Nick Ward (basketball)

Nicholas Jeffrey Ward (born September 2, 1997) is an American basketball player who last played for the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. Ward declared for the 2019 NBA Draft, foregoing his senior year of college basketball. Ward went undrafted, but played for the Atlanta Hawks during the NBA Summer League.

Nick Ward
Ward (21) in 2019
Free agent
PositionPower forward
Personal information
Born (1997-09-02) September 2, 1997
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolLincoln (Gahanna, Ohio)
CollegeMichigan State (2016–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Fethiye Belediyespor
2019–2020College Park Skyhawks
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Nick began playing basketball at a young age and shot the ball right handed despite being naturally left-handed.[1] He starred at Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio and averaged 21.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a senior. He verbally committed to Michigan State in April 2015.[2] Ward was a four-star prospect and a consensus top-50 recruit in the 2016 class.[1]

College career

Freshman

Ward had 18 points in Michigan State's home opener on November 18, 2016 versus Mississippi Valley State.[3] He carried the Spartans against Oral Roberts on December 3, scoring 24 points and adding 10 rebounds.[4] With Ward's career-high 25 points against Oakland on December 21, the Spartans were able to pull away from Oakland in the second half to win 77–65.[5] Ward scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a comeback win against Minnesota on December 27 in a game in which Miles Bridges sat out.[6][7] He had 16 points in a loss to Penn State on January 7, 2018.[8] On January 29, Ward contributed 13 points for the Spartans as they ended their three-game losing streak with a win over Michigan.[9] He had 10 points in a win against Nebraska on February 2 despite suffering from the flu.[10] On February 23 versus Nebraska, Ward and Bridges each had 20 points marking the first time since January 5, 1978, when Magic Johnson and Jay Vincent did it, that MSU had two freshmen score 20 points in a game.[11] Ward's 22 points and nine rebounds led Michigan State to a victory against Wisconsin on February 27.[12] He had 22 points and career-high 16 rebounds in a loss to Maryland on March 3.[13]

Ward scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds but struggled defensively in a loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament.[14] In the NCAA Tournament, Ward had 19 points in a 78–58 win over Miami.[15] Ward contributed 13 points in a second round loss to Kansas, but suffered foul trouble that limited his effectiveness.[16] At the conclusion of the regular season, he was a Big Ten Honorable Mention by the coaches and media.[17][18] He averaged 13.9 points on 59.2 percent shooting and grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game as a freshman.[19]

Sophomore

Coming into his sophomore season, Ward was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team.[20] He added 16 points in the opening game win against North Florida.[21] The following game, Ward scored 19 points in a loss to Duke in Chicago.[22] Ward led all scorers with 22 points in a 93–71 win against Stony Brook on November 19.[23] In a win against Nebraska on December 3, Ward was in foul trouble but managed to score 22 points in 16 minutes to lead the Spartans.[24] He was perfect from the field in scoring 20 points in an easy win against Houston Baptist on December 18.[25] Ward made seven of his eight shots, scoring 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a win against Cleveland State on December 28. He followed that up with 21 points in a 108-52 win against Savannah State and was named Big Ten player of the week on January 2, 2018.[26] Ward contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win versus Indiana on January 19.[27] He scored 17 points in only 12 minutes in a win against Iowa on February 6, missed much of the second half with four fouls.[28]

At the conclusion of the regular season, Ward was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team by the media.[29] He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by the coaches.[30] As a sophomore, Ward posted 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. His 64.8 field goal percentage was second-best in the Big Ten.[31] On March 29, Ward announced he would enter the 2018 NBA draft, but he would not sign with an agent.[32] He withdrew from the draft on May 29.[31]

Junior

Once again Ward was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team.[33] In the opening game of the season against Kansas Ward scored 9 points[34], and in the following game against Florida Gulf Coast he scored 25 points[35]. In the next game against Louisiana-Monroe Ward scored just 4 points[36], but Ward rebounded in the next game against Tennessee Tech by scoring 23 points.[37] At the Las Vegas Invitational Ward scored 16[38] and 6[39] against UCLA and Texas respectively. In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against Louisville Ward scored 14 points.[40] Ward continued to produce in the Spartans next game against Rutgers, scoring 20 points to open Big Ten play. [41] In MSU's December 12 meeting with Iowa, Ward was a perfect from the field scoring 26 points.[42] The Spartans next game was at Florida, where Ward scored 13 points. [43] Ward put up 28 points against Green Bay[44] and 14 points against Oakland [45] In the following game against Northern Illinois, Ward scored 11 points.[46] Big Ten play resumed for the Spartans on January 2 against Northwestern and Ward scored 21 points.[47] In the Spartans' game against Ohio State on February 17, Ward scored 9 points before injuring his left hand, resulting in him missing multiple games. In the 2019 NCAA tournament Nick Ward showed a bit of his precision offense by easily putting in a few baskets against the hyped up Duke Blue Devils.

Professional career

2019–20 season

On June 21, 2019, Ward signed with the Atlanta Hawks to play for their NBA Summer League team.

On September 2, 2019, Ward signed his first professional contract with Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Premier League.[48] On September 25, 2019, he parted ways with Gilboa Galil after appearing in one pre-season tournament game.[49]

On September 28, 2019, Ward signed with Fethiye Belediyespor of the Turkish Basketball First League.[50] In 4 games played for Belediyespor, he averaged 22 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

On November 15, 2019, Ward parted ways with Belediyespor.

On November 15, 2019, Ward signed with the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League.[51] Ward posted 22 points and 18 rebounds in a loss to the Grand Rapids Drive on January 15, 2020.[52] He averaged 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Skyhawks.[53]

The Basketball Tournament

Ward joined Big X, a team comprised primarily of former Big Ten players in The Basketball Tournament 2020. He led Big X with 18 points in a 79-74 win over alternate D2 in the first round.[54]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Michigan State 352119.8.592–.6156.5.4.31.513.9
2017–18 Michigan State 353418.9.6481.000.6217.1.5.31.312.4
2018–19 Michigan State 342520.8.5801.000.6536.1.7.31.212.9
Career 1048019.8.6051.000.6296.6.5.31.413.1
gollark: How ditherous!
gollark: Also, for those who complain about Rust being big: somehow a Pytorch/CUDA setup is 10GB?!
gollark: Sometimes I worry that I'll encounter a problem of some kind for which Go will be the best solution, even though ÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆÆA GOLANG.
gollark: I occasionally look at htop.
gollark: I *can* do many things. I choose not to do the majority, for purposes.

References
  1. Quinn, Brendan (December 2, 2016). "At Michigan State, Nick Ward is getting the shot his father never got to take". MLive.com. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  2. Quinn, Brendan (October 20, 2016). "Just like that, Nick Ward unexpectedly emerges as Michigan State's most important freshman". MLive.com. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  3. "With Magic in stands, Miles Bridges dazzles, Michigan St. wins, 100-53". Detroit Free Press. November 18, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  4. "Oral Roberts vs. Michigan State - Game Recap - December 3, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. December 3, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  5. "Nick Ward explodes for 25 points in MSU's 77-65 win over Oakland". Lansing State Journal. December 22, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  6. "Michigan State vs. Minnesota - Game Recap - December 27, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. December 28, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  7. "Couch: MSU's gritty OT win adds to its potential when Bridges returns". Lansing State Journal. December 28, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  8. "Another slow start, mental mistakes doom Michigan State basketball". Detroit Free Press. January 8, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  9. "Trio of freshmen lead Michigan St in 70-62 win over Michigan". The Washington Times. January 30, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  10. "MSU notes: Illness doesn't stop Goins, Ward from scoring". Detroit Free Press. February 3, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  11. "Highly touted freshmen lead Michigan State to 88-72 win over Nebraska". Detroit Free Press. February 23, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  12. Quinn, Brendan (February 27, 2017). "Nick Ward reminding everyone, including himself, what Nick Ward can do". MLive.com. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  13. "MSU takes another 'L,' but eager to bounce back in Big Ten tournament". Detroit Free Press. March 5, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  14. "Michigan State notes: Cassius Winston, Nick Ward struggle defensively". Detroit Free Press. March 10, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  15. Solari, Chris (March 10, 2017). "MSU shakes off bad start, blows away Miami in NCAA tournament, 78-58". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  16. "Michigan State vs. Kansas - Game Recap - March 19, 2017 - ESPN". March 19, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
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  24. "Nebraska vs. Michigan State – Game Recap – December 3, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. December 3, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  25. "Michigan State wins by 45 but effort disappoints Tom Izzo". Detroit News. December 18, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  26. "Iowa, Michigan State Earn Weekly Men's Basketball Honors: Spartans' Nick Ward earns Player of the Week award; Iowa's Luka Garza named Freshman of the Week". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. January 2, 2018. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  27. "Spartans put priority on getting Ward involved early". Detroit News. January 20, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  28. "Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 96-93 win at Iowa". Lansing State Journal. February 6, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  29. "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN". Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  30. Austin, Kyle (February 26, 2018). "Jaren Jackson Jr. named top Big Ten freshman and defensive player, Miles Bridges named All-Big Ten". Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  31. Austin, Kyle (May 29, 2016). "Nick Ward withdrawing from NBA draft, returning to Michigan State". MLive.com. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  32. "MSU's Nick Ward submits name for NBA Draft, doesn't hire agent". Detroit News. March 29, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  33. "Big Ten Men's Basketball Basketball Preseason Honors Announced". bigten.org. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  34. "Michigan State vs. Kansas - Box Score - November 6, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  35. "Florida Gulf Coast vs. Michigan State - Box Score - November 11, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  36. "UL Monroe vs. Michigan State - Box Score - November 14, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  37. "Tennessee Tech vs. Michigan State - Box Score - November 18, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  38. "Michigan State vs. UCLA - Box Score - November 22, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  39. "Michigan State vs. Texas - Box Score - November 23, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  40. "Michigan State vs. Louisville - Box Score - November 27, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  41. "Michigan State vs. Rutgers - Box Score - November 30, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
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  43. "Michigan State vs. Florida - Box Score - December 8, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  44. "Green Bay vs. Michigan State - Box Score - December 16, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
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  46. "Northern Illinois vs. Michigan State - Box Score - December 29, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  47. "Northwestern vs. Michigan State - Box Score - January 2, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  48. "Hapoel Gilboa announces Nick Ward". Sportando. September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  49. "Gilboa Galil signs Jarvis Varnado". Sportando. September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  50. "Nick Ward Lokman Hekim Fethiye Belediyespor'da". GercekFethiye.com (in Turkish). September 28, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  51. "Nick Ward joins College Park Skyhawks". Sportando.basketball. November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  52. "Hollins Impressive in Drive Road Win". OurSportsCentral. January 15, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  53. Brooks, Stephen (March 27, 2020). "Tom Izzo: Social media rumors about Nick Ward are untrue". 247 Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  54. Prescott, Adam (July 4, 2020). "Big X Wins TBT Opener, Former Buckeye C.J. Jackson Makes Game-Winning Basket". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
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