Wheaton men’s basketball player and Columbus North grad Nick Schiavello, right, dribbles the ball up the court in a game against North Park at King Arena in Wheaton, Ill. on Feb. 17, 2024.
Submitted photo
Nick Schiavello had to learn a new position this past season for Wheaton College.
With the Thunder lacking a true point guard this year, the 2020 Columbus North graduate was asked to play point guard for the team, and he accepted the new challenge. There were some growing pains early on getting adjust to his new role, but he began thriving in the role in the latter half of the season.
“I was caught a little bit off guard, but I was prepared to do it,” Schiavello said. “One of my things is, I love to contribute to winning in any way I can. Any role that I can do the help the team have the best chance at winning games is what I want to do, so I really tried to embrace it and tried to learn as much as I could. I try to think about it in a different way because as a point guard, you have to really process the game more than any other position, so really embracing that new perspective was good for me.”
Schiavello had a setback to start the season. In September, during a workout, he landed weird on his foot. It was confirmed he had a partial tear in his tendon, and he was out 2 1/2 months. It caused him to miss the first five games of the season.
“It was unfortunate timing, and it was really frustrating, but it taught me patience and the value of persevering,” Schiavello said. “It wasn’t ideal, but I made the most of it. It made me appreciate my love for the game of basketball because sitting and watching was so hard to do.”
Wheaton men’s basketball player and Columbus North grad Nick Schiavello goes up for a layup in a game against North Park at King Arena in Wheaton, Ill. on Feb. 17, 2024.
Submitted photo
The season didn’t finish the way Schiavello had imagined. Wheaton finished the year 6-19 and 5-11 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
As a captain this year, Schiavello learned a lot about leadership through all the highs and lows, especially when the team was struggling at points and staying positive during the season lows.
“This season was definitely a frustrating one for me and our team. We didn’t have the season we were hoping for,” Schiavello said. “It was a very disappointing season, but a lot of learning and growth that came from it, so those are things I have to be thankful for, even thought the season didn’t go as planned.”
Wheaton men’s basketball player and Columbus North grad Nick Schiavello, right, dribbles past North Park’s Julian Gatewood in a game against North Park at King Arena in Wheaton, Ill. on Feb. 17, 2024.
Submitted photo
For the season, Schiavello averaged 13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 20 games played, all as a starter. He was named to the All-CCIW Second Team for the second year in a row.
Schiavello got to play with a familiar face this year in Ty Ferguson, a freshman from North.
“It was cool to be able to welcome someone I know into the program and show him some of the things I wish I knew when I was younger,” Schiavello said. “Ty is one of the hardest workers I know. He is super committed and a great member of our team. It’s been great to be his teammate over this past year.”
A couple of summers ago, Schiavello got to spend time abroad in Spain. He got accustomed to the culture, the standard of living and basically toured the entire country.
“It was a really cool experience,” Schiavello said. “I would love to spend more time over there and really get to embrace how they live.”
Nick Schiavello
Schiavello is set to graduate with a bachelor’s in economics and Spanish. However, he still has one year left of eligibility due to COVID during the 2020-21 season. He says he wants to play one more year at a different school, but is exploring his options as he wants to pursue a master’s in business.
Even though this was Schiavello’s final year with Wheaton, he is excited to move to the next chapter of his life.
“My experience at Wheaton was amazing. I grew as a person, as a basketball player and really fully embraced the student-athlete experience,” Schiavello said. “I really learned my freshman year what it takes to be good at the collegiate level and really committed myself to working each and every day. I was able to give it every thing I had to turn to be a two-time all-conference player in one of the best conferences in Division III. I met a lot of great people at Wheaton that I will be lifelong friends with. The coaches were great. Wheaton gave me every thing I could, both athletically and academically.”
