Imagine a world where Jack Nicklaus traded his golf clubs for a basketball jersey at Ohio State. It almost happened.
Before he became the Golden Bear and a legend on the fairways, Nicklaus was a standout shooting guard at Upper Arlington High School. His skills on the hardwood earned him honorable mention All-Ohio honors as a senior—and caught the eye of Buckeyes coach Fred Taylor, who was assembling one of the most historic recruiting classes in college basketball history.
"I was recruited by Ohio State for basketball along with Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, and all those guys," Nicklaus revealed in a 2024 interview with the PGA Tour's social media channels.
It's a fascinating "what if" for sports fans. Lucas and Havlicek went on to become NBA icons—Lucas with a statue now standing outside Ohio State's Jerome Schottenstein Center, just across the street from the Jack Nicklaus Museum. "That's very nice," Nicklaus said at a May press conference previewing the 50th Memorial Tournament. "He should have been honored."
Lucas and Havlicek were sophomores on the 1960 Ohio State team that won the program's only national championship. The following year, the Buckeyes finished as runners-up to Cincinnati—while Nicklaus claimed the 1961 NCAA golf title before turning pro, launching a career that would define the sport for generations.
Nicklaus has stayed close with Lucas over the years, even supporting his childhood education programs. But when asked about that crossroads moment, Nicklaus is candid about why he chose the links over the court.
"You look at [Lucas and Havlicek], that's why I didn't play basketball," he said, noting their 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-5 frames. "I would have had splinters from sitting on the bench with those guys."
Nicklaus estimated he would've been the "ninth or tenth man" on Taylor's roster. Golf offered a better path—and the rest is history. "I didn't want to be ninth or tenth man," he said simply.
It's a reminder that sometimes the best decisions are the ones that let you swing for greatness—whether on the court, the course, or in life.