Former North Platte Community College Knights basketball player Nick Tomsick has taken his skills to Germany to play for the BBG Herford team in the Regonalliga league.
Tomsick made his debut on Feb. 7 for Herford against Baskets Lüdenscheid. Tomsick was only able to attend one practice with Herford after a 30 hour long journey to Germany before his debut.
Tomsick said that he got to Germany mid-day on Thursday, practiced on Friday, and then started at point guard on Saturday.
“I had to learn two offenses, five plays, four defenses in German and some in English then started the game at point guard on Saturday,” Tomsick said.
During that game Tomsick scored 18 points, had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in 21 minutes of playing time.
Tomsick said that the Regonalliga league that he plays in is not the Euroleague. In the Euroleague there are different teams in it each year.
Tomsick said, “You have to qualify from your country the previous year, so you have many teams from different countries in that each country has its own leagues. If you win the current league you are in you get to move up a league.”
The league that Tomsick plays in only allows one American on the team. Playing in a foreign country Tomsick has to overcome some language barriers.
Tomsick said, “Some players speak better than others. My coach speaks good English but uses German in practice and games most the time, unless he is speaking to me directly. I have one player here who usually translates in practice or tells me what to do if I do not understand.”
Tomsick, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, played for the Knights during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. He was a first team All-Region IX player for the Knights in the 2011-2012 season. He finished his career with the Knights with 956 points, which is currently 19th on the Knights all-time scoring list. During his sophomore season with the Knights, Tomsick led the NJCAA Region IX and ranked third in the nation in scoring at 22.3 points per game. He also added 3.6 rebounds per game.
Tomsick said, “North Platte Community College and Coach Kevin O’Connor prepared me to be successful and be able to adjust in any situation that I have experienced including playing at Fort Lewis College and moving across the world to play in Germany, and for that I’m grateful.”
After Tomsick left North Platte Community College, he went to Fort Lewis College in Colorado. Fort Lewis is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in NCAA Division II. Tomsick played for Fort Lewis during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. During his senior season, Tomsick averaged 20.0 points per game 3.1 rebounds per game and 2.3 assists per game.
Tomsick graduated from Fort Lewis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with a Management option in May of 2014.
During his two years at Fort Lewis Tomsick left his mark at the four year school. He scored 1020 points, ranks 12th all-time in the Fort Lewis College career record books in three-point field goals (130) and 16th in free throws (232). He ranked second in both categories all time in a two year span. Tomsick was a team captain his senior year and named to the Second Team All-RMAC team his junior year and First Team All-RMAC his senior year. Tomsick was also selected as the Don Whalen Outstanding Senior Male Athlete of the Year his senior year at Fort Lewis College.
BBG Herford is tied for first in their division with a 13-2 record.