Gore ready to play at VMI

By Corine Gatti

Published: November 15, 2008

Waynesboro basketball fans remember Nick Gore. The 6-foot, 7-inch goatee-growing, wide-grinning graduate of the purple and gold, who led the Giants to the Region III semifinals last season and was an important member of the Waynesboro Group AA final four team in 2006.

Gore will be back in the Valley again in 2009.

After shedding his high school skin, Gore inked a letter-of-intent to play basketball next season for the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, a NCAA, Division I school in the Big South Conference.

Playing in Division I has been a long-time dream of Gore. It started when he played on the Little Giants’ JV team.

“Pops [Sidney Diggs] and coach [C. Jay] DeWitt really pushed me. They helped me a lot. In JV, Pops had hard practices, so hard, that some of the players wanted to leave,” Gore said. “I just kept working at it. I got here because of all the good people that helped me along the way. They really ignited me.”

That fire has not been quenched since his days at Waynesboro.

Gore is currently attending The Hill School, a preparatory school in Pottstown, Pa.

Waynesboro boys varsity coach DeWitt was thrilled about the latest news of his former star player.

“I’m really happy for him and really excited for him,” said DeWitt. “He’s worked very hard and has earned everything by hard work. He wanted to play Division I and that was his goal.”

Coming from a smaller school, Gore was not getting the looks he needed to fulfill his goals. Hill gave Gore the opportunity to play in the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic Prep League, but it was the AAU under-17 East Coast Fusion that helped Gore get noticed.

Due to NCAA regulations, Gore didn’t know he was on any school’s list.

“I didn’t just want basketball. I wanted the whole package and to get a scholarship,” Gore said. “That gave me that chance and it hooked me up with VMI coach [Duggar] Baucom. I’ve talked to coach Baucom and I liked what they are doing.”

Gore will receive a full scholarship.

“VMI is a very good school. It will give me the discipline and a really good education,” Gore said. “I like the team and their fast paced offense.”

Gore dished out plenty of offense of his own with the Giants by averaging 16.5 points with 90 assists and collecting an average of 10 rebounds last year.

VMI assistant basketball coach, Jason Allison discovered Gore in a Las Vegas AAU tournament last summer.

“We fell in love with him,” Baucom said. “He was on our short list. He works hard and moves well on the floor and fits right into our program.”

Gore didn’t have to prove anything.

“We went to see him at Hill to workout and we wanted to sign him. He’s a smart kid. He’s mature beyond his years and has a great analytical mind,” Baucom said

Baucom said that there is an opening for Gore after Keydets’ senior forward Willie Bell graduates.

“It’s all up to him,” Baucom said. “He works hard and I think that he’ll take the opportunity.”

Gore could see 20 minutes of court time next fall.

“My parents took me to camps and my dad, bless his heart, would wake up early if I wanted to shoot,” Gore said. “Not many parents would do that. They really pushed me. My mom is my No. 1 fan.”

DeWitt may be his next biggest fan.

“I knew he was going to be a pretty great player in the seventh and eighth grade,” DeWitt said. “But at that time, I had no idea that he would be 6-foot-5 or 200 pounds, or whatever he is. He kinda grew into his body. That’s really when everybody started thinking that he could play college basketball.”