THE VIEW FROM CENTERCOURT | Western New York Boys High School Basketball

Nichols coaching vacancy brings speculation

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centercourt42

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On March 25, 2011, it was announced that Jim MacKinnon was hired as the head basketball coach of the Nichols Vikings.  Less than one year later, MacKinnon has been dismissed from those duties following a 10-16 season.  According to The Buffalo News, Nichols AD Rob Stewart said "It just wasn't the right fit".

 

MacKinnon served as an assistant coach in 2010, the year Nichols won the NYS Class A Federation championship.  Following the 2011 season, Greg Plumb resigned as head coach, opening the door for MacKinnon. 

 

In his first season, MacKinnon brought in four freshmen: Chris Miner, Cam Lewis, Tanner Schmidt, and Jamar Waters.  Each saw extensive playing time for the Vikings this season.  Midway through the season, Waters left Nichols and transferred to Niagara Catholic.

 

The specualtion as to what Stewart's statement specifically refers to has already begun and I'm sure will continue, but that is only one small part of unanswered questions surrounding the Nichols basketball program.   Beyond the reasons for MacKinnon's dismissal, speculation has begun over who will replace  him, which players will remain with the program, if players who were rumored to be heading there next year will still come, and what new names may possibly be headed to Nichols, depending on who is hired. 

 

I've certainly heard my share of Nichols rumors in the last three days, and my sense is that this situation will result in changes in each of the above mentioned scenarios – stay tuned.

 

A fellow hoop-head once said to me, "WNY basketball and specifically the MMA are a lot more interesting when Nichols is relevant".  Well, between all the speculation that will surround this situation and all the discussion that will take place after the new staff is hired and the roster takes form, I'd say Nichols is once again quite relevant.

 

-centercourt

125 responses to “Nichols coaching vacancy brings speculation”

  1. Gus Macker Avatar
    Gus Macker

    Right. I’m sure Zera put in a call and was like “I heard you fired MacKinnon. Any chance you need a math teacher and a coach?” I’m sure Nichols is sitting back waiting for the right person to call.

    Reply
  2. Gus Buster Avatar
    Gus Buster

    Macker you have been whistled for a flagrant foul for posting on a message board while being clueless. I have heard the same rumblings that WT716 has. Joe was interested in the position, called and talked to the Nichols AD only to find out that there wasn’t an opening in the math dept @ Nichols. Therefore it didn’t make sense to explore it further since Joe thought it would be very awkward to teach and coach at different schools in the same league. I am happy it didn’t work out because I would have hated to see Joe leave Canisius.

    Reply
  3. Gus Macker Avatar
    Gus Macker

    Buster, you say you heard rumblings yet you also know how Zera thinks? which is it…you spoke to Zera or you heard rumblings? if you are handing out fouls then you should at least come correct with your vast knowledge. if you spoke with zera then you must be connected to Canisius so just say that.

    Reply
  4. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Clarence will make a big run with Schmit. He would go back there because it is his home district. It would have to be a private school otherwise. The education at clarence is excellent as well – and FREE !!

    Reply
  5. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    Why not Center Court 4 head coach? He is at more games than any 1 so that would give him a big edge in recruiting. He knows the game, would fix the issues w Buff State concessions.
    CC 4 head coach, Hoopster 4 assistant.
    Fab out 4 Cuse that SUCKS!!! Who cares if he goes 2 class? I don’t care if his GPA is a zero as long as he is blocking shots! Schools have 2 realize 1st and foremost people care about BASKETBALL not if a kid is going 2 class.
    Paul Harris had a person seriously WALK HIM 2 CLASS in 2005 everyday 2 keep him eligible. This is a fact. Why can’t Syracuse do the same thing with Fab? Then when the season is over he declares 4 the NBA, has learned nothing, but led Cuse 2 the Final 4. That is what America is all about baby!
    Off 2 Glens Friday…hoping 4 OTC and Olean Sat night playing 4 State titles!

    Reply
  6. Fan Avatar
    Fan

    Heard a rumor Chris Miner might be headed to St.Marys or Timon

    Reply
  7. Idiots Avatar
    Idiots

    I heard a rumor that Nichols is turning into a PG school. Both Stan Wier and Cam Wier are going to head to Nichols for one last year together. I also heard that Taplin is going to join them, along with White and Weir from Canisius, along with Waters. Should be one heck of a squad. Zera is going to be there shooting coach.

    Reply
  8. WT716 Avatar
    WT716

    Are the games on Saturday only for seniors?

    Reply
  9. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    Yes…seniors only.

    Reply
  10. City Honors rep Avatar
    City Honors rep

    Cameron Lewis is definitely going back to cityhonors

    Reply
  11. johnny Avatar
    johnny

    Nichols is NOT good. The miner kid has really good potential, but after that there is not much. They have nothing coming up from the JV and just because the program had one good year does not make it a power house. All the more reason they need to find a coach who can develop these kids.

    Reply
  12. guest Avatar
    guest

    They have Miner, Lewis, and Schmitt all potentially returning. Their JV went 16-6 and has 3 scorers moving up to varsity and Washington is still trying to get in the door

    Reply
  13. Dave Avatar
    Dave

    And except for the JV record, they have MacKinnon to thank for that. If not for Coach MacKinnon being an assistant on the 2010 Fed team and his son being a three-year starter, they don’t win that Fed title.
    Thanks for helping us win a Fed in class A and thanks for making the future so bright here once again Jim…you’re fired! Just think, it was OK for Nichols to rent Stan for a season a couple years ago, but how dare Jim try to build a power with players who would spend four years with the school. And by firing Jim, you also lose out on his son who is in 8th grade and will now play for St. Mary’s instead.
    Nichols should just come up with a new slogan:
    ‘Nichols…home of the regulation size court in a Yale Cup gym and more expensive than college.’

    Reply
  14. PatrickMoran Avatar
    PatrickMoran

    Ouch. Although I have to agree about the Yale Cup/Court comment.

    Reply
  15. johnny Avatar
    johnny

    Guest,
    It great there JV team went 16-6. But that is JV, there 3 scorers were scorers on JV, a huge difference from varsity. Its unfortunte that they dont hang up banners for JV. In addition they played in possibly the weakest divisoin in WNY. Also Schmitt is rumored to be heading to canisuis Miner and Lewis are probably coming back, and Wahington isn’t even defentily coming yet.

    Reply
  16. Gus Buster Avatar
    Gus Buster

    Other entries in the Yale Cup/MMA gyms, Joe’s, Timon, O’Hara, Niagara Catholic.

    Reply
  17. A Basketball fan Avatar
    A Basketball fan

    Honestly why would Chris Miner and Cameron Lewis want to go back to City Honors…. there not good. They lost to Wilson on a 9-0 run in the Fourth quarter . And what big names can you name coming out of City Honors. …. I personally know no one on the level of Laettner or Regan or the Torgalski brothers . And when colleges look at them and see they scored 30 points on Da Vinci instead of 20 points on Canisius and St. Joes, real competition, they will get better looks for colleges.

    Reply
  18. willy Avatar
    willy

    I could see Chris Miner at Canisius or Saint Marys A real good Post prescence for them to use Timon to maybe.

    Reply
  19. hoopster Avatar
    hoopster

    Just read all these comments and all I can say is WOW. It is remarkable how much discussion Nichols and this sad situation generated.
    I have absolutely no inside knowledge. I haven’t talked to Jim or anyone at Nichols who knows the reason for the coaching change. In some respects I find this move surprising and in others not really.
    I did speak with a mutual friend who said Jim was caught totally off guard. If true, I find the change disappointing because if there were issues I would have expected and certainly hope have been addressed during the season. On the other hand, if whatever issues there were, had been discussed and there wasn’t any attempt or an inability to address the issues then the dismissal was likely warranted. The fact of the matter is that the only people that know are jim MacKinnon and Rob Stewart. I know Jim had a good relationship with Rob and for a long time was a very big fan of his and the support he showed Nichols basketball and baseball. Jim has a damn the torpedoes approach to mostly everything he does so perhaps that might have had something to do with the change. Regardless like any relationship that falls apart it’s a shame that it came to this.
    In any event, the most disappointing thing I’ve read among these comments is the apparent dissension that existed among teammates on the Nichols team. It must have been a truly long season. The best thing about basketball, and the most ingredient to success of the team. is the camaraderie among teammates along with hard work they put in. It is the memories that develop as a result of shared sacrifice, hard work, adversity, success, etc. that makes the high school experience so valuable and memorable. It’s sad that the guys on the team missed out on that opportunity this year.
    Someone above truly hit the head on the nail when they observed the value of a Nichols education when discussing the future of the freshmen. As the parent of four Nichols’ grads I strongly endorse and echo those comments. My kids were tremendously well prepared for college when they arrived. While valedictorians and other top ranked students from mostly public schools were struggling to figure out how to study in college and achieve academic success they found that they knew exactly how to study and get good grades while their counterparts really struggled and had to learn those skills on the fly after reaching college. The price of a Nichols education is certainly not cheap, but in the opinion of our family it is indeed priceless.

    Reply
  20. StateChamps2003 Avatar
    StateChamps2003

    A Basketball Fan –
    I can’t speak for the City Honors boys basketball now but as far as “big names coming out of City Honors” all you have to do is take a look at the Buffalo State Championship week program and flip to the page that has the list of WNY all time leading scorers and you’ll see Micole Parker – City Honors around 14 or 15 all time, just under 2,000 points and was also the Buffalo News POY his senior year. While he didn’t go on to bigger and better things in college, he was indeed an outstanding high school basketball player.

    Reply
  21. Eric C Avatar
    Eric C

    I have info that James Kramer will be named the new coach of Nichols next week. He coached them to fourt Federation titles back in the 80’s and 90’s.
    Maybe Hoopster can confirm this. Congrats to coach Kramer for getting back at Nichols. Good for him and the school.

    Reply
  22. guest Avatar
    guest

    Eric-You have some very wrong info. They haven’t even conducted 1 interview yet. Won’t name anyone for weeks

    Reply
  23. Everyones Opinion Avatar
    Everyones Opinion

    No one shoots the three ball like Zach Tone

    Reply
  24. Lou Avatar
    Lou

    ^Agreed^

    Reply
  25. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Nichols started interviewing their final four candidates today

    Reply
  26. Nichols secretary Avatar
    Nichols secretary

    For those of you wondering who those four were:
    1. Eric Fields Jr.
    2. Mary Jo Monnin
    3. Juice Carter
    4. Guilio Colangelo

    Reply
  27. Gus Buster Avatar
    Gus Buster

    John Calipari, Coach and Jim Boeheim are at the top of their list.

    Reply
  28. Gus Buster Avatar
    Gus Buster

    Coach K

    Reply
  29. WT716 Avatar
    WT716

    According to my inside source, 3 of the 4 candidates who are being interviewed are the Nichols JV coach, Paul Schintzius, and Gabe Michaels. Personally I think Schintz would be the smart hire. He did a solid job recruiting at Sweet Home. Can you imagine what he could do at Nichols? Nichols vs CHS for the next decade.

    Reply
  30. guest Avatar
    guest

    john fitzpatrick is the fourth,

    Reply
  31. Coach_ek Avatar
    Coach_ek

    Nichols JV Coach’s Name is Ryan Ennis

    Reply
  32. McShea is God Avatar
    McShea is God

    I miss basketball already. I love the term ‘taking my talents 2’…I can’t wait 4 Taplin 2 announce 4 the record he is ‘taking his talents’ 2 Coach Dan Gill and St Mary’s of Lancaster.

    Reply
  33. guest Avatar
    guest

    Buffalo Dragons got beat by 44 in aau tourney in Pitt. WNY hoops has a long way to go

    Reply
  34. Gus Buster Avatar
    Gus Buster

    Who plays for the dragons?

    Reply
  35. Roundman Avatar
    Roundman

    How is 716 aau team doing

    Reply
  36. That guy Avatar
    That guy

    Buffalo bounce just beat Buffalo Dragons by 4

    Reply
  37. That guy Avatar
    That guy

    Buffalo bounce just beat Buffalo Dragons by 4

    Reply
  38. Student Avatar
    Student

    Schintz cancelled interview, down to 3

    Reply
  39. guest Avatar
    guest

    reggie,eckstrom,wilkins,white,williams(timon)morris(MCK),Burton(NF). Bounce? who are they

    Reply
  40. WT716 Avatar
    WT716

    Nothing to do with the Nichols job vacancy, but Canisius has filed a complaint against Timon. Timon coaches have been approaching Canisius student athletes, asking them to transfer to Timon. Offering free tuition, easy schooling, and free AAU play. Comeford also called the admissions counselor from Canisius, Tom Weislo, and asked for Washington’s transcripts.

    Reply
  41. crusader nation Avatar
    crusader nation

    no shock. timon is desperate. they have trailed canisius and st joes on the basketball circuit for years and are now behind st. marys. they have been doing this stuff since comerford and mihalics got back involved. their academics are pathetic, their facilities stink and everyone knows kids barely pay tuition there. only a matter of time before comerford shinks that ship.

    Reply
  42. TML1000 Avatar
    TML1000

    Every private school recruits…anyone believing they do not is merely turning a blind eye. The schools would be dumb to not do it.

    Reply
  43. coach Avatar
    coach

    Sal. Please pass along the tip times for the PAL-ACE games on Thursday. Thank you!

    Reply
  44. centercourt Avatar
    centercourt

    I believe the first game tips at 6 pm at NFHS, with the second game to follow immediately after. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend.

    Reply
  45. Walter W. Avatar
    Walter W.

    Many public schools recruit as well turning the same blind eye on the way to winning state championships in sports other than basketball.
    Most student athletes at the privates are there for the educational benefits. With so few kids moving on to play collegiately in any sport the risk/reward to send a kid to a private solely for athletic benefits just dont make the sacrifices worth it.
    For those who choose to believe that most of the better athletes are paying little or no tuition to attend the privates you go ahead and believe that if it helps you sleep at night, but even if it were true, huge sacrifices are still being made to recieve the better education.

    Reply
  46. sal Avatar
    sal

    PAL/ACE games are at 6pm and 7:15- $5 admmision will get you in for both games with proceeds going to PAL youth activities.

    Reply
  47. Gus Buster Avatar
    Gus Buster

    Who did Canisius file a complaint with WT716? I don’t see a problem with Timon recruiting Washington. He’s an 8th grader who has been rumored to be going to Nichols then Canisius. Why not throw Timon in there too?

    Reply
  48. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    what time are PAL/ACE tryouts?

    Reply
  49. WT716 Avatar
    WT716

    Canisius filed the complaint against Timon because they were reaching out to freshman and sophomores at Canisius trying to get them to transfer. Josh Huffman, the star on Canisius JV basketball was one of them. In terms of Washington, if he wants to go to Timon he needs to send his transcript to Timon. He sent it in to CHS, and has shadowed CHS. Tom Weislo, the head of admissions at CHS was not happy when he received the phone call from Comerford asking for his transcripts.

    Reply
  50. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Nichols passed over Ennis and hired girls varsity assistant, heard he’s not too happy and may look elsewhere

    Reply

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