Dave Brown and Gator Nichols are getting one trip around the sun.
The two figures most chiefly responsible for Maysville’s epic state tournament runs in boys basketball the past two seasons will get a rare chance to go out winners at the Ohio North-South All-Star boys basketball game.
Brown was tabbed the South squad’s head coach by fellow coaches in the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association for the annual clash on April 24, while Nichols will be the District 12 player representative. The boys and girls games will be played beginning at 6 p.m. at Powell Olentangy Liberty.
"It's the last time Coach Brown will be my coach, so just one more time with him will be fun," Nichols said. "Then obviously there are some dudes that are going to be up there, so it should be fun playing with a bunch of talent like that. Honestly, I can't wait to play with those guys."
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It’s yet another chance for Nichols, who approached 2,000 career points as the Panthers' all-time leading scorer, to show why he was twice chosen as Division IV Player of the Year by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. He was also the District 12 Player of the Year for the second straight season in a year were Cambridge's Garrett Carpenter and John Glenn's Stehl Bates averaged more than 20 points per game.
The rosters from the North and South squads feature players from all seven divisions. Nichols is joined on the North by fellow East District rep Griffin Straub (Indiana, Pa.), of St. Clairsville, New Madison Tri-Village's Trey Sagester, Tipp City Tippecanoe's C.J. Bailey, Reynoldsburg's Xavier McKinney (Ohio University), Westerville North's Elijah McCree, Newark's Jake Quackenbush (Thomas More), Fredericktown's Gavin Toombs (Walsh), Pomeroy Meigs' Carson Davis (Cornell), Chillicothe Unioto's Blake Fitch, Huber Heights Wayne's Isaiah Thompson.
And one more — Cincinnati Wyoming's Kellen Wiley. That Kellen Wiley. The same Kellen Wiley that played against Nichols twice in the Final Four, when their teams split the meetings en route to state titles.
They split their meetings, which included a semifinal loss their senior seasons.
"It's a lot better playing with him than playing against him," Nichols said of Wiley, who will play at Ashland. "Obviously, as we know, and as we figured out, that dude can hoop a little bit."
"Kellen is obviously a really good player," Brown said. "If any team was going to win a state championship, not that we wanted to lose, but that was the team that deserved it. They worked really hard and you could tell they got a lot better. ... They did it the right way. Those kids grew up together."
The North squad features the likes of Delphos St. John's Cameron Elwer, a Furman signee who was named OHSBCA Mr. Basketball by state coaches. He shot better than 50 percent on 3s as a senior.
Berlin Hiland's Alex Miller, who helped the Hawks win a Division VI state title, will also play for the North. Other North players of note include Dayton signee Julian Washington, of Castalia Margaretta, Lima Senior high flyer Willie Foster, who inked with Northern Kentucky, Toledo signee Manny Johnson, of Canton Central Catholic, and Brunswick sharpshooter Sean Barnett, who hit 88 3s as a senior and will play at Flagler (Florida).
Per usual, Nichols won't exactly pass the look test when compared to his taller, more athletic teammates and counterparts on the North. At a wiry 6-1, is built more like a slot receiver than most basketball players earning scholarships.
"It's one more time, one more high school game, I guess, to prove myself that I could play with these dudes," Nichols said. "Obviously, I am going in there and it's an All-Star game — I'm going to have a little fun — but I am going to hopefully go in there and show those dudes I can really play with them."
Brown joins a rare pantheon as someone who played in the game after a standout senior season at Coshocton who now will serve as a head coach.
Brown echoed Nichols in his excitement to be able to coach Nichols a final time.
"There aren't too many area coaches who have gotten to do this," Brown said. "It's a great honor. I'm thankful for the coaches who thought enough of me to be able to do this. Getting to coach Gator one more time is icing on the cake."