Elliott Welmer showed a ton of promise coming out of Columbus North High School, a 6-foot-9 big man who could shoot the 3-pointer and run the floor.
But Welmer’s college career has been filled with injuries and pain. Specifically, it’s been his left foot, which he has broken four times and may have ended his basketball playing days for good.
“These past few years have been an emotional roller coaster, but I wouldn’t take anything back,” said Welmer, a redshirt-junior at Saint Louis. “I’m just trying to look at the positives and to keep looking forward. Obviously, it’s very frustrating, but I’m trying to stay mentally strong. But my teammates and coaches and family have done a lot to help me these past few years, and it’s meant a lot that they’re so supportive.”
Welmer’s playing time at the collegiate level has been limited to one season, but that season was a big one. He played in all 33 games, starting 31, and averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds for the Billikens as a redshirt-freshman in 2016-17.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Following that season, Welmer underwent surgery.
“For the first half of the year, I was pretty much playing without pain,” Welmer said. “The second half of the year, I was playing through these lingering pains in my foot. It was broken halfway through the year, and I played through the pain. I don’t regret it one bit. I’m glad I finished out the year.”
Welmer, who helped North to a sectional title as a junior in 2013, thinks he may have first broken his foot while playing for the Bull Dogs. He spent a year at Bridgton Academy, a prep school in Maine and played in all but a couple of games before having surgery after that season.
“My doctor said the bone was displaced when I got to him,” Welmer said. “The break was maybe from a couple of years, so it could have been cracked in high school. But it’s tough to say. I really didn’t start noticing pain until my prep school year.”
So Welmer redshirted his first year at Saint Louis. Then came the promising 2016-17 season, followed by the second surgery.
Since then, Welmer has suffered two more breaks of that left foot. He sat out all of last season and has not played this year.
Welmer hopes he is not finished.
“I’m still trying to come back for at least this last year,” Welmer said. “I want to play my senior night. The doctor kind of gave me a timeline of mid-to-late February. If I can end my career on my feet, it’s not perfect, but that’s how I want to go out.”
Billikens coach Travis Ford praised Welmer’s persistence through adversity.
“Elliott is going to work as hard as he can to get back,” Ford said in a press conference. “I love that he set a goal. He wants to go out the right way and get out there if he can. I just like his mentality. Nine out of 10 guys would have hung it up.”
Saint Louis is 14-4 and 5-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference going into tonight’s game at Duquesne.
“There is no question Elliott brings a dimension to our basketball team that is sorely missed,” Ford said. “He’s a big man who can really shoot it and stretch the defense.”
Although he has at least one year of eligibility remaining — and possibly two if he could get a medical hardship — Welmer doesn’t plan to continue playing basketball after this season. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing last summer and fill finish a second degree in in sports business in May.
Welmer is hoping to be granted a waiver for scholarship that he can use next school year without it counting against the 13 that the basketball team is allotted. That would allow him to pursue a Master’s of Business Administration.
But basketball isn’t in the plan.
“I have given it a lot of thought,” Welmer said. “I think what’s best for me long-term is to be done after this year. This is my fourth time breaking the same bone, and I want to have an active lifestyle later in life. If I break the same bone again, it could have a detrimental affect long-term.”
Still, Welmer doesn’t have any regrets about his career to this point.
“I enjoyed every second of it,” Welmer said. “I had great experiences everywhere I’ve been and at Columbus North and Bridgton Academy throughout the whole time. I met a lot of great people along the way, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Elliott Welmer” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Elliott Welmer
High school: Columbus North
College: Saint Louis
Year: Redshirt-junior
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 220
Major: Sports business (already has a degree in marketing)
[sc:pullout-text-end]
