Nick Fazekas
From Hoopedia
Nick Fazekas (born June 17, 1985 in Arvada, Colorado) is a professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks.
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Early Career
Fazekas attended Ralston Valley High School in Arvada, Colorado where he earned the statewide "Mr. Basketball-Colorado" for the 2002-03 season along with being a two-time 4A classification player of the year. As a senior he led the Mustangs to a 25-2 record and a state championship after an undefeated regular season and semi-finals appearance the previous year. During his high school career he wore number 22 and he continued to do so in college.
College
Fazekas was signed by the University of Nevada, Reno for the 2003-04 season. From that point forward, Fazekas led the Wolf Pack to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances during his matriculation, including a run to the Sweet 16 as a freshman. He became the school's all-time leading scorer on November 18, 2006, when he surpassed the old record of 1,877 points scored by Edgar Jones in 1979. He also surpassed the single-season scoring record formerly set by Jones during the 2005-06 season. Fazekas also earned his third straight WAC Player of the Year for the 2006-07 season, a feat only matched by Utah's Keith Van Horn (1995-97).
NBA Draft
Fazekas was an early entrant into the 2006 NBA Draft, however he did not hire an agent, allowing him to eventually remove himself from consideration in order to play one more year of college basketball. The next year, he was taken with the 34th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks which several experts called "The deepest draft in history."
Personal
Fazekas' grandfather, Albert Fazekas, was a freedom fighter in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution who escaped from a Soviet-operated Hungarian prison after setting himself on fire to create a diversion. He soon emigrated with his wife and child to the United States. They would have two more children, one of them Nick's father Joe, after coming to America. Joe, who is 6'10" (2.08 m) himself, briefly played professional basketball in Argentina after playing college ball at Wyoming and Idaho State.
Fazekas is represented by Chris Emens of Octagon.
