Nick Ward (basketball)  Nicholas Jeffrey Ward (born September 2, 1997) is an American basketball player who last played for the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. Ward declared for the 2019 NBA Draft, foregoing his senior year of college basketball. Ward went undrafted, but played for the Atlanta Hawks during the NBA Summer League. Nick began playing basketball at a young age and shot the ball right handed despite being naturally left-handed. He starred at Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio and averaged 21.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a senior. He verbally committed to Michigan State in April 2015. Ward was a four-star prospect and a consensus top-50 recruit in the 2016 class. Ward had 18 points in Michigan State's home opener on November 18, 2016 versus Mississippi Valley State. He carried the Spartans against Oral Roberts on December 3, scoring 24 points and adding 10 rebounds. With Ward's career-high 25 points against Oakland on December 21, the Spartans were able to pull away from Oakland in the second half to win 77–65. Ward scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a comeback win against Minnesota on December 27 in a game in which Miles Bridges sat out. He had 16 points in a loss to Penn State on January 7, 2018. On January 29, Ward contributed 13 points for the Spartans as they ended their three-game losing streak with a win over Michigan. He had 10 points in a win against Nebraska on February 2 despite suffering from the flu. On February 23 versus Nebraska, Ward and Bridges each had 20 points marking the first time since January 5, 1978, when Magic Johnson and Jay Vincent did it, that MSU had two freshmen score 20 points in a game. Ward's 22 points and nine rebounds led Michigan State to a victory against Wisconsin on February 27. He had 22 points and career-high 16 rebounds in a loss to Maryland on March 3. Ward scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds but struggled defensively in a loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, Ward had 19 points in a 78–58 win over Miami. Ward contributed 13 points in a second round loss to Kansas, but suffered foul trouble that limited his effectiveness. At the conclusion of the regular season, he was a Big Ten Honorable Mention by the coaches and media. He averaged 13.9 points on 59.2 percent shooting and grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game as a freshman. Coming into his sophomore season, Ward was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team.