Hall of Fame
In one short season (1993-94), Gaylon Nickerson had one of the most prestigious seasons in Northwestern Oklahoma State basketball history, where he was a force in all aspects of the game, leading the Rangers to a 29-2 overall record and a birth to the NAIA National Tournament.
The Osceola, Ark. native holds the most points in a single season by any Ranger in school history where he put up 672 points with a 21.7 ppg average.
Not only was he the most prolific scorer Northwestern has ever had in a single year, but he was also very unselfish with the basketball as he dished out 152 helpers, leading the team in the assists category.
His all-around play throughout the 93-94 season was unprecedented as he was the complete package on the floor as he excelled on defense as well. He led the team in steals with 76, was fourth in blocks with six and collected the team’s second most total rebounds with 177.
Nickerson led the team in an unreal 10 different categories throughout the season, leading in games played (31), field goals made (236), field goals attempted (498), free throws made (136), free throws attempted (173), free throw percentage (79%), assists (152), steals (76), total points (672) and points per game (21.7).
He not only led the team in so many categories, but he was also number one in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC) for points per game, assists and points per game, leading to the great honor of being named the OIC Conference player of the year.
His outstanding play helped his team to the best record in Northwestern Men’s Basketball history as they were just one game away in the regular season from being perfect as they were 29-1 overall. The only other loss came in the NAIA National tournament where they were knocked out in the second round by Benedict College, where Nickerson, due to injury, was unable to participate.
Before attending Northwestern, Nickerson was a member of the Wichita State squad as a freshman where he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year in his first collegiate season.
He was also a member of both Butler County Community College and Kansas State teams where he was named the Player of the Year for the Jayhawk Conference at Butler and the Newcomer of the Year as a junior at Kansas State for the Big 8 Conference.
His stellar play throughout his collegiate career landed him a career in the National Basketball Association where he was the overall No. 34 pick, selected by the Atlanta Hawks.
He was a member of the NBA for three seasons where his fondest memory was where he played and scored against the great Michael Jordan. Nickerson also had the privilege of playing on the same team as Allen Iverson while in the league.
Following his NBA career, Nickerson took his talents to the CBA where he was the top scorer in the 1997 season after which he traveled to Spain, Turkey and Italy where he played until 2003 when he retired. During his time in Spain he was twice the dunk champion for the league.
Nickerson has four children and resides in Wichita, Kan. where he is the CEO of his own company, “Get Your Game Tight”, where they host camps and individual workouts with kids from the area.
