CWU Hall of Fame basketball coach Dean Nicholson featured

Legendary Central Washington University basketball coach Dean Nicholson was featured in a Yakima Herald-Republic article over the weekend, centered around his rich, longstanding relationships with his former players.

The namesake of Dean Nicholson Boulevard will turn 97 in June and he recently welcomed a group of 14 former players to his home in Concord, California.

"It's just something we've all wanted to do," Ellensburg native George Bender said in the YH-R piece that appeared in Saturday's edition. "It's fun to get down there to spend some time with him. It's just great to see him and be with him because even though he's getting up in years, he's sharp as a tack."

Nicholson, who moved to California in 1998, last visited his hometown of Ellensburg in 2017 with his son Gary for a ceremony retiring the jersey number Dean wore as a Wildcat.

In 1950, Nicholson was the best player on a Central team coached by his father, Leo. That team also became the school's first to qualify for the NAIA national tournament. Leo Nicholson led the Wildcats from 1930-64 and won 505 games before handing the program's reins to his son. (Nicholson Pavilion is named for Leo, the article notes.)

Dean Nicholson coached Central to a 609-219 record over a 26-season stretch that ended in 1990. He led the Wildcats to 22 NAIA national tournaments, and his 38 tournament victories led all coaches at the time he left Central.

He later coached the Continental Basketball Association's Yakima Sun Kings for a little more than one season before finishing his career with three successful years at Yakima Valley College.