LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- There's a level of performance some athletes enter that is hard to explain called "the zone." It's when an athlete becomes purely unstoppable.
One athlete who is at that level is St. Edward boys basketball senior Kipper Nichols. Over the last two postseasons, he has raised his game to another level.
"It's hard to explain, but once you're in that zone, you know it," Nichols said.
Nichols and St. Edward will play Huber Heights Wayne in a Division I state semifinal Friday at 8:30 p.m. at Ohio State. This comes one year after the Eagles won a state title -- the second in school history.
The leading scorer in both of those playoff runs has been Nichols. Last season, he averaged 25.5 points per game in the state tournament and was named its top player in Division I.
This season, Nichols is coming off a regional tournament in which he averaged 27 points to knock off Lorain and Lima Senior.
Even if the Eagles don't win a state title again this weekend, Nichols has found a place in St. Edward basketball lore.
"We could say it's probably comparable to Steve Logan," St. Edward coach Eric Flannery said of the 1990s star who went on to become an All-American at Cincinnati. "Kipper's numbers are probably better, but when the game was on the line, Logan could take over. That's the only comparison I have."
Nichols' run to basketball dominance began with his mother, Tanicia Porter. She would take him to the YMCA to shoot baskets so that he would stay off the streets, and that they could have something to do together.
While she gave him the opportunity to play, his skills are a mystery. At 6-foot-7, Nichols is significantly taller than the rest of his family, and the clutch shooting wasn't exactly a trait that ran in the family.
"I was always too scared to play basketball because I didn't want to be the one to take the last shot and miss it," Porter said. "He definitely does not have that kind of fear at all."
Nichols and Porter are very close. She has been with him at nearly every basketball game he has ever played. While Nichols is calm and collected during the postseason, Porter is the opposite.
"This time of year I'm most nervous," Porter said. "I barely sleep at night. I do all these rituals that probably no other parent does. I have to wear the same clothes and same socks. This year I have to wear the same state championship necklace every game. It's intense."
Porter raised Nichols in Orange, but when it came time to move on to high school, she wanted to look at St. Edward. Nichols was a little hesitant to go to an all-boys high school, but he's thankful now.
"My mom kind of chose the school for me, but it was the best decision of my life," Nichols said. "I love this school but wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Nichols was a rare freshman to play right away for St. Edward. He had the size to be an immediate factor, and over the last two seasons he's gotten bigger and stronger, while becoming a better and more confident shooter, according to Flannery.
Nichols seems to have it all. He has a good size and frame. He can play on the inside, attack the basket and shoot from beyond the 3-point line. He's a winner who has made three state tournaments in four seasons.
But when it comes to recruiting, Nichols, who is still unsigned, has been a puzzling afterthought. So much so that he's not even ranked by ESPN in Ohio's Class of 2015.
He holds several Division I offers, including Northwestern, Xavier, Butler and Tulane, but has never received the same recruiting attention as fellow seniors in West Virginia signee Esa Ahmad (Shaker Heights) and Kansas commit Carlton Bragg (Villa Angela-St. Joseph).
"I definitely play with a chip on my shoulder at all times," Nichols said. "I always want to show I'm the best player on the floor."
Nichols outscored Ahmad and Bragg when he played them head-to-head this season, including a game-winner at home against Shaker Heights (see video of the play below).
While the next chapter of his career is still uncertain, he's about to finish his high school career. St. Edward can become the first Division I school since 2006 to win back-to-back state titles (Canton McKinley), and Nichols, along with Mike Ryan, would be one of two players to start on both teams.
When Nichols came to St. Edward he saw one boys basketball state title banner hanging from the rafters, and it would give him no greater joy to leave school having added two more.
"When you're talking St. Edward history, we did that," Nichols said. "Now you're talking history in Ohio. That's really something special."
Contact high school sports reporter David Cassilo by email (dcassilo@cleveland.com) or Twitter (@dcassilo). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.
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