Nate Wells is a seven-foot one-inch junior center for the Bradley men’s basketball team, but don’t let his quiet character fool you.
His reputation precedes him, like lightning precedes thunder.
Wells is a ukulele-strumming, tennis-playing, three-point slinging center that receives a rather loud ovation at the mention of his name.
“It’s cool,” Wells said. “I feel like more towards the beginning of the year, maybe even now a little bit, I was more the underdog type of guy…That’s fine, that’s fun, everyone likes the underdog.”
Although he may be the fan favorite, Wells only saw the court while his team was facing a large deficit. It wasn’t until recently when he was able to see quality minutes on the basketball court, due to his teammates missing time because of injuries or off-the-court issues.
In the last three games that Wells has seen significant time, he has made the most of his action, producing 8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, all in a span of 26.3 minutes per game.
Wells’ head coach, Geno Ford, said that a reason for his success on the court is because of how he has finally adjusted to the pace of the college game.
“I think the game has just kind of clicked for him,” Ford said. “The game has slowed down a little bit. He’s seeing the game differently now than he did a month ago, and that’s why he’s playing well.”
However, the unique edge that Wells brings to the Braves’ lineup is his ability to shoot from beyond the three-point line. This is a skill that’s rarely found in a seven-foot center, much like a quarterback catching a touchdown in football or a pitcher smacking a home run in baseball.
Wells said that his ability to knock down three-point bombs comes from lessons instilled in him while he was in high school.
“When I was in high school offseason, we had a coach come in [who] used to coach for Augustana and different colleges, and he worked on the whole team’s shooting,” Wells said. “Since I was one of the few big men we had at our high school, our coach just wanted us to be involved in that.”
Wells’ three point shooting lessons finally got a chance to pay off on the college level, when he hit two shots from beyond the arc to spark a comeback in the Braves road win against Evansville.
He hit another three in a loss to Loyola, but also hit a crucial elbow jumper with 44 seconds left which tied the game at 53 and capped a comeback attempt that fell short.
The ability to hit these shots, both long range and in clutch situations, comes from what Wells described as a calm demeanor and short memory.
“Things do not bother me as they would other people,” Wells said. “Other guys have [bad plays] linger in their head…[For me] it was like, ‘I don’t care. It’s just part of the game.’”
Wells said the low-key attitude he boasts comes from the lessons he learned while growing up as one of four children, along with the tempering of being on the bench for the first two years of his college career.
“I’m the third kid [out of four], so I’m kind of the middle ground,” Wells said. “Just being exposed to a wide variety [of personalities], along with me not playing for a couple years.”
With the season nearing its end, Wells’ junior season also comes to a close. Soon, it will be a question if the senior will have a larger role in the Braves’ lineup next year.
However, there is no questioning that Wells will accept whatever role he is given.
“[I just] eat some of the humble pie and know [I] just have to keep working,” Wells said. “In life, nothing’s going to be easy…this is microscopic compared to what life has.”
