lean on when it comes to life outside basketball."
Since his coaching career began with the men's basketball team at Kansas City, Nicholson has been a part of every program he's joined for at least six years.
But he's no stranger to life outside basketball - that was clear after Nicholson's head coach with Missouri Western, Tom Smith, retired following the 2013 season.
When Smith stepped aside, Nicholson was out of basketball for the first time since 1991.
As he plotted the next step in his career, Nicholson drove a delivery truck for Schwan's and helped organize youth basketball tournaments.
"You're not happy and you're trying to figure out what you're going to do next," Nicholson said. "An opportunity opened up and Coach Slifer gave me a second chance. I just ran with it, and I'll always be grateful. Tried to pay him back every day and we had a good little run there."
Nicholson arrived at Central Missouri in 2014, his first coaching opportunity in women's college basketball.
All Nicholson did was help recruit and develop the players responsible for taking Central Missouri from one of the worst seasons in program history in 2016 to an NCAA championship just two years later.
"I can't thank the Slifer family enough, Dave and Tammy Slifer, and the University of Central Missouri for entrusting someone who had never coached women's basketball," he said. "In Division II, you really have a hand in recruiting every single kid because there's just not as many people on staff…You're the lead recruiter on everyone."
When the Jennies took home the DII national title in 2018, every member of the roster had arrived with Nicholson on staff.
A former college basketball player at Nebraska-Wesleyan, Nicholson helped develop All-Americans Paige Redmond, Morgan Fleming and Megan Skaggs at Central Missouri, but his off-the-court responsibilities are what caught Mittie's eye in looking for his first Chief of Staff.
"We became a program where the key word was 'extra.' Extra pass and extra effort. Off the court, extra work in the community, extra work in the classroom. Don't be average," Nicholson said. "To see it actually happen just emphasizes the message for me that hard work works."
In Manhattan, the Wildcats are looking to rebound after missing the postseason for the first time since 2014. Alongside an experienced core headlined by Ayoka Lee, Rachel Ranke and Emilee Ebert, K-State Women's Basketball will have seven underclassmen in the winter.
The new guy hasn't even met the whole roster yet, but Nicholson is already impressed by the enthusiasm in Manhattan, with basketball season still just a gleam on the horizon.
He's more than ready to help the 'Cats get there.
"The young ladies are just tremendous, high-character kids and their effort has been tremendous, working in June and July when the season is so far away," Nicholson said. "They talk about family and it's really just a different kind of feel at K-State. This is a special place."
Earlier this summer, Mike Nicholson was in Warrensburg, Missouri with a problem most basketball coaches would kill for:
What came next at Central Missouri, after a DII national championship in 2018 and a pair of conference championships and Final Four appearances?
Then Nicholson got a phone call from K-State head coach Jeff Mittie.
Looking back on it now, the 2021 WBCA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year said a new opportunity with the Wildcats found him.
"I'm not a big grass-is-always-greener kind of guy," Nicholson said. "But I think the big thing was Coach Mittie's vision of how you can still impact a basketball program even though you're in an off-the-court position."
K-State fans, please welcome the newest Wildcat WBB staff member, Mike Nicholson.
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) June 11, 2021
Learn more about Coach Nick, including the opinion of Wildcat legend @nicole_ohlde here -> https://t.co/osBE8VQG9I#KStateWBB x Mike Nicholson pic.twitter.com/4t2P5avoy6
As the Chief of Staff for K-State Women's Basketball, Nicholson brings three decades of coaching experience to a role that will impact the Wildcats program 365 days a year. It's a natural fit for someone who, according to his former head coach, "outworks" everyone in college basketball.
"He's relentless, he's a bulldog," Central Missouri head coach Dave Slifer said, in an interview after Nicholson took home national honors. "If somebody is recruitable, they know him."
But "Coach Nick" is also a self-effacing presence around the Ice Family Basketball Center, working out of a converted conference room less than a month after arriving in Manhattan.
His off-the-court role will be a new challenge, but it's one Nicholson is already starting to define in his first month on the job.
"To me it's simply, what can I do - within the rules - that helps put our players in the best possible position to win the Big 12? What can I do to help the staff?" he said. "You're the guy that's bringing energy, making sure that everyone is staying positive and knowing that you're someone they can lean on when it comes to life outside basketball."
Since his coaching career began with the men's basketball team at Kansas City, Nicholson has been a part of every program he's joined for at least six years.
But he's no stranger to life outside basketball - that was clear after Nicholson's head coach with Missouri Western, Tom Smith, retired following the 2013 season.
When Smith stepped aside, Nicholson was out of basketball for the first time since 1991.
As he plotted the next step in his career, Nicholson drove a delivery truck for Schwan's and helped organize youth basketball tournaments.
"You're not happy and you're trying to figure out what you're going to do next," Nicholson said. "An opportunity opened up and Coach Slifer gave me a second chance. I just ran with it, and I'll always be grateful. Tried to pay him back every day and we had a good little run there."
Nicholson arrived at Central Missouri in 2014, his first coaching opportunity in women's college basketball.
All Nicholson did was help recruit and develop the players responsible for taking Central Missouri from one of the worst seasons in program history in 2016 to an NCAA championship just two years later.
"I can't thank the Slifer family enough, Dave and Tammy Slifer, and the University of Central Missouri for entrusting someone who had never coached women's basketball," he said. "In Division II, you really have a hand in recruiting every single kid because there's just not as many people on staff…You're the lead recruiter on everyone."
When the Jennies took home the DII national title in 2018, every member of the roster had arrived with Nicholson on staff.
"What Coach Nick does is outwork people."@UCMWBB Mike Nicholson (@hoopsbynick) is the @WBCA1981 D2 Assistant Coach of the Year.
— Chris Roush (@chrisRroush) May 11, 2021
He graduated from Savannah and helped build Missouri Western basketball under Tom Smith for 14 years, but there's plenty more to his story. pic.twitter.com/AVlQVtdyS7
A former college basketball player at Nebraska-Wesleyan, Nicholson helped develop All-Americans Paige Redmond, Morgan Fleming and Megan Skaggs at Central Missouri, but his off-the-court responsibilities are what caught Mittie's eye in looking for his first Chief of Staff.
"We became a program where the key word was 'extra.' Extra pass and extra effort. Off the court, extra work in the community, extra work in the classroom. Don't be average," Nicholson said. "To see it actually happen just emphasizes the message for me that hard work works."
In Manhattan, the Wildcats are looking to rebound after missing the postseason for the first time since 2014. Alongside an experienced core headlined by Ayoka Lee, Rachel Ranke and Emilee Ebert, K-State Women's Basketball will have seven underclassmen in the winter.
The new guy hasn't even met the whole roster yet, but Nicholson is already impressed by the enthusiasm in Manhattan, with basketball season still just a gleam on the horizon.
He's more than ready to help the 'Cats get there.
"The young ladies are just tremendous, high-character kids and their effort has been tremendous, working in June and July when the season is so far away," Nicholson said. "They talk about family and it's really just a different kind of feel at K-State. This is a special place."
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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