AUBURN HILLS — If Iowa State’s Michael Nurse of Teaneck, N.J., doesn’t make it as a pro basketball player, he can work the borscht belt as a comedian.
Reporter: “Is playing Michigan State, the No.1 seed in the Midwest Regional in the final the matchup you wanted?”
Nurse: “I wanted to play Valparaiso.”
Reporter: “How long did it take to adjust to life in Ames, Iowa, and was it difficult?”
Nurse: “It took a couple of months because I got caught [urinating] in the streets. Back at home you don’t get arrested for that. I got caught for public urinating. I was shocked. I thought he [the cop] was just going to tell me to stop. The guy put me in cuffs. That’s when I adjusted.”
You can’t make this stuff up. And you can’t fake Nurse’s journey to Ames. After a dazzling high school career in which he led Teaneck to a 29-1 record and the state championship game as a senior, Nurse didn’t have the grades to be eligible at a Division I school.
He spent one year at Shorter Junior College in Arkansas and one at Monroe College in The Bronx. In his first year in Ames, Nurse was struck by a pickup truck and needed 20 stitches to close a gash in his head.
Nurse is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound sharpshooter for the second-seeded Cyclones, who face top-seeded Michigan State tonight in The Palace.
Considering that All American forward Marcus Fizer is the only Cyclone to have received national attention this year, Nurse’s sense of humor and his torrid shooting have been overlooked. He averaged 12.2 points this season on 40.9 percent shooting on 3s.
In addition to being the team’s best outside shooter, he’s also their comic relief. He calls in to local radio shows.
Reporter: “Marcus Fizer and Michael, describe your coach’s sense of humor.”
Fizer: “You better take than one Michael.”
Nurse: “You’re the All-American. I’ll throw that one right back at you.”