Reed Nikko’s high school teammates called him “the umbrella.”
Towering over opponents at 6-foot-10, Nikko protected the Maple Grove High School basketball team from a shower of scores, blocking 80 shots in the 2015–16 regular season, the seventh-most of any player in Minnesota last year.
Nikko’s reliability on defense allowed his teammates to play more aggressively.
“When he was in the lane, we knew we can take more chances and try to get more steals,” Maple Grove guard Brad Davison said.
Next season, Maple Grove will be without its umbrella, though. Now recovering from a dual hip surgery in the offseason, Nikko has moved on to Missouri, where he will look to fill that same role on a Tigers team that has finished a combined 19–44 over the past two seasons.