Coming from a family of college basketball players, an Ohio Wesleyan senior was destined to continue on the tradition.
Nick Felhaber, the only senior on the team, has been through a lot in his time wearing the black and red jersey, including injuries, conference championships and NCAA tournament runs.
However, he did not have OWU on his college radar until an assistant coach saw him play at one of his high school games at Toledo St. Johns.
“I had a pretty good game the day he was there and afterwards we talked,” Felhaber said. “I ended up applying, liking the school and wanted to play basketball four more years.”
Halfway through his sophomore year, Felhaber broke his foot. And just two weeks after his junior season ended, he broke it again.
During that time, he chose to focus on improving different aspects of his game he could control.
“I had to be a little smarter and focus on things I knew I could do. Like ball handling, watching film and shooting,” said Felhaber.
Shooting cannot be emphasized enough. Felhaber made 95 three pointers this season, including breaking a single-game OWU record of nine against Calvin on November 22. However, the record would not stand for long. He increased it to 10 two months later against Oberlin College.
To put 95 three pointers in perspective, that’s only 12 shy of the amount made by the whole Kenyon squad this season.
As Felhaber enjoyed individual success, the team also prospered. Although being picked to finish fourth in the pre-season poll and were thought to be not much of a threat, the Bishops, led by Felhaber, started the season 7-0.
“It was one of those years where we came out of nowhere,” Felhaber said. “Everyone said we were going to be rebuilding and we came out in the first week of the season and beat the sixth ranked team in the country.”
The team won the NCAC regular season, finishing with a 21-5 record entering postseason play. After fighting back from injuries and leading the team during his last year, the title will always stick out for Felhaber.
“That was a huge moment for us. And that was one of the big ones for me personally.”
“It was just a great year and a lot of fun. I was very fortunate to have some great teammates and coaches.”
His teammates were fortunate to have him as well. Junior Joey Kinsely has been a part of the team the last three years with Felhaber.
“We all look toward (Felhaber) during practice, in games and in the classroom, and he’s always giving it his all and going 100 percent,” Kinsley said. “Everyone wants to be on a team with people like that, he’s a great guy and will be missed.”