It was February 2021 as Covid was in full swing and one had to wear masks at sporting events. I was in Giessen watching a Pro B clash between the Depant Giessen 46ers and easyCredit BBL team Ratiopharm Ulm farm team Orange Academy. It was an exciting game, but in crunch-time Giessen buckled down on defense getting 5 stops in a row to clinch the win. A vital factor in the win was mr triple double Donte Nicholas (196-G/F-1987, college: FPU) who contributed a rare, but also unconventional triple double with 17/12/12 stats. But the last number weren’t assists, but turnovers. Ok so the triple double wasn’t glamorous, but at the end of the day a triple double is a triple double. You have to live with it. One would think a spectacular triple double like that would stay in your head forever. ‘ Not really because I already forgot about it’, smiled Donte Nicholas in 2022. 5.5 weeks later he achieved another triple double against Koblenz. It was his sixth triple double in his 8th professional season. Triple doubles in Europe aren’t as usual as most guys will never get one, while other guys might get 1 or 2. Guys like Kameron Taylor, Curtis Hollis, Luke Sikma and Rashid Mahalbasic have proved in the last years in Germany. After playing a season in Luxemburg, the Virginia native returned back to Germany this season and is playing in the former East Germany for the BSW Sixers. In his third game, he was ripe again for a triple double as he was instrumental in his team defeating Vechta 2 90-85 scoring 18 points, hauling down 13 boards and dishing out 10 dimes. Triple doubles seem to be in his blood as he is always good for a triple double.

Even if Vechta 2 is a new team in the Pro B north after moving up from the Regionaliga, head coach Hendrik Gruhn has carved together another competitive squad as they welcomed the BSW Sixers with a 3-1 record. But like in Giessen back in 2021, Nicholas who played at Fresno Pacific University (NAIA) and believes that Steph Curry is currently a top 5 point guard of all-time and his team were able to prevail in crunch-time and pull out the victory. It seems to be the standard answer I get from triple double guys after an extraordinary feat in that he had no idea he had achieved the triple double until a teammate had informed him and he checked the stat sheet. A common occurrence in German basketball after a player scores the 100th point in a game, he usually has to buy a case of beer for the team, but in the case of the American, it is actually handled differently after a triple double. ‘ Yea right, all that work I put in my teammates have to lol. Luckily for them though, I don’t drink beer, maybe some wine’, laughed Donte Nicholas.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Donte Nicholas in Frankfurt in 2017

In tennis a Boris Becker can still remember what kind of a winner he shot at 4-3 in the fifth set of a crucial match at Wimbeldon and in basketball, it isn’t any different as players can remember exactly what happened at a certain moment of a game. But sometimes guys miscalculate their own feats even if some are rarer and less to have to remember. When it comes to knowing how many triple doubles he has accomplished in his career, he was wrong in his estimation. ‘ No idea, but I would hope at least double digits’, said Donte Nicholas. Since 2015 he has exhibited 7 triple doubles. He had 3 in the UK and has had 4 in Germany against Bernau, Ulm, Koblenz and Vechta 2. There is one that is still dancing around in his mind. ‘ I don’t remember them all but one that stands out was the Bernau one because I believe it was in a crucial playoff game if I’m not mistaken. I think I also had one in the UK which was close to a quadruple double with steals as well’, stated Donte Nicholas. Even if he can’t remember all his triple doubles, each had a place in his heart as they happened. ‘ Triple doubles are pretty special because they are one of the toughest things to accomplish out on the floor. I think they signify a player having a bigger imprint on the game than scoring a bunch of points for instance’, added Donte Nicholas. One might think that as one gets older, it has to be more special and difficult to get a triple double, because a player’s skills aren’t necessarily getting better, but rather declining. ‘ I wouldn’t say they’re more special for me because I know what I’m capable of doing but I know others would be surprised for the reason you listed’, expressed Donte Nicholas. Some players are just more destined to get triple doubles, because that special versatility doesn’t live in every player. Sometimes having limited resources for personal can help a guy achieve triple doubles, but in the case of the ex Metropolitan State University of Denver (NCAA2) forward, he has been able to be that triple double man on account of his game and not what kind of personal the team had. ‘ I think regardless of personal or whatever, I’ve always been this type of player. That’s why I can continue to perform like this different years and different locations. This is the type of player I enjoy being and wouldn’t want to be any other type because this is the most fulfilling to me’, warned Donte Nicholas.

The stat filler who has played more than 200 professional games and isn’t surprised by the horrible start by the Los Angeles Lakers because they are simply a bad team that just isn’t built to be competitive played last season with BBC US Heffingen (Luxembourg-LBBL) having another incredible season stat wise averaging 17.3ppg, 10.5rpg, Assists-3 (4.7apg), Steals-4 (2.3spg), FGP: 52.5%, 3PT: 31.2%, FT: 74.8%. He played in a very small country where often young Americans like to play right out of school to have great stats and then make the next step. He has played many years in the German pro B and knows exactly what league is more cut throat. ‘ I think Germany is a little more competitive across the board, because for the most part everyone is playing with a goal to play at a higher level. In Luxembourg, some have that goal but definitely a smaller percentage’, stressed Donte Nicholas. Last season he scored in double figures in 20 of 22 games and registered 12 double doubles. He even cracked the incredible 20 rebound mark having 19 points and 21 boards against Contern. ‘Last season was an interesting season, we didn’t have the most talent but I definitely think we overachieved. We surprised a lot of people in that league by performing how we did, that’s probably what I’ll cherish the most’, remembered Donte Nicholas.

The ex Montgomery College (JUCO) player who saw the sequel to the classic Coming To America and believes the classic should have been left alone has began hot with his new Sixers team and currently are 4-1 as they welcome another hot club the Dragons Rhondorf this weekend. The club may even have been 5-0 now had he been able to compete in the first game. ‘Unfortunately I didn’t play the first game but I think I could’ve helped and giving us a better chance to win. There is no secret to success but we have found our identity a little better and we’re trying to stick to it. Take care of the ball and play good defense and we have a chance to win games, simple as that’, commented Donte Nicholas. In comparison to other years, this season he is on a very young team that has an average age of 21 years. He is almost 20 years older than the clubs youngest youth player Armin Duracovic. He obviously has a special leadership role. ‘ It’s been fun, similar to the season I was in Giessen. I like working with the young players and helping them figure some things out. There is a lot of young talent here and I think the earlier they can learn the game the better and I do my part to help with that. This team is very young so naturally I fall into a leadership role but I think to be a successful leader you need to put others in position to lead as well. That way we all share responsibility and accountability so everyone feels the same motivation’, expressed Donte Nicholas. Currently he is averaging insane stats of 16/12/7 and is averaging the most assists in his career since his second season in Plymouth and currently is third in the Pro B. Not bad for a guy that isn’t a point guard. But as usual his humbleness shows that he sees his success as a product of what he has around him. ‘ Like I said earlier the assists are heavily reliant on the talent around you and we have a lot of talent here. The other stats are pretty consistent from what I’ve been doing my whole career’, warned Donte Nicholas. He will be turning 36 in March 2022 and the question is how much longer does he still want to be grinding on a daily basis for the game he loves. But 40 may be a reach for him. ‘I always said I want to ‘get out while the gettin’ is good’. Basically, I don’t have a set timeframe but definitely sooner rather than later but you never know’, stressed Donte Nicholas. One thing is for sure, I will definitely be able to see him play at least one more time. I have marked my calendar for the day February 18, 2023, because then I will see him ball again in Rhondorf. Maybe he will produce a triple double for me? And in terms of playing until he is 40, I could give him Derrick Allen’s number for motivation.

Tags : DONTE NICHOLAS, BSW SIXERS SANDERSDORF, GERMAN BASKETBALL