Nick Emery looks on during the Cougar tip-off played on Oct. 19, 2018. The former Cougar announced his retirement via social media on July 23. (Claire Gentry)
According to posts on social media, Nick Emery has retired from BYU basketball.
'The day has come that I hang up the #4 Emery jersey,' Emery said on social media. 'Basketball has taught me more about life than I could have ever imagined. Playing for a university like BYU and playing with some of the best guys has been an incredible blessing.'
Once ranked 45th on ESPN's top 100 high school basketball players list and highly regarded as part of the 'Lone Peak Three,' a trio that also featured TJ Haws and Eric Mika, the former four-star recruit finishes his BYU career averaging 12.6 points and 2.9 assists per game.
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A highly recruited prospect coming out of high school, Emery saw major success in his freshman campaign. Averaging 16.3 points and 3.5 assists per game, the Alpine, Utah, native also saw his name on the All-WCC Freshman Team and WCC-ALL Tournament team rosters, as well as finishing the season with the fourth-most 3-pointers in a single season in school history.
Emery's early success at BYU was soon overseen by a slew of controversy, including a one-game suspension for punching Utah's Brandon Taylor, which resulted in NCAA sanctions. Other sanctions, including a 9-game suspension at the start of the 2019-19 season, will likely shadow his career at BYU. The Cougars were forced to vacate 47 wins and a scholarship and were placed on a two-year probation because of illegal benefits that Emery received from boosters.
'My time here has been a rocky at times, but the good times definitely outweighed the bad,' Emery said on social media. 'I’ve learned so many life lessons and this journey has been so rewarding.'
Emery returned to the court on Dec. 5, 2018, against Utah State, and an early steal followed by a made three-pointer made the Marriott Center erupt. Emery would go on to finish what would be his final basketball season averaging 6.1 points, 1.7 assists and 21.1 minutes of playing time, per game.
Emery tallied impressive totals as a Cougar. He finished sixth in BYU history with 199 made 3-pointers and tied the BYU single-game record with 10. He finishes his career with 1,173 career points and a career game-high 37 points twice.