Season recap: Nick Faust
For better or worse, Nick Faust began his senior season at City with "an unbelievable amount of hype."
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard capped an acclaimed run on the AAU circuit with Nike Baltimore Elite by signing with Maryland right before the high school boys basketball season began. Knights coach Mike Daniel worried that Faust was receiving “too much” attention.
“That’s a lot for a kid to handle,” Daniel said. “He’s got to come in academically and do well in school. He’s got to handle that and basketball. And then Nick also has got to handle himself. You know how kids are.”
It didn’t take long for Daniel to realize that Faust was up to the task.
“One thing I found out is that Nick has a lot of guts,” Daniel said. “And you don’t have to tell him to turn it on when he needed to turn it on. So I thought that he did a pretty good job with that, absolutely.”
As a junior, Faust helped City win its second-straight Class 2A state championship. With Knights post players Jordan Latham (Xavier) and Aron Nwankwo (Pittsburgh) off to college, Faust stepped up his game to the tune of 22 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. City (16-9) fell short of its three-peat attempt, but Daniel was impressed with the improvement in Faust’s all-around game.
“He had the ability to run the point guard position to get into the offense,” Daniel said. “He also showed the ability to rebound. And it was really noticeable in the Dunbar game. When we played, he just rebounded the basketball like nobody’s business. It seems like at that point after, he would get six or seven rebounds every game. So he showed tremendous fortitude. His intensity really, really improved from last year. A lot of that is him stepping up to be a senior now.
“There were quite a few games that he showed a remarkable improvement, and a willingness to take big shots. After coming off last year, we kind of missed our big guys, our inside game. And Nick improved all year with that. So he just wasn’t a [one-dimensional] player. His versatility, I think, improved 110 percent. And last but not least, Nick has become a true competitor. He doesn’t have to be told to compete.”
Faust’s reputation after his junior year was “basically a shooter.” This year, the future Terp developed into a more well-rounded scorer, showcasing an ability to “put it on the floor and get to the rack.” As Faust adds strength to his lanky frame, Daniel expects his game to improve even more.
“His mental approach to the game has improved, I’m going to say 80 percent,” Daniel said. “At times, Nick is a beast. … I’ve just never seen a player’s versatility improve like that from one year to the next. His IQ for the game, it’s going to get better as he gets older. But it definitely improved from last year.”
Daniel expects Faust to make an impact for the Terps during his freshman year. The City coach thinks Faust – who may not be done growing yet – will add a scoring punch to Maryland from Day One.
“I think he’ll be able to fill the void or that hole that Maryland has right now – the ability to put the basketball in the bucket on a consistent basis,” Daniel said. “His ability to shoot the ball and take the ball inside and get to the hoop, I think all those things are going to make Nick a heck of a player. I expect him to have, if not a great freshman year, a good freshman year.”
Baltimore Sun photo of Nick Faust by Amy Davis / Feb. 24, 2011
