Jonathon Nicola attended Catholic Central High School in Windsor, Canada as a 17-year-old.

Nicola is originally from what is now South Sudan; moving from the war-torn country to Nairobi, Kenya, before arriving in Windsor.

Nicola was part of the 2018 recruiting class.

Nicola had been living with the basketball team’s head coach, Pete Cusumano, who thought he would become an NBA player.