The capacity crowd was on its feet and the Wings Academy contingent was at its loudest, doing its best to rattle Malik Nichols. He didn’t hear anything, just his mother Jeannette’s voice.
“Malik they can’t guard you,” is all he heard.
It’s been like that every game since she tragically passed away Dec. 31 from an apparent heart attack at the age of 46. No matter where he is, he feels she’s there with him.
After his best performance of the season – 22 points and 12 rebounds in No. 2 Boys & Girls’ 53-48 win over third-seeded Wings Academy in the PSAL Class AA semifinals at CCNY – he broke down in the locker room, his mother clearly still on his mind.
“Everything I do is for my mom,” the 6-foot-6 wing said. “I just play for her at all times.”
Nichols enjoyed a solid year for Boys & Girls, averaging eight points and nine rebounds per game after transferring from Hillcrest. The Hofstra recruit had yet to truly break out on the offensive end, until the playoffs. His numbers have almost doubled during the postseason and he shined on Wednesday, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter. He hit two clutch free throws with 10 seconds left to extend a three-point lead to five and made arguably the evening’s biggest shot, a 3-pointer from the right wing to extend a three-point lead to six with 2:27 to go.
Rutgers-bound guard Mike Taylor returned from a six-game academic suspension, but Nichols was the one who lifted the Kangaroos. It didn’t surprise coach Ruth Lovelace. Back in November, she called him the city’s best all-around player because of his ability to defend, score inside and out and shoot from the perimeter. All those attributes were on display against Wings.
“The kid has the total package,” Lovelace said of the Hofstra-bound wing. “I said from the beginning of the year how special he is.”
One assistant coach who was involved in Nichols’ recruiting lauded him as “the steal of the metro area. Nichols, the coach said, could be an all-conference performer as a freshman.
“Whoever recruited him deserves a pay raise,” the coach said. “He’ll be there with the Hofstra greats when it’s all said and done. That’s a major get for Hofstra.”
Nichols certainly looked like a prize against Wings.
He hit two 3-pointers, grabbed those 12 rebounds and sliced past Wings shot-blocker Amdy Fall like he wasn’t there on several occasions, softly using the backboard in the paint. Now he will grace the Madison Square Garden court, with a chance to win a city championship.
“It’s an honor to play there on that floor,” he said. “I just hope I come out on top.”
There’s little doubt what voice will be in his head Sunday at 1 p.m.
