JEFFERSON, Ia. — Just weeks after coaching the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship in his rookie season as head coach — and days before he will attempt to convince Kawhi Leonard, Toronto's all-star cornerstone, to stay with the team — Nick Nurse returned home.

For Nurse, home is Carroll County, where he got his start in basketball with the Kuemper Catholic High School team he helped win a high school state championship 34 years ago.

In a banquet hall in Jefferson's Wild Rose Casino in nearby Greene County, adjacent to the game floor with its stale cigarette smell and Sunday gamblers, an all-ages crowd wearing a mix of Toronto Raptors, University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University, University of Iowa and Kuemper Catholic apparel gathered to see Iowa's basketball all-world victor in the flesh.

The panel, titled "Nick Nurse's Journey," was hosted by the longtime voice of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Gary Dolphin.

In the presence of the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, Dolphin called up members of a panel comprised of friends and colleagues who met Nurse during his time as a young, talented basketball player growing up in Iowa and during his return as a coach. Between speeches from panel members, Dolphin passed along congratulations from head basketball coaches at all three of the state's major public universities (Nurse played for UNI and coached for ISU for exactly three days).

Wayne Chandlee, Nurse's coach at Kuemper Catholic and lifelong mentor, kicked off the round of speeches, sporting a red shirt that read "Yes I'm from Carroll IA and Yes I Know Nick Nurse." He alternately sang praises for his former player and gave him some good-natured ribbing, teasing Nurse when he recognized his own drills in the practice schedule at a training camp.

Before ending his speech by affirming his belief that Nurse possessed boundless talent, Chandlee briefly alighted on the main tension that stands between Nurse and his Raptors running back their champion-pedigree team: Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard's free agency choice between returning to the Raptors or moving on to a new team.

"I knew he was special because he did everything exactly as I would've wanted him to," Chandlee said about seeing Leonard practicing with the Raptors. "Everything he did was almost perfect."

Though a brief moment, the question lingered. By the end of the night, Leonard would be one of the only remaining unknowns after all of the NBA's marquee superstars announced their decisions within the first few hours of the free agency period.

Nurse was candid, or perhaps as candid as he could be on the subject, in the pre-event presser.

"I think we have a really good chance," Nurse said when asked of his level of certainty in the franchise's ability to convince Leonard to stay. "He was able to win this year. ... Our ownership's great, the front office is great, everything went really well... and then most of all, on top of that would be, his health. He missed a whole season and got healthy during the year and played his best basketball in the playoffs."

The press gaggle quickly moved on to other important topics, like Nurse's most-missed food when he's away from Iowa (Godfather's pizza) or his favorite post-victory moment (playing guitar onstage with popular Canadian band The Arkells), and only the certainty of the mystery remained.

None of this could detract from the main purpose of the day, which was enshrining Nurse as an Iowa basketball legend. Gov. Kim Reynolds made a brief appearance to read a proclamation that made June 30, 2019, officially "Nick Nurse Day" in Iowa, though she noted that every day seemed to be Nick Nurse Day in Carroll County.

Frank Molak, Nurse's high school teammate and lifelong friend who attended most of the Toronto playoff run on the sidelines, presented his old friend with a statement victory gift: a custom Louis Vuitton handbag emblazoned with the Raptors logo, inspired by the kind of handbags he saw the men of Toronto sporting during his time there. He christened it the "Nick Murse."

Mike Finger, Nurse's UNI roommate, regaled the hall with the story of his first time meeting his friend: when they introduced themselves to one another, they both laughed at the ridiculousness of each other's names. Finger would go on to coach with and against Nurse during his time in the British Basketball League before returning to Iowa where he now teaches high school.

Finger also touched on the deep reservoir of kindness that was Nick Nurse's mother, Marcella, who passed away in December. In the press conference, Nurse remembered Raptors leader Kyle Lowry promising a championship to Nurse after his mother's death in a moment that became the first thing the coach thought after winning the NBA Finals.

Kevin Lehman, who was Nurse's coach and neighbor at UNI, shared fond memories of him as a high school basketball player. Steven Forbes, head coach at East Tennessee State, talked about their powerful lifelong friendship along with testimony from Coach Orv Salmon. All testified to Nurse's integrity, character and work ethic.

In Nurse's concluding speech, he reiterated remarks he'd made earlier with a voice hoarse from once-in-a-lifetime celebrating, that the best part of sharing of winning the NBA championship was being able to share it with everyone. He called out his wife and his extended family for rounds of applause.

"Iowa Nice and Iowa character and toughness and spirit, that's a real thing," he said to the crowd. "That's all the things I took from my family and from my relatives and from you people, growing up with you. That's the best part about it all, being able to share it with everybody here. And it was fun. It was a hell of a lot of fun for me and I'm glad it was fun for you, too."

At his speech's conclusion, Nurse announced that he had a special item he wanted to return. Molak handed him a scarlet sport coat with a Kuemper Catholic K on its breast. It was worn by his old coach, Chandlee, when the team won the state championship in 1985 and by Nurse when he coached the Iowa Energy to a D-league championship in 2011. Having reached the pinnacle of professional excellence, Nurse returned the coat to its old owner.

No matter how the offseason shakes out, no matter whether Kawhi Leonard returns or what the Raptors' record will be next year, Nick Nurse's home in Carroll County will remain steadfast in its support, as it did before he was a world champion. For Nurse and the community that raised him, each achievement is something to share, and disappointments or setbacks merely moments to overcome.

Follow the Register on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Aaron Calvin can be contacted at acalvin@dmreg.com or on Twitter @aaronpcalvin.