Lindsay Tait
July 23, 2020
Nik Mirich
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 8/04/76
- Place of Birth: Canley Heights (NSW)
- Position: CTR
- Height (CM): 206
- Weight (KG): 107
- Junior Assoc: NSW - Bankstown
- College: George Mason (1995–1999)
- NBL DEBUT: 2/10/99
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 1/03/03
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 26
- NBL History: Cairns 2000-01 | Victoria 2003
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Nik Mirich was born in Canley Heights (NSW) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Bankstown basketball program. Mirich received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 1993. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (1993, 1994).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Nik Mirich made his NBL debut with the Cairns Taipans at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
Nik Mirich played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Cairns Taipans and the Victoria Giants. He averaged 4.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 76 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | 27 | Victoria | 9-21 (10) | 27 | 344.0 | 75 | 76 | 15 | 29 | 47 | 2 | 8 | 27 | 77 | 33 | 76 | 43% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 9 | 24 | 38% | 43% | 43% | 15 |
| 2000-01 | 25 | Cairns | 6-22 (9) | 25 | 458.0 | 135 | 94 | 16 | 31 | 63 | 14 | 1 | 34 | 81 | 47 | 114 | 41% | 0 | 2 | 0% | 41 | 67 | 61% | 46% | 41% | 17 |
| 1999-00 | 23 | Cairns | 2-26 (11) | 24 | 425.0 | 105 | 93 | 15 | 31 | 62 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 78 | 38 | 100 | 38% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 29 | 43 | 67% | 44% | 38% | 9 | Totals | 76 | 1227 | 315 | 263 | 46 | 91 | 172 | 27 | 15 | 107 | 236 | 118 | 290 | 40.7% | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 79 | 134 | 59.0% | 45% | 41% | 17 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | 27 | Victoria | 9-21 (10) | 27 | 12.7 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 43% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.3 | 0.9 | 38% | 43% | 43% | 15 |
| 2000-01 | 25 | Cairns | 6-22 (9) | 25 | 18.3 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 4.6 | 41% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 1.6 | 2.7 | 61% | 46% | 41% | 17 |
| 1999-00 | 23 | Cairns | 2-26 (11) | 24 | 17.7 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 38% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 1.2 | 1.8 | 67% | 44% | 38% | 9 | Total | 76 | 16.1 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 40.7% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.1 | 59.0% | 45% | 41% | 17 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 17 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- AIS 1993-94 | Cairns 2000
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Slovenia - KK Škofja Loka (2002–2003)
Mirich joined KK Škofja Loka for the 2002–03 Slovenian Goodyear League (I. SKL) season, joining a squad coached by Gašper Okorn and featuring players including Nebojša Razić, Željko Bošnjak, Saša Dončić, Peter Hartman, and T. Čajič.
Škofja Loka’s frontcourt plans shifted early in the season, with Dončić departing after five games to join Kraljevo, after which the club brought in Mirich but moved on from him soon after, turning to Pavo Kuzmanić as a replacement import option during the same campaign.
COLLEGE
Mirich played college basketball at George Mason during the 1995–96 season and stayed with the Patriots through 1998–99, finishing his career as a four-year contributor in the program’s frontcourt rotation.
Mirich entered the program in 1995–96 under head coach Paul Westhead, with George Mason going 11–16 overall and 6–10 in the Colonial Athletic Association, and he appeared in 27 games while shooting 47.3% from the field with 2.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game while hitting 42.6% at the free-throw line.
That 1995–96 campaign ended in the CAA Tournament first round, where George Mason fell 77–93 to Richmond, closing a season that included a high-tempo schedule with non-conference trips to Colorado, USC, and Long Beach State.
As a sophomore in 1996–97, Mirich played in 26 games for a Patriots team that finished 10–17 overall and 4–12 in CAA play, and he averaged 5.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field, 23.5% on three-pointers, and 62.7% at the line.
One of his notable single-game contributions that season came on December 7, 1996, when George Mason won 85–81 at Colorado and Mirich pulled down 11 rebounds, including 10 defensive boards, in a game where the Patriots’ second-half defense and rebounding fueled the comeback win.
Mirich then played through a coaching transition in 1997–98 as Jim Larrañaga took over, and across 27 games he averaged 3.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per contest while shooting 43.5% from the field and 65.1% on free throws as George Mason finished 9–18 overall and 6–10 in the CAA.
During that 1997–98 season, Mirich earned CAA All-Academic Team recognition (1998), adding a conference honor to a year that also introduced the program’s next core pieces as the Patriots worked through Larrañaga’s first season at the helm.
As a senior in 1998–99, Mirich appeared in 30 games on a breakout team that went 19–11 overall and 13–3 in CAA play to win both the CAA regular-season title and the CAA Tournament, and he shot 52.3% from the floor while averaging 1.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game.
George Mason’s CAA Tournament run that season included a 73–48 quarterfinal win over American, a 58–56 overtime semifinal win over UNC Wilmington, and a 63–58 championship win over Old Dominion to clinch the league’s NCAA Tournament berth before the Patriots’ season ended with a 48–72 loss to Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament first round on March 12, 1999 in Boston.
Related
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