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Overview

An extremely skilled athlete, Fazekas proved he has the ability to score inside and out. He possesses a nice shooting touch and great hands, excelling from the field and at the charity stripe. He was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in each of the past three seasons, becoming the second player in league history (Utah's Keith Van Horn) to earn the award three consecutive years.

He was one of 10 finalists for the 2006-07 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented to the nation's top senior who defines the complete student-athlete, and was on the final ballots for both the John Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy, annually presented to the top player in the country. He also earned All-American honors for the third consecutive season.

Fazekas helped lead Nevada to four consecutive WAC regular-season titles and NCAA Tournament berths, and ended his basketball career as the winningest player in Schoolhistory with a 106-27 record in his four years at Nevada.

Fazekas finished his career as Nevada's all-time leader in scoring (2,464 points), blocked shots (192), field goals (901) made, field goals attempted (1,695) and free throws made (546). He also ranks second in career rebounding with 1,254 boards, fifth in scoring average (18.8 points per game) and eighth in rebound average (9.6 rpg).

At Ralston Valley High School, Fazekas lettered three times in basketball, leading his team to a record of 25-2 and the Class 4A state championship as a senior. He was named MVP of the state tournament after he averaged 25.6 points game and also grabbed 44 rebounds and registered 15 blocks.

Fazekas was selected Mr. Basketball in Colorado in 2002-03 by the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post. He added first-team All-State and All-Colorado honors and earned first-team All-Conference recognition. He was named the Jefferson County Player of the Year as a junior and senior; he averaged 26.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game as a senior.

Fazekas was ranked the No. 31 senior center by the USBWA Basketball Times and earned 2001-02 4A Mr. Basketball, All-Colorado and first-team All-State accolades. He was a member of the 2002 USA Development Festival West Team that went 2-3 and took the bronze medal. He ranked tied for ninth among Festival leaders in field-goal percentage (.500) and recorded game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds vs. the East.

As a freshman at Nevada in 2003-04, Fazekas played in all 34 games and started 22, earning WAC All-Newcomer honors. He finished second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and led the Wolf Pack in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (1.29 bpg). He shot a team-best 52.8 percent from the field and ranked third on the squad with 24 3-point field goals made. He tied for fourth in the WAC with seven double-doubles and ranked fourth in the conference in rebounding, 13th in scoring and third in blocked shots.

That year, Fazekas set Wolf Pack freshman records for scoring (429 points) and blocked shots with 44. He also set the freshman record at Nevada for field-goal percentage and scored a season-high 32 points vs. UTEP, also ripping down a season-best 15 rebounds. He registered 20 or more points in six games, including four 20-plus point games in a row.

In 2004-05, Fazekas earned All-American honorable mention from the Associated Press, All-WAC first-team and WAC Player of the Year honors. He was named to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District VII first-team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches District XII first-team. One of two players to start all 32 games, he led the WAC in scoring at 20.7 points per game and also ranked third in the league in rebounding (9.4 rpg), fourth in blocked shots (1.59 bpg) and sixth in both field-goal percentage (.502) and free-throw percentage (.789).

Fazekas led the team and ranked third in the conference with 16 double-doubles, as he scored in double figures in every game and led the Wolf Pack in scoring 26 times. He ranked 14th in the nation in scoring and 22nd in rebounding, as he set the school's sophomore records for scoring (662) and blocked shots (51). Both efforts were also the third-best single-season marks in Schoolhistory. He also set the school's single-season record for free throws made (183) and finished with the second-best single-season mark for free throws attempted (232) while becoming the first Wolf Pack player since 1988-89 to average 20 or more points per game.

As a junior, Fazekas was named the WAC Player of the Year and a first-team All-WAC selection for the second consecutive year. He earned third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press and was one of 22 players on the final ballot for the Wooden Award. He was also a finalist for the Adolph Rupp Award and a midseason candidate for the Naismith Trophy, adding All-American recognition from ESPN.com (second team), collegeinsider.com, Rivals.com (third team) and collegehoopsnet.com (third team).

Fazekas was named the United States Basketball Writers Association District VIII Player of the Year. He earned first-team All-District XIII honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and was named the team's Most Valuable Player for the second-straight season. He also earned WAC Tournament MVP honors, as he led the conference and ranked 16th in the nation with 21.8 points per game.

The junior forward set the Schoolsingle-season scoring record with 721 points, besting the previous mark of 697 by Ken Green in 1982-83. He also broke Edgar Jones' Schoolmark for points by a junior (641 in 1976-77) and led the team and ranked second in the WAC and 15th in the nation with 10.4 rebounds per game. He ranked fourth in the WAC in field-goal percentage at 52.9 percent (268-507) and was also second in the league and 41st in the nation in free-throw shooting at 84.6 percent (154-182). He scored in double figures in 32 of 33 games and turned in 18 double-doubles on the season.

After flirting with entering the 2005 NBA Draft, Fazekas did applied for the '06 draft but, after NCAA Tournament disappointment, he withdrew his name from consideration.

Fazekas was named to several All-American teams following the 2006-07 season. He was a first-team selection by ESPN.com, the United States Basketball Writers Association, SportsIllustrated.com and collegeinsider.com, adding second-team honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He received 33 first-team votes and 252 points in the Associated Press voting, just behind the 34 first-place votes and 263 points that first-team selection Greg Oden of Ohio State received.

"It is a tremendous honor to be recognized as one of the top 10 players in the country and really a tribute to the success that our team had this year," Fazekas said. "The individual honors I have received are very special and something I will definitely look back on. I am really proud of everything that my teammates and I have accomplished during my career."

"Nick is very deserving of all of the accolades he has received. He has had a great career, and I am very proud of him," Nevada head coach Mark Fox said.

One of three players in the country to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds during the 2006-07 season, Fazekas ranked second in the WAC and 19th in the nation in scoring with 20.4 points per game and led the conference and finished fifth in the NCAA in rebounding at 11.1 boards per game. Nevada's career-leading scorer with 2,464 points and its second-leading rebounder with 1,254 boards, he became the first player in Schoolhistory to score at least 2,000 points and pull down 1,000 rebounds in his career. Fazekas also finished third in scoring and second in rebounding in the WAC career record book.

Scouting Report

Positives: Despite a lanky frame, Fazekas shows very good length and strength at the power forward position...Has a rare combination of athletic gifts to combat for the rebound, play with his back to the basket to make the putback underneath or slide out to the perimeter, where he has a nice mid-range shot...Also demonstrates good passing ability to get the ball to the open outlet...Can score from anywhere on the court and shows very good court vision and a soft shooting touch...Has the large, natural hands to field the pass cleanly and despite being 6-foot-10, does an effective job of keeping the ball on the floor and creating his shot off the dribble...Has the long reach and good elevation, setting his feet properly to hit the long perimeter shots and is also capable of sinking NBA-range 3-pointers...Has the upper-body strength to push the bigger centers out of the box in order to gain position for the rebound...Likes to park under the basket, but when traffic arrives, he shows a good right-handed hook shot...Has a high release and good mechanics from the free-throw line and knows how to draw contact on the way to the basket...Reminiscent of Keith Van Horn at times, especially in his ability to glide running the court...Opponents try to challenge him physically due to his lanky frame, but his body is much stronger than it appears...Solid scorer in the low post and shows good ability to take angles and slash to the basket when he locates even the slightest opening...Very active without the ball in his hands...Knows how to get low and can get his shot off using pump fakes to get the defender off his feet and to draw fouls...With his long reach, he can generate a high release point that makes it tough for even the bigger men to attempt to block his shot...Quick decision-maker who is not the type that will just stand around when not involved in the play...With his wingspan and active hands, he will generally get to any rebound in his area...Has developed an effective turnaround shot and is also strong dishing the ball out or receiving it on pick-and-rolls...Finishes well underneath and has the slippery moves slashing to the basket that keeps bigger forwards off-balance...Times his leaps well to turn the offensive rebound into a putback...Shows a nice fade-away stepping back from the basket and can execute the jump shot with either hand (favors his weak-side mostly)...His hand-eye coordination and body flexibility lets him get shots off when firing from awkward positions...Loves to take the ball in the post, spin and fire in one motion...Don't confuse him for being just a shooter, as he has the blue-collar work ethic to scramble for loose balls, take on double-team defense and bang on the boards.

Negatives: Gets up and down the court nicely, but could improve his overall quickness, as he is sometimes a step late on the fast break...Lacks ideal muscle tone and you won't find his body on the cover of a body-building magazine, but he knows how to use his natural strength to get the job done under the boards...Compensates for a lack of great leaping ability and explosiveness with precise timing and the ability to reach and extend for the ball with no regard for his own safety, but will get caught out of position at times and is slow to recover...Quicker forwards can beat him off the dribble...Efficient with his back to the basket, but feels much more comfortable when facing up...Will get fooled by pump fakes on the perimeter...Might not be able to add much more bulk, as his frame is too narrow to carry much more weight...Gets his base too narrow and will get tripped up by his own feet when having to change directions quickly...Can elbow his way into the paint vs. smaller defenders, but does struggle to hold position vs. the stronger ones, especially when playing in the low post.

Compares To: Keith Van Horn. Fazekas is a solid scorer from the perimeter for a big man, but lacks the ideal muscle tone that you look for in a power forward. He gets up and down the court well for a player his size, but doesn't have the quickness to shift to small forward. His 3-point attempts dropped off in recent years, but he excels at getting the ball on the bounce and driving to the basket. He is a good enough passer to get the ball beyond double-team activity, but is best when given room to execute those quick jump shots. Later in the first round, he could be a nice addition for a team that wants to get more scoring action out of their big men.

High School

Attended Ralston Valley (Arvada, Colo.) High School, lettering three times in basketball... Led his team to a record of 25-2 and the Class 4A state championship as a senior...Was named MVP of the state tournament after he averaged 25.6 points game and also grabbed 44 rebounds with 15 blocks...Selected Mr. Basketball for the state of Colorado in 2002-03 by the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post...Added first-team All-State and All-Colorado honors and earned first-team All-Conference recognition...Named the Jefferson County Player of the Year as a junior and senior, as he averaged 26.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game as a senior...Ranked the 31st-best senior center by the USBWA Basketball Times and earned 2001-02 4A Mr. Basketball, All-Colorado and first-team All-State accolades...Was a member of the 2002 USA Development Festival West Team that went 2-3 and took the bronze medal...Ranked tied for ninth among Festival leaders in field-goal percentage (.500) and recorded game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds vs. the East.

Personal

General Studies major...Son of Kim and Joe Fazekas...Is an avid collector of Jordan brand basketball shoes...Born 6/18/85...Resides in Arvada, Colorado.

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