READING, Pa. – Malik Nichols to Hofstra was thought of as a perfect fit – the talented swingman who has dealt with so much hardship in his life ending up at a local program that was the first to recruit him and saw the southpaw as a star in the making.
Along the way, however, Nichols began having his doubts about where he should end up. And when he didn’t clear the NCAA Clearinghouse recently, he opted to open up his recruitment.
“I didn’t see all my options because I committed so early,” the lanky and long-armed 6-foot-6 wing told The Post on Wednesday afternoon during Hoop Group Elite Session 1 at Albright College. “I’m opening it up, but Hofstra is still at the top of my list.”
Nichols who helped lead Boys & Girls to its second PSAL Class AA championship after transferring into the Brooklyn powerhouse from Hillcrest of Queens. It was nevertheless a traumatic year as he lost his mother, Jeannette, to a heart attack Dec. 31. This just two years after he lost his basketball mentor, Marc Ellison.
Nichols said he plans to attend either NIA Prep (N.J.), Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) or South Kent (Conn.) in the fall.
“I have to get stronger and work on different parts of my game,” he said.
A Hofstra source said the school will still recruit Nichols despite the decommitment.
Cardozo’s Lawrence stands out: Even with minimal exposure, Jermaine Lawrence had attracted plenty of high-major Division I interest. That figures to double, if not triple, after this week at Hoop Group Elite Session 1.
The bouncy 6-foot-9 forward, who holds offers from Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Hofstra, Fordham and Virginia Tech and interest from Syracuse, Rutgers, St. John’s, Florida, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Iowa State, Iowa and Villanova, has been one of the top performers through two days.
He scored in double figures in all three games on Wednesday and was particularly impressive in front of St. John’s assistant Tony Chiles and Syracuse assistants Mike Hopkins and Adrian Autry. He sank 3-pointers, blocked shots and threw down ferocious dunks as part of the dazzling display.
“I’ve been in an environment like this, but never this big – this is a big deal being here,” he said. “It’s a lot of exposure. I try not to pay too much attention to [the college coaches]. I want to keep my head.”
With two years of high school left, Lawrence will have more opportunities to showcase himself. He has a different goal in mind this week.
“MVP, that’s what I want to get,” the Springfield Gardens, Queens native said. “I just have to play within myself and make good decisions.”
Johnson still undecided – on high school: Though it has been widely reported as fact, former Rice standout Melvin Johnson is not headed to St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.) – not yet anyway.
The rising senior guard, who put on a shooting display Wednesday, will attend either New Jersey power St. Benedict’s or St. Anthony, but has yet to decide. He also recently switched AAU teams, going from the New York Gauchos to Long Island Lightning after several teammates, such as Xaverian’s Brian Bernardi, Mike Tobey and St. John’s commit Jevon Thomas out of Our Savior New American left the program.
“Right before the live period ends [I’m going to decide] about high school,” said the 6-foot-3 Johnson, who holds offers from Hofstra, Tulsa, Towson, Siena and TCU and has drawn significant interest from Seton Hall, Rutgers, Xavier, Miami and Temple. “I don’t want to think about it now.”