As a Third-Year sophomore (2022-23): NCAA Tournament Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player … Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List … Wooden Award Preseason Watch List … ACC Player of the Week (2/6)
Played in 35 games, missing two due to illness/injury, and started each of them … Averaged 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal in 31.6 minutes per game … Shot 44.1 percent from the floor, 40.4 percent outside the arc and 88.2 percent at the line … Led Miami in 3-point percentage, made 3-pointers (82) and free-throw percentage, while placing third in scoring, assists and minutes … Placed fifth on Miami’s single-season free-throw percentage list (min. 50 FTA), sixth in made 3-pointers and eighth in 3-point attempts (213) … In ACC-only play, finished second all-time at Miami in made 3-pointers (52), fourth in 3-point attempts (120) and eighth in 3-point percentage (43.3; min. 35 3PA) … Made a 3-pointer in 19 straight outings, good for the 12th-longest streak in program history … Tied for the third-most made 3-pointers in game (seven) by a Hurricane, including matching the top total in Jim Larrañaga’s tenure and posting the highest total since Davon Reed on 2/4/17 … Tied for the most made 3-pointers (five) in a half by a Hurricane since the program joined the ACC in 2004-05 … Logged the second-most NCAA Tournament single-game made 3-pointers (seven), co-second-most 3-point attempts (10) and the third-best 3-point percentage (min. five 3PM; 70.0) in program history … First player in program history to earn NCAA Tournament Region MOP honors … Ranked No. 63 in the NCAA and seventh in the ACC in total made 3-pointers, as well as No. 106 overall and eighth in the league in makes per game (2.46) … In league-only play, placed second in the ACC in 3-point percentage (43.3) and co-seventh in made 3-pointers (52) … One of 11 ACC players (14 occurrences) in the last 20 years to average 13.5 points and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 40.0 percent from deep on at least six 3-point attempts per game, as well as one of five Power Six players to do so in 2022-23 … Ranked second in made 3-pointers (15) and fifth in points (82) among all players in the NCAA Tournament … Scored in double digits 22 times, with 15-plus on 16 occasions, including in 12 of his final 18 outings, with 20-plus in eight outings, including in six of his last 14 performances with four in a five-game span and three in a row … Grabbed four-plus rebounds 10 times, with five thrice … Recorded multiple assists in 23 games, with four-plus in eight and five-plus in four … Collected multiple steals seven times, reaching three-plus thrice … Played at least 30 minutes in 25 outings, with 35-plus minutes in five of them … Led or co-led Miami in scoring nine times, steals seven times, assists six times, minutes six times and blocks once … Posted the most single-game made 3-pointers (seven) by a Hurricane and four of the six outings with five-plus makes, as well as the co-third-highest mark in steals (four) and fifth-highest total in points (26) by a Hurricane … Compiled 16 points, a season-best five rebounds and a 4-of-10 long-range clip in his Miami debut against Lafayette (11/7) … Notched 14 points in 35 minutes against UNC Greensboro (11/11) … Poured in 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including a 3-of-6 ledger from deep, against St. Francis Brooklyn (11/23), adding four boards … Recorded 16 points and three assists, shooting 7-of-10 overall and 2-of-4 from deep, at UCF (11/27) … Did not play against St. Francis (PA) (12/17) due to illness … Finished with 10 points and three rebounds in 36 minutes in the win over sixth-ranked Virginia (12/20) … In a return to his home state, logged 21 points and three steals at Notre Dame (12/30), shooting 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-8 from 3-point range … Logged 13 points, four rebounds and two assists at Georgia Tech (1/4) … Registered 15 points on 5-of-9 long-range shooting versus Syracuse (1/16), adding two assists and eclipsing 1,000 career points in just his 70th outing … Totaled 18 points, three rebounds and two steals at Duke (1/21), shooting 4-of-9 on 3-pointers … Posted 18 points, including 16 in the first half, to go along with five assists and two steals at Florida State (1/24), shooting 6-of-10 overall and 4-of-7 beyond the arc … Scored all 17 of his points against Virginia Tech (1/31) in a span of 5:08 late in the second half, as he shot 6-of-6 from the floor (5-of-5 from deep) to help Miami turn a three-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 2:28 to go, notching all but two of its points during that stretch … Put up 20 points, four rebounds and three assists in a win at No. 19/20 Clemson (2/4), hitting all six of his free throws to set season highs in makes and attempts … Dished out a season-best six assists and grabbed a co-season-high five boards in the victory over RV/No. 24 Duke (2/6) … Dropped 22 points against Louisville (2/11), shooting 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-9 from deep and 2-of-2 at the line, adding two assists … Registered 23 points in the win at North Carolina (2/13), finishing 7-of-11 overall, 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and 5-of-6 at the line, tying a season high in free-throw attempts … Compiled 24 points, four assists, three rebounds and a career-high-tying four steals in a season-high 37 minutes against Wake Forest (2/18), going 9-of-17 from the floor, 4-of-8 beyond the arc and 2-of-2 at the stripe … Had 16 points and two steals at Virginia Tech (2/21) … Did not play against Florida State (2/25) due to a lower extremity injury … Scored 11 points against No. 21 Duke (3/10) in the ACC Tournament semifinals … Finished with 21 points and two steals in the NCAA Tournament opener versus Drake (3/17), shooting 7-of-15 from the field, 3-of-7 from deep and 4-of-4 at the line, as well as making the game-winning jump-shot with 60 seconds left … Tallied 12 points, three rebounds and two assists against No. 21/19 Indiana (3/19) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament … Poured in a season-high 26 points and notched two assists versus No. 2/1 Houston (3/24) in the Sweet 16, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor, including 7-of-10 from deep to set a season high in makes … Tallied 15 points and two assists, shooting 6-of-12, in 36 minutes against No. 5/7 Texas (3/26) in the Elite Eight.
As a Second-Year Freshman at Kansas State (2021-22): Big 12 Most Improved Player … First Team All-Big 12 … Associated Press First Team All-Big 12 … NABC First Team All-District 8 … USBWA All-District VI … Two-time Big 12 Player of the Week (1/24 & 2/7)
Appeared in 29 of 31 games, missing two due to injury, and made 28 starts … Averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.0 minutes per contest … Shot 44.5 percent from the floor, 43.6 percent beyond the arc and 84.5 percent at the line … Led the team in scoring, made field goals (175), field-goal percentage (min. 2 FGM per game), made 3-pointers (95), 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage (min. 1.5 FTM per game) and minutes … Placed second in assists and steals, as well as third in made free throws (60), free-throw attempts (71) and rebounding … Ended his Kansas State career third in 3-point percentage (42.3) and No. 10 in made 3-pointers (155) … Set a school record by making a 3-pointer in 34 straight games, breaking the prior mark of 25 that stood for over 30 years, after connecting in all 29 outings of 2021-22 and the last five his rookie year … Third-most single-season made 3-pointers in program history, including the most since Jacob Pullen in 2009-10 and the top mark ever by a sophomore … Eighth-best single-season 3-point clip by a Wildcat … Tied for the second-highest single-game made 3-pointers total (eight) in program history, matching the top mark in Big 12 play … Sixth Wildcat named a First Team All-Big 12 designee and first to win Big 12 Most Improved Player … Eighth player in school history to win multiple Big 12 Player of the Week accolades in the same season and first since Nino Williams in 2014-15 … Scored in double figures the final 22 games of the year, including all 18 in Big 12 play, good for the longest stretch by a Kansas State player since 2010 … Tallied the most 30-point games in a season (three) by a Wildcat since Rodney McGruder in 2011-12 … Posted the seventh-highest single-game point total in Big 12 play (35) in program history … Led the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (fifth in NCAA) and made 3-pointers per game (3.3; No. 14 in NCAA) … Finished second in the Big 12 in made 3-pointers (No. 29 in NCAA), third in points per game (No. 88 in NCAA), fourth in field-goal percentage (No. 173 in NCAA), sixth in made field goals, seventh in minutes per game, No. 11 in steals per game and No. 18 in assists per game … Ranked No. 29 in the NCAA in total made 3-pointers … In Big 12-only action, paced the league in made field goals (116), made 3-pointers (61) and made 3-pointers per game (3.4) … Ranked second in scoring (18.6) and 3-point percentage (43.3), plus fourth in both minutes per game (35.6) and field-goal percentage (45.3), as well as eighth in steals per game (1.5) and No. 19 in assists per game (1.9) … Logged three of the eight instances of a Big 12 player surpassing 30 points, while no other player had more than one, and tallied the co-second-highest single-game point total (35) by any player in the conference … Tied for the fourth-most single-game made field goals (12) by any player in the Big 12 … Posted a Big 12-best four outings with six-plus made 3-pointers and tied for the most makes (eight) in a game by any player in the conference … Tied for the third-highest single-game 3-point percentage (.800; 4-of-5) by a Big 12 player … Tied for No. 13 nationally with three games scoring over 30 points and tied for eighth nationally with a trio of games logging 30-plus points, 10 made field goals and four made 3-pointers … Among 64 DI players with at least 28 13-point performances … Fourth Big 12 player in the last 15 years—alongside Kansas’ Frank Mason in 2016-17, Oklahoma State’s Jeffrey Carroll in 2016-17 and Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield in 2015-16—to average 17.0 points per game on 43 percent 3-point shooting, as well as one of six DI players (min. 15 GP and 1 3PM per game) to do so in 2021-22… Lone DI (min. 15 GP and 1 3PM per game) player in 2021-22 and the 17th Power Six player—18th occurrence—in the last 30 years to average 17.0 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the field, 43 percent beyond the arc and 84 percent at the line, including first since Villanova’s Mikal Bridges in 2017-18 and the first Big 12 player since Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield in 2015-16 …Scored 30-plus points thrice, 20-plus seven times, 15-plus 20 times and 10-plus 28 times, all team bests … Grabbed at least five rebounds 10 times, with seven-plus thrice … Posted three-plus assists in 10 outings, with five-plus in four … Notched multiple steals 10 times, with three-plus five times … Made multiple 3-pointers 25 times, with four-plus 11 times and six-plus four times … Played at least 35 minutes on 14 occasions, reaching 39-plus three times, all in a five-game span … Led or co-led Kansas State in scoring a team-best 18 times, in steals nine times, in assists five times, in rebounding thrice and in blocks twice … Recorded the team’s three highest single-game scoring totals, as well as the top marks in made field goals (12) and made 3-pointers (eight) … Posted two of the five instances of a Wildcat making five-plus free throws without a miss … Averaged 18.5 points per game in 10 appearances against ranked foes and scored 13-plus in each outing, including posting 23.0 points per game in four contests versus top-10 foes … Averaged 18.6 points per game in the final 19 contests, including 21.1 in an 11-game stretch from 1/22 to 2/26 … Notched 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 4-of-7 clip from deep, in the opener against Florida A&M (11/10), adding three assists and two steals … Put up 15 points and five assists, shooting 3-of-4 on 3-pointers, against Omaha (11/17) … Logged 15 points, four rebounds and two steals versus No. 14/15 Illinois in Kansas City, Mo. … Tallied 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with a 4-of-8 mark beyond the arc, against North Dakota … Produced 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-8 ledger from long range, versus Albany (12/1), adding five rebounds and three assists … Missed the games at Wichita State (12/5) and against Marquette (12/8) due to concussion protocols … Recorded 15 points, a career-high eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in a win at Nebraska (12/19) … Scored 18 points, shooting 4-of-5 on 3-pointers, and grabbed five boards versus McNeese State (12/21) … Finished with 17 points and three steals in 36 minutes at Oklahoma (1/1), hitting all four of his free throws … Registered 21 points, five rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes against No. 14/16 Texas (1/4), shooting 6-of-6 at the line … Posted 20 points, six made 3-pointers and five boards at West Virginia (1/8) … Totaled 14 points and seven rebounds in the victory over No. 19 Texas Tech (1/15) … Scored 16 points in 36 minutes at No. 23/22 Texas (1/18) … Scored a career-high 35 points against seventh ranked Kansas (1/22), shooting 12-of-18 from the floor and 8-of-12 on 3-pointers, setting or tying career bests in makes in both categories, as well as 3-of-3 at the line, adding four rebounds and three steals, becoming one of four DI players in 2021-22 to record 35p/12fgm/8 3pm while hitting at least two-thirds of his field goals and 3-pointers … Amassed 18 points and a season-best seven assists at Ole Miss (1/29), shooting 6-of-13 beyond the arc in 36 minutes … Put up 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including a 4-of-7 clip from deep, in 36 minutes versus Oklahoma State (2/2) and hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left … Finished with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and a career-high four steals in 38 minutes in the win at TCU (2/5), shooting 7-of-10 overall and 4-of-5 on 3-pointers … Dropped 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including a 4-of-9 mark on 3-pointers, against No. 10 Baylor (2/9), finishing 7-of-10 at the line to set career highs in both areas and adding three steals in 35 minutes … Scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, with a 4-of-5 mark from long range, in 39 minutes in the win at Iowa State (2/12), adding six rebounds, three assists and the first two blocks of his career … Compiled 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and one block in the victory at West Virginia (2/14), shooting 4-of-4 at the line… Scored 16 points in a career-high 42 minutes at Oklahoma State (2/19), shooting 5-of-6 at the stripe, grabbing a career-high-tying eight rebounds and snatching three steals … Poured in 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including a 6-of-9 clip from deep, in 39 minutes against Iowa State (2/26), chipping in two steals … Logged 18 points in 38 minutes, making all five of his free throws, in the Big 12 Tournament opener against West Virginia (3/9), adding six boards.
As a Freshman at Kansas State (2020-21): Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team
Started 24 of 29 games and was unavailable for the other five … Averaged 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.6 minutes per game … Shot 41.8 percent from the field, 40.5 percent on 3-pointers and 79.4 percent at the stripe … Led the team in scoring, assists per game, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage, while tying for first in made 3-pointers (60) … Placed second in made field goals (109), steals per game and minutes … Third true freshman to lead Kansas State in scoring, alongside Marcus Foster (2013-14) and Michael Beasley (2007-08) … Placed top-10 all-time among Kansas State freshmen in nine categories: second in made 3-pointers, third in 3-point percentage, fifth in total assists (91), ninth in total points (305) and No. 10 each in made field goals (109), field-goal attempts (261), total steals (28), minutes (806) and starts (24) … Tied for the second-highest single-game made 3-pointers total (eight) in program history, setting the record by a freshman and equaling the top mark in Big 12 play … Posted the third-most single-game assists (nine) by a freshman in program history and marked the highest total since Clent Stewart on 3/5/05 … Finished second in the Big 12 in 3-point percentage (No. 26 in NCAA), fourth in made 3-pointers per game (2.5; No. 81 in NCAA), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83; No. 129 in NCAA) and eighth in made 3-pointers (No. 83 in NCAA) … Also placed No. 10 in assists per game, No. 10 in minutes per game, No. 11 in steals per game and No. 19 in scoring … In Big 12-only play, if qualified by playing enough games, would have ranked fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.74), seventh in minutes per game (34.7), ninth in assists per game (3.6), No. 15 in made 3-pointers per game (1.8), No. 16 in steals per game (1.2) and No. 22 in scoring (11.6) … Tied for the second-most made 3-pointers in a game by a Big 12 player, as well as tied for the third-best single-game 3-point percentage (83.3; 5-of-6) … One of three true freshmen to finish top-20 in the league in scoring, alongside Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham and TCU’s Mike Miles … Scored in double figures 16 times, including in 12 of his final 14 outings, with 16-plus points seven times and 22-plus thrice … Pulled down five-plus boards on 11 occasions … Distributed at least three assists in 14 appearances, with five-plus in 11 and seven-plus twice … Tallied multiple steals in nine games … Made multiple 3-pointers in 16 outings, with four-plus in six and six-plus twice … Played at least 30 minutes 19 times, including in 13 of his last 14 appearances, and 35-plus 11 times … Led or co-led Kansas State in assists 12 times, in scoring 11 times and in steals four times … Registered all three instances of a Wildcat making five-plus 3-pointers, both outings with at least an 80 percent 3-point clip and the top single-game assist total … Averaged 12.7 points per game in 10 matchups with a ranked team, scoring 10-plus points in seven of them … Tallied 15.1 points per game in the last 11 outings of the year, reaching double figures nine times … Posted nine points, five assists and a 3-of-5 clip from deep against Drake (11/25) in his debut … Recorded 12 points on 4-of-6 3-point shooting versus Colorado (11/27) … Tallied 14 points, six rebounds and three assists against Kansas City (11/30) … Logged nine points, five rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes versus UNLV (12/5) … Compiled 12 points, six boards and five assists against Milwaukee (12/11) … Put up 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals versus Jacksonville (12/21), shooting 6-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers … Notched 12 points and two steals against TCU (1/2) … Tallied 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 38 minutes at Texas Tech (1/5) … Did not play in the following four games … Returned to action with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and a 4-of-4 free-throw mark at the eventual NCAA champion, second-ranked Baylor (1/27) … Dropped a season-best 26 points against Texas A&M (1/30), adding five assists and a season-high-tying three steals in 38 minutes, while shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 8-of-14 from deep to set season bests in both makes categories and become the ninth D1 player in the past decade, including the only one in 2020-21, with 25p/5a/3s/8 3pm in a game … Posted 10 points, five boards and three assists in 35 minutes at No. 23/22 Kansas (2/2) … Totaled 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a 4-of-5 3-point mark, to go along with a season-high seven rebounds versus No. 13/11 Texas Tech (2/6) … Poured in 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting against No. 13 Texas (2/9), grabbing five boards and shooting 5-of-7 from the line to set a season best in attempts … Amassed 14 points, three assists and two steals in 36 minutes at No. 23/22 Oklahoma State (2/13) … Scored 12 points in a season-high 39 minutes at TCU (2/20) … Recorded nine points, four rebounds and a season-best nine assists in 38 minutes in the win over No. 7/8 Oklahoma (2/23), shooting 4-of-4 at the line … Scored 10 points in 36 minutes against Iowa State (3/6) … Put up 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals in the Big 12 Conference Tournament opener versus TCU (3/10), shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, 5-of-6 beyond the arc and 6-of-7 at the line, setting a season high in made free throws and tying his top mark in attempts … Ended the year with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a 6-of-9 figure from long range, against second-ranked Baylor (3/11) in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals.
High School: Graduated from Lawrence Central High School … Tabbed a four-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals … Considered the No. 90 overall player, including the third-best prospect in Indiana, by ESPN, as well as the No. 128 player and fifth-best recruit in Indiana by Rivals … Finished No. 123 in the 247Sports Composite, good for fourth in Indiana and No. 22 among point guards … Four-year letter winner totaled 1,085 points and 266 assists in his prep career, logging a 2.55:1 assist-to-turnover ratio … Shot 50.7 percent (388-of-765) overall, 42.9 percent (149-of-347) from deep and 86.0 percent (160-of-186) on free throws … Earned all-county and all-conference distinction as both a junior and senior … Led his team to a cumulative 70-26 record … Averaged 17.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game as a senior … Shot 49.7 percent from the field, 40.3 percent beyond the arc and 92.8 percent (64-of-69) at the line … Scored 20-plus points eight times in a 22-3 campaign … Named to the IBCA All-State Supreme 15 and to The Indianapolis Star Indiana All-Star Team … As a junior, averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game … Shot 52.4 percent overall, 43.2 percent on 3-pointers and 83.3 percent (50-of-60) from the stripe … Scored in double figures in every game, reaching 20-plus five times, during a 22-4 season that included the school’s first sectional title in seven years … Tabbed to the IBCA Underclass All-State Supreme 15 and The Indianapolis Star’s Indiana Junior All-Star Team … Selected to the 2019 Nike All-EYBL Breakout Team after averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game for the Indy Heat in six Peach Jam outings, including logging a triple-double … Kyle Guy, three-year teammate Jake LaRavia and Norm Sloan also attended Lawrence Central.
Personal: Full name is Nijel Christian Pack … First name is pronounced NYE-Juhl, like “Nigel” … Born May 22, 2001, in Oconomowoc, Wis. … Parents, David and Robin Pack, own a consulting company … Has an older brother, Ben Spaulding, and an older sister, Anjelica Pack … Majoring in sport administration with a minor in marketing … Favorite athlete is LeBron James because he feels he is the best player ever and respects what he does off the court … Best sports memories are his Peach Jam triple-double, his game-winning shot against Oklahoma State and scoring 35 points versus Kansas … Committed to Miami over Duke, Ohio State, Purdue and Tennessee … Chose Miami because of its great basketball program, its winning culture, Jim Larrañaga, the excellent education and the location.
