Brad Williams
July 23, 2020
Matt Nover
- Nationality: USA/PRT
- Date of Birth: 23/09/70
- Place of Birth: Chesterton, Indiana (USA)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 203
- Weight (KG): 101
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Indiana (1989–1993)
- NBL DEBUT: 1/02/98
- AGE AT DEBUT: 27
- LAST NBL GAME: 7/03/98
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 27
- NBL History: Sydney 1998
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: Super Nova
BIO: Matt Nover was born in Chesterton, Indiana (USA).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Matt Nover made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 27 years of age. He scored eight points in his first game.
After a single season in the NBA, Heal returned to the Kings in 1998. With two years remaining on his NBA deal, Heal left Minnesota, citing the lack of playing time behind Stephon Marbury, disliking the cold weather and suffering a calf injury the week before the opening round, which would require him to earn his way back into the rotation and returned to Australia.
Since Heal’s departure in 1996, the team had undergone a number of changes. Bill Tomlinson replaced coach Alan Black, imports Melvin Thomas and Isaac Burton were replaced by Matt Nover, a former NCAA Final Four centre better known as ‘Ricky Roe’ from the movie Blue Chips and a 19-year-old forward named Stephen Jackson, who became the youngest import signing in NBL history.
Jackson had been the leading scorer in the 1996 McDonald’s All-American Game on a team that included future NBA All-Stars Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neal and Richard Hamilton. He’d been headed to the University of Arizona but was ruled academically ineligible, throwing him into the ’97 NBA Draft (while the Wildcat’s won the NCAA title without him), where Phoenix selected him in the second round. He failed to make the Suns roster and, instead, chose to play his first year as a pro in Australia.
The Kings had built themselves around a young core of Aussie talent, which included Aaron Trahair, Matthew Nielsen, Stephen Whitehead and Scott McGregor.
Nover (7.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) and Jackson (6.0 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 1 assist) got off to rocky starts, combing for a total of 36 points across the team’s first three games. Jackson, who would later average 20+ points per game across numerous seasons in the NBA, had become the first import in NBL history to go scoreless in his debut game. Nonetheless, the Kings were rolling, with wins over Canberra, Newcastle and Melbourne firing them to a undefeated start.
In Round 3, the team travelled to Adelaide looking to keep their steak alive when, late in the third quarter, disaster struck for Jackson. Attempting to block 36ers’ star Kevin Brooks, Jackson landed awkwardly, broke his foot and would miss the remainder of the season.
In round 6, even with Aaron Trahair dropping 40 points on 13 of 16 shooting, the Kings lost to Wollongong (99-108) and shortly after released Nover. Former King Dave Simmons, who had been released by Newcastle, and former Sacramento King’s big man Evers Burns were signed as import replacements.
After six games, Simmons (6.5 points and 6.3 rebounds) was released as the Kings made room to sign former North Carolina State point guard Kelsey Weems and allow Shane Heal and Aaron Trahair to play more minutes at shooting guard.
Through the multiple import changes and roster juggling, the Kings dropped ten of their next twelve games, missed the playoffs and finished in the tenth spot (12-18). Heal (20.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists) would lead the team in scoring while rising star Nielsen continued to improve, boosting his numbers from 9.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 27 minutes per game to 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in 34 minutes per game. During their short NBL stints, Weems (20.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals) filled the stat sheet during his 12 games, while Burns (16.5 points and 9.4 rebounds) on the other hand, wasn’t quite the player he was in the NBA. Jackson went on to play 858 NBA games, winning a championship with San Antonio in 2003.
Matt Nover played one season in the NBL. He averaged 7.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 27 | Sydney | 13-17 (8) | 7 | 156.0 | 54 | 39 | 6 | 17 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 44 | 50% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 10 | 18 | 56% | 51% | 50% | 17 | Totals | 7 | 156 | 54 | 39 | 6 | 17 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 44 | 50.0% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 10 | 18 | 55.6% | 52% | 50% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 27 | Sydney | 13-17 (8) | 7 | 22.3 | 7.7 | 5.6 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 50% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 1.4 | 2.6 | 56% | 51% | 50% | 17 | Total | 7 | 22.3 | 7.7 | 5.6 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 50.0% | 0.1 | 0.0% | 0.1 | 55.6% | 52% | 50% | 17 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 17 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
|---|
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Nover, is a naturalized citizen of Portugal who played for the Portuguese national basketball team during the 2003 and 2005 FIBA EuroBasket qualification.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Italy - Carife Ferrara (1993–1994) | Switzerland - Bellinzona (1995–1996) | Portugal - Illiabum (1996), Benfica Lisboa (2000–2001), Aveiro Basket (2001–2003), C.A. Queluz (2003), Ovarense (2004), A.D. Vagos (2007–2009) | Japan - Nippon Denso (1998–2000) | Spain - Murcia (2003–2004)
Nover joined Carife Ferrara for the 1993–94 Italian League season, playing his first season in Italy.
He later moved to Switzerland with Bellinzona for the 1995–96 Swiss top-division season, and in 1996 he also appeared in FIBA’s European Championship for Men’s Clubs competition with the club, averaging 22.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists across three games.
Nover then played in Portugal with Illiabum in 1996 before moving to Japan, where he joined Nippon Denso for the 1998–99 JBL season with the Denso White Wolves and remained there for 1999–2000 with the Denso Hoop Gang.
He returned to Portugal for the 2000–01 TMN season with Benfica Lisboa, where the senior men’s roster listed teammates including Carlos Seixas, Fernando Luisão, and Francisco Jordão alongside him.
Nover shifted to Aveiro Basket for the 2001–02 and 2002–03 TMN seasons, and during that period he was selected as a Portuguese All-Star in 2002, then on March 6, 2003 he left Aveiro after 14 games due to economic problems before joining C.A. Queluz on March 7, 2003 and playing one TMN game for the club.
Later in March 2003 he moved to Spain when he joined Etosa Murcia on March 19, 2003 in the LEB, and that season ended with Murcia winning the LEB Oro championship, with Nover credited as a LEB Oro champion for 2003.
Nover stayed in Spain for the 2003–04 Liga ACB season with Polaris World Murcia, appearing in 14 games and averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7:54 per game, and the club registered his release on January 29, 2004 before he returned to Portugal the following day to join Ovarense on January 30, 2004.
He later finished his club career in Portugal with A.D. Vagos from 2007–08 through 2008–09 in the Portuguese 2nd division.
On the national-team side, Nover played for Portugal during the 2003 EuroBasket qualifying cycle and averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assist across two games, then returned in the 2005 EuroBasket qualifiers and averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds across four games, including a 10-point, seven-rebound outing in 31 minutes against Bulgaria on September 8, 2004.
COLLEGE
Nover played college basketball at Indiana from the 1989-90 season through the 1992-93 season under head coach Bob Knight, finishing his career as a four-year contributor who started 91 of his 129 appearances for the Hoosiers.
As a freshman in 1989-90, Nover appeared in 26 games and made 14 starts, averaging 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game while shooting 48-for-91 from the field (52.7%) and 41-for-56 at the line (73.2%), with 12 blocks, 29 turnovers, and 61 fouls across 494 total minutes.
In 1990-91, he expanded to 34 games with 26 starts and produced 234 points (6.9 per game) on 95-for-176 shooting (54.0%) and 44-of-65 free throws (67.7%), adding 132 rebounds (3.9 per game), 13 assists, 12 steals, 17 blocks, 40 turnovers, and 83 fouls while averaging 20.0 minutes per game (680 total minutes).
During his junior year in 1991-92, Indiana went 27–7 overall and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament before reaching the Final Four, with Nover playing 34 games and making 16 starts while averaging 6.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game on 80-for-147 shooting (54.4%), including his only career made three-pointer (1-for-1), and 60-for-84 at the free throw line (71.4%), alongside 13 blocks and 107 total rebounds across 615 minutes.
In the 1992 NCAA tournament West Regional Final win over UCLA on March 28, 1992, Nover logged 23 minutes and scored 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting with a perfect 6-for-6 night at the free throw line, adding 5 rebounds and 2 turnovers as Indiana advanced to the Final Four.
As a senior in 1992-93, Nover started all 35 games for a 31–4 Indiana team that won the Big Ten at 17–1, earned the program’s AP No. 1 ranking, and entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed before reaching the Elite Eight, with Nover serving as one of the team captains and delivering his top collegiate production at 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 28.9 minutes per night while shooting 147-for-234 from the field (62.8%) and 92-for-160 at the line (57.5%), plus 24 blocks, 26 assists, and 69 turnovers in 1,013 total minutes.
Across his Indiana career, Nover totaled 978 points and 535 rebounds, shot 370-for-648 from the field (57.1%) and 237-for-365 on free throws (64.9%), and finished with 66 blocks, 55 assists, 38 steals, 179 turnovers, and 298 fouls over 2,802 minutes, with his season-by-season role building from a part-time freshman starter into a full-time senior starter on a Big Ten champion and top-seeded NCAA tournament team.
LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL
Nover is currently a regional sales manager for TELA Bio in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1994, he appeared in Blue Chips along with Nick Nolte, Anfernee Hardaway, and Shaquille O'Neal.
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