Bernie's Nimmo switched number to honor cousin for senior season

“That’s just John,” Bernie coach Jason Long said of his senior forward John Nimmo.

Long was referring to Nimmo’s decision to wear the number of his late cousin Shannon Tarkington, who died in a car accident prior to the start of his senior year, the 2003-04 season. Darius Wooldridge also died in the accident.

Nimmo, who wore No. 35 last season, switched to No. 33 for his senior season, becoming the first Bernie player to wear that number since Tarkington.

“John’s really special to me for a lot of reasons outside of basketball because of a family connection,” Long said. “If you know John, he’s just a super kid. He thinks of others. He’s a leader and he’s our leader. (Wearing Tarkington’s number is) something that John Nimmo would do. That’s the biggest compliment that I can pay him. That’s something he would do.”

Nimmo not only wanted to wear the number for his cousin, but he wears it in another sport.

“I’ve always worn it in baseball for summer or school,” Nimmo said. “I’ve always wanted to wear it for basketball. This made me really proud to do that for him and our family.”

Nimmo never met his cousin, who died three months before his birth, and received support from his family.

“One game, there were about 10 or 15 people who came with sweatshirts on that had my number on the back,” he said. “They all came to honor me. That was pretty cool.”

Nimmo’s teammate, Tristan Johnson, thought Nimmo’s decision to wear his cousin’s number was “awesome.”

“That just shows how he’s a senior leader,” Johnson said. “He’s been like that all year. He’s a leader for us, takes all the weight. Without him, we wouldn’t be where we are.”

Nimmo has been a central figure in the Mules’ run to the MSHSAA Class 2 final four, averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He shoots 64.1% (157 of 245) from the field and is an 81.9% free-throw shooter (86 of 105).

In the semifinal win Friday over Putnam County, Nimmo led with 11 rebounds and scored seven points, sinking all three shots from the field, with three steals.

He scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field with a team-high eight rebounds in the championship Saturday.

Nimmo played 30 minutes in each game.

“John is in the best shape he’s ever been in in his life,” Long said. “He made the commitment to run cross country. I told him if he ran cross country that it would give us a greater chance of being good because he is a good player. He just needed to increase stamina, and he did that.”

Long commended his senior’s mental toughness.

“He might not get a rebound in the first or second quarter,” Long said. “Maybe a more athletic kid gets it, but with this stamina and his toughness, he stays with it. He’s very aware of the situation and he’ll get that big rebound when we need it.”

Editor's note: Kyle Smith wrote this story prior to his death to go with his coverage of Bernie's weekend at the final four. Information from the semifinal and final were later added.