Black Hills State University Athletics

John Nicholas, Class of ’62, was a head coach for 26 years at three Wisconsin high schools. All together his teams won 13 regional and seven sectional tournaments and advanced to the state tournament seven times. Coach Nicholas’ teams won 442 games and lost 177 for a 71 percent winning average.

Nicholas was a member of the Federation of Wisconsin High School Coaches Association and the National Basketball Coaches Association. He has served on the executive board and as chairman of the player selection committee for the WBCA and hosts the annual Northwest Basketball Clinic. He also chairs the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Nicholas was chosen as an assistant coach in the all-star game in 1987 and was head coach in the 1988 game.

In the mid-sixties, Nicholas was one of the first coaches in the state to use a match-up zone defense. Though his coaching style changed to meet the challenge of today’s game, his philosophy, which was designed to enable team members to achieve their maximum potential, remained constant: “Always be the best person, the best student, and the best player that you can be.”

Nicholas retired from coaching in 1992 and in 1993 was inducted into the Wisconsin High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He then worked as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire until 2003.