All-North FL girls basketball MVP: General Brown’s Nichols looks back on great era, forward to what will come

The Lions senior guard/forward was a key part of the team going 43-6 the past two seasons.

Those efforts have led Nichols to be selected as the Times All-North Frontier League Most Valuable Player. Nichols is the first General Brown girls player to win the All-North basketball MVP.

One of the things Nichols has enjoyed during her time at General Brown is teaching younger players. She and her teammates have taught elementary school players at camps. Nichols is hoping those younger players can eventually push the Lions program to even greater heights than what her teams have achieved.

“I enjoy teaching them the fundamentals and I love how happy they get when they make a basket,” Nichols said. “Hopefully someday they can get further than our teams did and win a state title.”

Nichols has evolved from being a jump-shooter when she first made the varsity team as a freshman in the 2019-20 season. She added new elements to her game that made her one of the toughest players in the league to defend.

“All I did when I first started off was shoot 3-pointers,” said Nichols, a first-team selection in 2021-22. “I learned how to drive and get steals and that helped me become a better player.”

Lions coach Janelle Ferris has seen the growth of Nichols’ game over the past four seasons. Ferris is glad to compare Nichols to some of the best players in all of Section 3.

“She has really evolved over the years to become the complete player that every team wishes they had,” Ferris said.

Ferris added that Nichols always found a way to make the big play in a game on either end of the floor. The Lions coach said Nichols’ work ethic has been a key reason for her strong play.

“Kori is an extremely hard worker, is very coachable and has the drive and determination for individual and team success,” Ferris said.

Nichols is quick to credit her coaches as the reason for the team enjoying its best period in program history. She especially credits her head coach for making her and the team better players.

“She makes us work a lot and always pushes us to play our hardest,” Nichols said.

Nichols was part of a class that had formed plenty of chemistry by playing together for a number of seasons. The senior class has played basketball and softball since the second and third grade according to Nichols, who will move on to play at Jefferson Community College.

“As much as we are proud of her accomplishments and will miss her wearing a GB uniform, we can’t wait to watch her continue her success at the next level,” Ferris said.

Nichols’ teammates gave her an appropriate send-off before one of her final games with the Lions. Nichols’ longtime pregame ritual was buying a blue Gatorade from Stewart’s in Brownville.

“Before every game I’d get a blue Gatorade, so my teammates all chipped in and got me a bunch of blue Powerades and Gatorades before my last home game,” Nichols said.

At JCC, she’ll get to play close to home and she’ll be joined by a fellow first-team selection Delaney Wiley of Thousand Islands.

“I’m really excited to play with her since we were teammates on travel basketball,” Nichols said. “We’ve always had a good friendship and I jumped at the chance to play with her at the college level.”

Nichols is also a standout on the varsity girls soccer and softball teams. She was a second team All-North selection on the softball team in 2022.