One thing is for certain about Morton College women’s basketball coach Jason Nichols.
He makes a major first impression — one way or another.
For former Argo standout and current Morton sophomore Tadriana Heard, Nichols actually made two impressions — one way and another.
The first came when Heard was a player at Argo and Nichols was coaching at Montini.
I asked her to be bluntly honest. She was.
“I thought he was, umm, not that nice of a person,” Heard said, laughing. “I mean, I knew he was a good coach because his offenses were hard to identify. But I definitely thought he was a bad guy.”
Which I totally get. Nichols is one of the most demonstrative, emotional coaches I have ever seen. He jumps around a lot. He yells at his players a lot. He does everything a lot.
People who admire him call him high energy. People who don’t call him … well, what Tadriana said.
One thing can’t be disputed. Nichols is a winner. In 20 years as a high school coach at Trinity and Montini, he won 590 games. His Montini gig included four state titles and six other top three finishes.
Nichols gets the most out of his players — which leads me to Heard’s “other” first impression when she came to play for him at Morton.
“He’s a really good guy,” Heard said. “He’s intense and aggressive, but I actually really love playing for him. He’s a smart coach, probably one of the smartest coaches I’ve ever played for.”
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After playing her freshman season at Milwaukee, Heard has found a new college home at Morton.
In the Panthers’ second game, the 5-foot-9 guard had a triple-double with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists against Bryant & Stratton. She followed up with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists against South Suburban.
Nichols’ first impression?
“I knew she was a dominant scorer, but what I never realized was how good of a passer she is,” he said. “She has great vision. And this after she hasn’t played in a year.
“Once she gets the consistency of practicing every day and gets back in her rhythm …. she’s a big talent, man.”
We all saw that at Argo, where Heard holds all-time assist and steals records and is second all-time in scoring.
Heard was rewarded with a Division I scholarship to Milwaukee. She scored 19 points in an early season game against Purdue.
But her minutes and stats would dwindle.
“In the beginning of the season, I was actually playing a lot,” Heard said. “But we had some changes in the coaching staff and the playing style changed. It became more of a half-court game.
“Toward the end, I wasn’t playing much. I wasn’t doing real well trying to fit in.”
The “fitting in” problem went beyond the court.
“I was really homesick,” Heard said. “My mom used to come to all of my games, and it was very difficult adjusting to that. Plus, I love being around Chicago, so it was hard to have a change of scenery.”
Heard decided to come home and go the JUCO route for at least one year. Her first choice was Moraine Valley, but the school announced it was canceling the season due to COVID-19 concerns.
Nichols welcomed her at Morton, where she appears to be as snug a fit as you can find.
“He’s the only coach I’ve played for where I’ve played the five position and fit into the offense,” Heard said. “I can play any position and still fit in to the offense. He’s a really smart guy when it comes to basketball.
“Oh, my gosh, I can’t even explain it. He makes everybody fit in. He finds everybody opportunities to score.”
Nichols said he would love to help her return to Division I basketball.
“This is a free year of eligibility, so if she comes back to us next year, that would be fine,” Nichols said. “After that … she doesn’t want to go far away. She wants to stay local. We’re talking DePaul, Loyola, UIC.
“She’s a talent and a half. I’ll be making a call very shortly.”
If they’re smart, they’ll answer.