Nick Banks grew up in Eatonton as a basketball player, hoping to reap the benefits of his skills. Whether it was continuing to play in college or being a coach, Banks wanted to be involved with the game.
Two years ago, Banks got an opportunity to become a coach when Putnam County boys’ basketball head coach LaPatrick Marshall hired him as an assistant on his staff prior to the 2021-22 season.
Before taking the assistant job at PCHS, Banks trained players at Putnam County Middle School, where his dad, Alexander Banks, is the boys’ head coach. He soon joined Marshall at the high school.
“Nick is a blessing. He’s my righthand man,” Marshall said. “He started as a scorekeeper and statistician on our bench. A few years ago, I had an assistant coach take a job at Georgia College, so I had an opening and that’s when I asked him to join the staff officially. He was already doing a lot for us.”
Banks told The Eatonton Messenger that he was excited about his new position as an assistant coach. He added his biggest goal when taking on his new role was to help develop his players’ skills.
“At first, I wasn’t [interested], but then I accepted [the position] because I was already going to all of the practices and helping out with the team,” Banks said. “So, it was just an easy transition for me.”
When Banks joined Marshall’s staff, he was already familiar with most of the Putnam program’s varsity players. Most of them played at the middle school level for his dad before moving up.
“I just try to give the kids an outlet,” Banks said. “I played basketball here [at Putnam County], and when I came through, there wasn’t anyone [teaching] the skill work side of it. So, that’s how I eventually became an assistant coach by working on skills with the guys. And it took off from there.”
So far, his favorite memory as a coach was seeing his younger brother, Eren, become a star on the court. Eren graduated in May, leaving his mark on the Putnam High program as its all-time leading scorer.
Eren is now attending Georgia Southern University on a basketball scholarship. He helped lead the War Eagles to 20-plus wins this past season as their leading scorer at 22.1 points per game.
“That was so cool. Just being there for Eren and the other guys was great,” Nick Banks stated. “I got to see my brother play while also spending time with those few I had trained before.”
Banks said the transition from training to coaching went as “smoothly as possible.” He has learned a lot from his father and Marshall, who took over as the Putnam County boys’ coach a few years ago.
Marshall acknowledged he’s also seen Banks grow from a coaching standpoint. He said his young protege has learned to manage the roster and help develop game plans, among many other duties.
“I’ve never coached with a more knowledgeable basketball presence than I have with Nick Banks,” Marshall said. “We go into games now, and he’s a part of every game plan. He gives suggestions and all types of advice. Seeing him come from a skill development guy to a bona fide, legitimate coach is great. His transition was easy. As I said before, he’s my right-hand man.”
Outside of coaching, Banks works at Reynolds-Lake Oconee as a maintenance employee on its golf courses. He enjoys his job but teaching skills and training Putnam’s future hoops players is what he truly loves.
“That’s really all I do. I work at Reynolds and throughout the summer, I train kids from ages eight all the way up through college,” he said. “For the most part, I am [teaching] basketball year-round. We try to work on skills and try to come up with new things to get the [players] better. So, if we do that, then by the time the season comes, we can put the best product on the floor.”
Banks enjoys making a difference in the lives of the younger kids in the community. He wants to see Putnam County basketball thrive in the future and feels as if he is helping to lay the foundation.
“I have people come and thank me for what I am doing. That motivates me to keep doing it,” Banks said. “I enjoy doing it, but I didn’t get into [coaching] looking for the praise and the hand claps. I want to see the kids in Eatonton win because other schools in the area – LOA, Hancock [Central], and Baldwin – have already won state championships in [boys or girls] basketball. So, I just want to start somewhere and help out in some kind of way. That’s the reason I’m doing this.”
Marshall believes that Banks will grow more as he continues to help develop and coach his players.
“He is the unsung hero of Putnam County, and especially for basketball,” Marshall said. “He loves it so much. He makes such an impact on our community and players. We need more like him.”