Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Nick Blount, MSU-Northern Men's Basketball

There’s certain parts of the country that are notorious for producing great high school basketball players. There’s just certain places that are known as hoops hotbeds.

Montana State University-Northern senior guard Nicholas Blount is from one of those areas. Blount, who transferred to Northern in the fall of 2013, hails from California’s famed Bay Area, where he played both high school and junior college basketball.

A native of Pittsburgh, California, Blount came to the Lights from Los Medanos Community College, and his impact was felt at some of the most key moments of his first season at Northern. In last spring’s NAIA national tournament in Kansas City, the 6-3 Blount rose up and hit four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 15 points in the Lights’ close first-round loss to Freed-Hardeman.

Fast forward one season, and Blount has an even bigger role with the Lights, who got off to a shaky start in Frontier Conference play, but have won two straight. Blount is a starter and a team leader, and while he’s averaging nine points and five rebounds per game, it’s his leadership and maturity that an otherwise inexperienced Lights’ squad really counts on.

And now that the Lights have shrugged off their 0-4 start to Frontier play, Blount, who’s majoring in business and who says his favorite basketball player is Houston Rockets’ guard James Harden, and the Lights are looking to make a strong push back up the Frontier standings.

The Havre Daily News caught up with Blount for five questions as the Lights prepare to take on arch rival UGF this Saturday in Great Falls.

HDN: Tell us how you ended up with the Lights?

Blount: “I transferred here from Los Medanos junior college. Coach (Huse) contacted me and, at the time, there were some other schools that were interested in me. But, to be honest, I didn’t have the grades at that time to go to some schools. So I took a trip up here and I really enjoyed my visit. The guys on the team at that time were great, they really welcomed me. I also saw how hard they work here, and I really liked that. It was all positive, and now I know, God put me here for a reason.”

HDN: You grew up in the Oakland/Bay Area. There’s a lot of great high school basketball there isn’t there? Did you play against some really good players?

Blount: “Yes, basketball is big there. We played against some good teams, some pretty good schools. Dominique Artis (Oregon) was a guy I played against that was really good. And Brandon Ashley. He went to (California) Berkley.”

HDN: You guys got off to a slow start in conference. But you sure turned it around this past weekend?

Blount: “Those were two big wins. It’s all about hard work. Even though we did start off slow, we were still determined and focused. We never gave up. Even after those losses, guys were still fired up in practice. We still worked really hard, nobody got down about it, and all of that paid off last weekend. This group of guys, they don’t quit. They’re going to fight to the end.”

HDN: California is a lot different than Havre. Is there something here that is different from home that you’ve really grown to like?

Blount: “I’d actually say the snow. That’s something I never had back home. And I like it. The cold doesn’t bother me. I’ve really gotten used to it. I want to get into snowboarding. I want to try that. That’s definitely on my bucket list.”

HDN: Big game against UGF this weekend. I imagine you guys are pretty excited for it?

Blount: “I am excited. It’s always a great atmosphere there, mainly because so many of our fans show up for that game. Our fans always travel well and give us great support on the road, but because that’s our closest trip, they really show up for us down there. And it’s always a great game with them (Argos). It’s going to be exciting. And we just have to keep this rolling. Keep doing what we do.”