a night to remember

Leslie Esparza
A night to remember
January 10, 2005






Standing short amongst his teammates at 5 feet 8 inches and 150 pounds Nicholas Reed, 15, a point guard for the Horace Mann …., played his first varsity basketball game on Friday night against Dalton High School.
Nicholas, a sophomore at Horace Mann High School in New York City, a school known for its academic excellence, was bumped up mid-season from junior varsity to varsity to be a starter in the team’s ninth game.
“I’m excited to make varsity, it’s a good opportunity to play at a higher level. The game was amazing, just to play in a college arena was the most incredible feeling,” Nicholas said.
Although the game ultimately ended in a three point loss, the game was a memory Nicholas will never forget with six points to call his own.
“I’m always so impressed by Nick’s heart to always put everything he has into something he really loves. Despite his height and his age, he went out there and practiced and tried his hardest until he made a impression that landed him a spot on the varsity team,” Jill Bright, Nicholas’ mother said.
Maroon and white covered the Horace Mann fans from head to toe, the arena was jam packed with 500 screaming fans from both schools, plus a trio of girls screaming solely for Nicholas.
The girls are everywhere, Mrs. Bright said, they all seem more into the guys on the team than the actual game.
Nicholas, originally born in New York, N.Y., moved to Princeton, N.J., at the age of three, and spent his summers attending basketball camps from the age of eight. He played on recreational teams and on his middle schools’ basketball team.
“The competition in middle school basketball was minimal and nothing like the game I saw tonight,” said Mrs. Bright.
“Basketball is much more competitive in New York than it was in Princeton and now to be on a varsity team I feel like I’m thrown into an entirely different dimension that I really love,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas’ future goals include taking the SAT’s and finishing high school to take on his next basketball challenge, college basketball and then possibly professional basketball.
“He’s really good at basketball and I love him. I want him to teach me how to play like him,” Spencer Bright, 4, Nicholas’ brother said.