ORLANDO – The UCF men’s basketball team has added freshman Nils Machowski to the roster, head coach Johnny Dawkins announced Friday.
"We're excited to have Nils join the UCF family," said Coach Dawkins. "He'll be a terrific addition to our program. He is a point guard with a lot of experience having played in a lot of good leagues in Germany. He will bring good leadership skills and point guard play from the experience he has gained already."
Machowski, a Berlin, Germany native, played at the highest level of professional basketball in Germany, spending time with Alba Berlin. He worked his way up to the highest tier of German hoops after a stint with Bernau in the third division in his home country where he posted 8.2 points per game while shooting 38.5% from three across 18 contests.
The Machowski name is a familiar one in Germany, as Nils’ father, Sebastian Machowski, was a professional basketball player for 17 years. One of Sebastian’s stops through his tenured career was Alba Berlin, the same club that his son went on to play for two and a half decades later. After playing small forward in six different countries across Europe, Sebastian moved onto coaching. He is currently in his 17th year of coaching and is at the helm of PGE Spojnia Stargard, a team in the first division of Polish basketball.
Machowski is one of two freshmen joining the Knights for their inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference. He is joined by fellow rookie guard Comeh Emuobor as well as five incoming transfers. The Knights have announced the additions of forward Omar Payne from Jacksonville, guard Shemarri Allen from UMKC, guard Jaykwon Walton from Wichita State, guard Jaylin Sellers from Ball State and forward Ibrahima Diallo earlier.