Who is Nicholas Scoby from The White Boy Shuffle and what is their importance?

Nick becomes Gunnar's first real friend after Gunnar's family moves to Hillside. Gunnar first encounters Nick in a drama class during his second semester of junior high. Nick is a jazz enthusiast and he is always in possession of a cassette player and headphones. The only thing that Nick likes nearly as much as jazz is basketball. Soon after Gunnar encounters Nick, he sees that Nick, like himself, is a young man with above average intelligence. In a way, Nick discovers Gunnar's hidden talent at basketball. After being impressed with Gunnar's rebellious performance at a drama competition, Nick invites Gunnar to join him and some other boys for lunch and basketball. Nick learns that Gunnar can slam dunk, and Gunnar soon learns that Nick has the amazing ability to never miss when he throws a basketball.