You don’t have to tell that to Warren sophomore Tommy Nyquist. There’s a reason he was the starting varsity point guard as a freshman.

It’s not to say that talent isn’t in his blood; each of his parents, Tim and Lindsay, scored over 1,000 career points while playing many moons ago at Youngsville High School. Lindsay (Albaugh) finished her high school career with 1,085 points, and Tim 1,083. Bragging rights.

If you want to get technical, Tommy’s uncle, and Tim’s twin brother, Todd, finished with 1,097 career points. But no one was counting when the twin brothers led the Eagles to a 29-2 record and a District 10 championship in 1992.

Times change, but Tommy wants to use some of the same ingredients to help the Dragons win a D10 title.

Photo courtesy of photosbydeezy.com Tim and Lindsay Nyquist, Tommy’s parents, both scored over 1,000 points during their respective careers at Youngsville High School.

Isn’t high school boys basketball a winter sport, you may ask?

For some.

“From day one, Tommy is the hardest worker I’ve ever seen in a gym,” said Maceo Wofford, Nyquist’s AAU basketball coach.

This is high praise from one of the most decorated players ever from Jamestown, N.Y., recruited to play Division I basketball with Iona — as well as playing in the NCAA Tournament — from 1999-2003.

Wofford is in the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, finishing with 2,259 career points at Jamestown High School, including 53 in a single game. He holds JHS records for career points, assists and steals, and is second in career rebounds, despite being 5-foot-10.

Photo courtesy of photosbydeezy.com Tommy Nyquist averaged 5.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game during his freshman season at Warren.

From the moment Wofford stepped into the same gym as Nyquist, they bonded. For many reasons. Nyquist is a smaller point guard, he was on a similar path to start as a freshman in high school.

Oh, and both eat, sleep, and breathe basketball.

No. 1 reason, though: since Wofford started coaching and training Nyquist in third grade, he has never seen another player work as hard as he does.

“It’s not me. Young Tommy has built his own house,” said Wofford of Nyquist’s foundation. “His work ethic has far exceeded mine.”

It’s been over six years since Wofford and Nyquist met and started working together, and Tommy has helped Wofford build Maceo’s brand as a basketball trainer and AAU coach for the Dribble Kings of southwestern New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.

Wofford views it as a partnership, or more appropriately, family.

“I’ll be honest with you, Tommy has affected so many people and doesn’t even know it,” said Wofford. “Family” is a strong word to Maceo, complimenting Tommy on being a tremendous influence on his own sixth-grade son, Sabastion. “Bassy” is an impressive point guard in his own right. He credits Tommy for part of that.

“Sebastian watches everything he does,” said Wofford. “Tommy is first and foremost a great individual.

He’s very, very, very respectful, and you don’t find that in kids these days,” Wofford added. “That’s the number one thing I admire about him; Basketball comes second to his character.”

Maceo wants to see Tommy accomplish everything he’s capable of.

“Tommy’s dream is to play DI basketball,” said Wofford. “Me being a small guard shows it’s not impossible. I will never say it’s impossible. I feel like he’s in a similar place that I was.”

Only Maceo didn’t have a mentor.

“I am a lucky one,” said Tommy. “I live in a great area with great people, and I live in a great family. So, really, the thing that motivates me … I want to be great at basketball.

“I guess I just always worked hard in everything I did since I was younger and that was a part of my parents raising me the best that they could,” he added. “I am always going to work hard at everything because I know that there is someone, somewhere trying to achieve the same goals that I am. My dad always told me, ‘players are made when the coaches aren’t watching.’ Meaning that you have to workout on your own if you really want to be great, and I’ve had that in the back of my head forever.”

Wofford echoed that “from the first drill I put him through, this kid worked as hard as any kid I’ve ever seen.

“The difference between Tommy and other kids is how hard he works outside of me,” said Wofford. “That is how I determine how hard he works.”

And Tommy loves everything about basketball.

“Basketball is my favorite sport and it isn’t really a question to me,” he said. “Football is fun because it’s one of the only sports where you can go and lay someone out. Baseball is fun because when you’re on the mound or up to bat, all eyes are on you, which makes it more fun I guess you could say. Something similar about them all is that I always wanted to be the best at each one of them. I always wanted to be that guy. What makes me tick is I hate losing probably more than I enjoy winning. I really just enjoy competing.

“Basketball has always been something I’ve wanted to do since I was younger,” Tommy added. “Even though I come from a major basketball family, they always wanted me to do what made me happy, whether that was playing basketball or not. One of my favorite things to do would be getting up at 7 a.m. and going to get a workout in with my dad, then going to lift with Justin (Norris). My dad, well he is pretty much my everything. He built the basketball foundation for me. My mom is the person I always go to if I need something, or need to go somewhere, she is there for me. My sister (Lex Nyquist), she is my biggest fan and my hero, simple as that.”

That’s a strong foundation, to say the least. His sister plays college volleyball for D2 Bloomsburg University, and helped Warren’s volleyball team win its first D10 title in the program’s history as well as to advance to the state championship.

“The goal I’m shooting for right now would be winning a D10 title, and in the long run, I want to go somewhere where I can play basketball (in college),” said Tommy.

The Dragons exceeded head coach Jeff Berdine’s expectations during a strange COVID-delayed season in 2020. Warren finished 17-6 in Nyquist’s freshman season in which he scored 5.3 points per game, with 5.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals. He hit double-digits in assists (10 and 13, respectively) in his last two regular-season games.

Wofford thinks Nyquist has learned and adjusted from playoff elimination.

“This is a part of the process,” said Wofford. “This year, in AAU, it’s night and day. He’s grown tremendously. I never use the word ‘failure.’ You can lose at anything you do, but in essence, you win (because of times when you lose).”

“It’s crazy to think that I’ve been working with Maceo for six years,” said Tommy. “Mace and I are so close now; I know I can talk to him about more things than just basketball. The big thing with him is work ethic. If you work hard, everything will fall in to place.

“Entering my freshman year, I was where I wanted to be,” said Nyquist. “I was at a point where I could compete with anyone I went up against. I definitely missed my old teammates, but at the same time, I loved playing with this group just as much. One of the things I have improved on, and need to keep getting better on, is the pick and roll game, as well as finding the balance of when to pass and when to shoot. Those are the things that I want to work with Coach (Jeff) Berdine, my dad and Mace.”