NCAA and Euroleague champion Drew Nicholas is on the hunt for another Euroleague title. The 6-4 shooting guard has helped his team, Panathinaikos Athens (probably the most successful European club in the last decade) win the group D in Euroleague regular season, while Nicholas averaged 8.3 points in 22 minutes per game.

Nicholas told RealGM that he has never regretted his decision to leave the United States and move to Europe, where life is sweet for the former Maryland star. Moreover, 29-year-old Nicholas sees himself finishing his professional career in Europe.

RealGM: What is your best memories from your Maryland days?

Nicholas: Definitely winning the national championship. It’s been a long time now but those are the memories that I will have for the rest of my life. It’s been great to play with a special group of guys. In the States, it’s a very big thing to win national championship.

RealGM: Do you keep in touch with your former teammates?

Nicholas: Yes, but only with Steve Blake. We were best friends in college and now he’s playing for the Lakers. Despite our schedules, time after time we catch up.

RealGM: In your opinion, what was the main reason you didn’t make it in the NBA?

Nicholas: Probably just because I was a little bit too short to be a shooting guard in the NBA. People didn’t think that I was a point guard (either). Thankfully, it’s been a blessing and I have no regrets about playing in the NBA now. Playing in Europe has been just great for the past eight years.

RealGM: Do you see yourself finishing career in Europe?

Nicholas: Yes, definitely. At this point I don’t have any desire to go back and play in the NBA. I love my life here, I love my life in Athens. I’m happy here.

RealGM: Did you ever think about playing in the D-League?

Nicholas: No, never. To be honest, those guys don’t make any money and they are chasing very very slight dream to get a call-up from the NBA and hopefully stick with the NBA team but those chances are so slim.

RealGM: Is there anything that you need to improve in your team to win the Euroleague this year?

Nicholas: First to get healthy. We haven’t played very many games with full team. We’re still missing Aleks Maric. We also played without Romain Sato in the first Top 16 game. All year somebody gets injured. I just came back after injury and Mike Batiste came back after injury a little while ago. We’re really excited that hopefully at some point during the season we will be healthy and hopefully we still be playing in the European competition.

RealGM: What is like to play together with MVP candidate Dimitris Diamantidis? What can you say about him?

Nicholas: It’s a honor to play with him for two and a half years now. He makes the game so easy for everybody. He’s one of those special players that can influence the game even when he’s not taking shots. Many times you have guys, who make impact because they score a lot of points. Dimitris plays great on defense and he’s conscious.