Courtship series: Niemczyk parlays juco success into Division I scholarship

Nick Niemczyk had no Division I basketball scholarship offers when he graduated from Bell City High School in 2008.

Niemczyk, a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 30 points per game as senior, was recruited by several Division II and NAIA programs. He could have taken that route to an athletic scholarship.

Instead, Niemczyk decided to accept a scholarship from Three Rivers Community College, a junior college in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he could keep his Division I hopes alive.

"I had a lot of Division II and some NAIA [offers]," Niemczyk said. "I almost thought about going NAIA, but then I thought about after juco I can go Division I and that's what I was looking for."

Niemczyk's patience paid off. In April, he signed a letter of intent with Southeast Missouri State, the Division I program near where he grew up that he was hoping to play for all along.

"I was hoping they would recruit me. When I signed, it was a dream come true," said Niemczyk, whose father Pat played for Southeast in the late 1970s and early 1980s after also competing for TRCC.

Niemczyk is a perfect example of a player attending junior college not necessarily to improve his academic standing but to improve his chances of competing at a higher level.

There was no guarantee Niemczyk would become a Division I prospect after two seasons at TRCC under legendary coach Gene Bess, but it turned out that way.

"I didn't see Nick in high school. I did see him as a freshman in junior college. I wasn't very impressed. He didn't draw my attention," second-year Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "But his sophomore year here's a guy that really, really improved. By the time he went out to the national [junior college] tournament, he was one of the best players in the country.

"Here's a young man who goes to a junior college and now he has a chance to play in a very good conference and be a very good player on the Division I level."

Niemczyk earned all-Region 16 honors as a sophomore last season when he averaged 12.3 points while shooting nearly 43 percent from 3-point range and better than 78 percent from the free-throw line.

He ranked among the region leaders in scoring, 3-point shooting, free-throw shooting, assists (2.2) and steals (1.7).

That was a far cry from his freshman campaign, when he averaged about four points off the bench.

"Coming in out of high school, as a freshman, everybody around me was so much better than I was used to playing against. I didn't adjust very well," he said.

Niemczyk said he worked hard between his freshman and sophomore seasons to turn himself into a solid Division I prospect. He improved his strength and quickness, becoming a better overall athlete.

"I lifted a lot of weights. I can tell I've gotten a lot bigger and stronger," said Niemczyk, who weighs about 185 pounds. "I just think a lot of it was maturity, and staying at Three Rivers last summer and playing with the guys helped a lot.

"Whenever you play with people quicker than you are, you just have to get quicker or you'll get left behind."

While Nutt said he deemed Niemczyk worthy of a scholarship during the regular season last year, Niemczyk's recruiting interest heightened during the national tournament.

He averaged 13 points in three games, including a 25-point performance before tearing his ACL in the semifinals.

Although still bothered some by the knee, Niemczyk has battled through pain to rank as Southeast's second-leading scorer with a 13.4 average after Saturday's game against Arkansas State.

He also was leading the Redhawks in 3-pointers with 13, connecting on an impressive 43.3 percent.

Niemczyk reached his goal of Division I basketball. His journey to TRCC paid off.

"I feel like I made a good decision," he said.