Prospect Spotlight: Nate Umlor (2017)
A football player at heart, 6-foot-5 power forward Nate Umlor committed to play Division I football in the spring, but is still 100 percent dedicated to his senior hoops season at Allendale. “I love basketball with a passion. I love…
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Continue ReadingA football player at heart, 6-foot-5 power forward Nate Umlor committed to play Division I football in the spring, but is still 100 percent dedicated to his senior hoops season at Allendale.
“I love basketball with a passion. I love playing, I love my teammates, I love my coach. It’s just God made me to play football — he made my mind that way, he made my body that way. I was made for the football field and I was made to play football, and that’s just the way it is,” said Umlor, who’s committed to Western Michigan’s football team.
“Before I committed though, I was getting some basketball interest from Hope College, and Grand Valley State and Ferris State. They all contacted my coach and talked about me and things like that.”
A bruiser down low, Umlor mentioned to PHMI that making himself a more versatile threat has been a priority of his.
“My game is just I love being on the block, that’s kind of where I’m home and I’ve been doing it since I was little. Every year though I’ve extended my game out more, now I can shoot 3s, and I’m respected out on the 3-point line,” said Umlor.
“And I also try and value myself as being one of the best passing big-men around. I love passing the ball, and I’d rather have 20 assists in a game than 20 points.”
Though he’s been key to the Falcons’ success for more than three years, things are a little different now that he’s a senior.
“It’s different this season because in year’s past my coach wasn’t looking to me too much as a vocal leader. But now that all the great leaders we had in the past are gone, I need to step up and be the vocal leader that I am, with a great voice and a great leadership ability,” said Umlor. “And that’s the difference between being a senior and a junior.”