Jaden Nickens leads Douglass to 11th straight win in his debut against Victory Christian

Jaden Nickens anticipated this night for weeks on end.

He valued each second leading into his Douglass High School debut. From his breakfast before class to lacing up his pink sneakers ahead of tip-off, Nickens was eager to put the drama surrounding him in the past weeks to rest.

"I had a chip on my shoulder the whole time," Nickens said. "They tried to block me — they did everything in their power just for them to see tonight why I should be out there."

And out of the gate Friday, he showed just that.

After checking into the game to an ovation from the crowd, the four-star OU football commit wasted no time gifting the audience with what they came to see in Douglass' 58-48 win over Class 3A second-ranked Victory Christian.

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On his first possession down the floor, Nickens shook his defender left and shot over him for his first points of the season. Two plays later, he forced a turnover, which led to a fast break and ended in him finishing an alley-oop slam off a Jaden Williams pass.

Nickens showed no signs of rust, scoring eight points in his first three minutes of game action since winning the Class 3A state championship with Millwood just 11 months ago.

"The most important thing tonight was just being a good leader and a good teammate," Nickens said.

"It's a relief to play with guys I've been playing with since I was a kid. One night, Davon Scott can have it going; some nights, it can be Jaden Williams; another can be Landry Ballard — I'm just happy tonight was my night."

Nickens scored a game-high 24 points.

After moving from Millwood to Douglass in December, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound two-sport star sat out all of January for the Trojans. Upon clearing his 15-day transfer window, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association denied his hardship waiver before overturning its decision at an appeal hearing Wednesday.

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Under OSSAA rules, Nickens was still permitted to practice with the team despite not being allowed to play in games. His performance on Friday indicated that Douglass had no problem handing the reigns to the new guy despite having played 15 games without his presence.

"Around this time of year, it's crucial that we start peaking as a team," Douglass head coach Steven Alexander said. "With us adding Jaden, that's the type of big piece you must make room for. He's one of those kids that is a generational talent.

"The thing about Jaden Nickens that everybody should know is that he's a gamer. When the lights are at their brightest, he's willing to step up, and he's not scared."

Douglass guard Davin Scott and three-star Victory Christian forward Chris Mason traded buckets in the opening minutes. Yet, the Trojans would go on a 22-7 run soon after Nickens entered the game and went into the locker room leading by 11 at halftime.

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Nickens and Scott picked up where they left off in the first half, combining for 20 points out of the halftime break, leading to the Douglass win. Scott ended the night with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals while making six of his eight shot attempts.

The 6-foot-2 junior led the Trojans in scoring through their first 15 games, but he's fully aware that may not be the case for much longer heading forward.

"Adding Jaden means we have five elite scores on the court at all times, making it hard for the defense to try to hone in on one person," Scott said. "We're going to find a way to score no matter what."

Nickens adds to the long list of depth already featured on a Douglass team looking to repeat as Class 4A state champions. As a three-star prospect in basketball, he currently has multiple Power Five offers from Auburn, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State.

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With the win, second-ranked Douglass has won 11 straight games, including 36 consecutive against Oklahoma competition dating back to 2022. The Trojans' only losses in that time have come to teams from outside the state in some of the best high school tournaments in the country.

Nickens is new to the orange and black colors, but he and the Douglass faithful have much in common.

He believes he meshes well with the Trojans' culture due to his own history of hoisting gold. He won two consecutive Class 3A state titles in basketball with Millwood and finished runner-up in two consecutive Class 2A state championship football seasons with the Falcons.

Nickens now strives to win his third state championship in basketball overall.

"The sky isn't the limit. We can go beyond and above," Nickens said. "Yeah, going back-to-back is our main focus, but it's brick by brick, day by day. We aren't focused on our next game. We're looking forward to Sunday's film and Monday's practice. But another state championship is something that we all want to get."

Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at jdavis@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jaden Nickens shines in Douglass debut to defeat Victory Christian