DAYTON, Ohio — As Dayton hosts its final non-conference game Saturday afternoon against Longwood, one of the newest Flyers has already made a big impact on the court this season. One player's powerhouse family helped get him to where he is today.
What You Need To Know
- Nate Santos is one of just two current collegiate basketball players that has three siblings that played basketball in college
- Santos's parents also played in college, and his dad had a lengthy professional career in Puerto Rico
- Santos is a transfer from Pittsburgh and is enjoying his time as a Flyer
- Santos's siblings all say they're proud of the basketball player and person he's become
It’s safe to say Nate Santos is settling in on the University of Dayton basketball team. The buzzer beater against LSU in the Charleston Classic is one of his most memorable so far.
“The fans traveling to Charleston, I was like these fans might be the best in the country," Santos said.
The transfer from Pittsburgh now calls University of Dayton Arena home.
“Just how continuously loud they are no matter what," he said.
But getting to this level of play has a lot of history in the Santos family.
“As long as I can remember, I was in the gym just watching my siblings play," he said.
Santos had a basketball in his hands at a young age, his older brother KJ remembers.
“I remember we had a Little Tikes hoop in the basement of our house," KJ Santos said. "Me and Nate, I remember, because I was older I would play on my knees and he was a little toddler so we’d play one on one all the time. Very physical, very physical. And especially in the driveway with Ashley and Sidney being older, definitely had bumps and bruises at the end of the day.”
Santos’s three older siblings all played college basketball. His oldest sister, Ashley, at Louisiana Tech, His next oldest sister, Sidney, at Oakland and his brother K.J., at Missouri. And much of their success is thanks to their parents. Their mom played at Wichita State and dad played at Southern Nazarene College as well as several years professionally in Puerto Rico.
“From a young age they thought it was something that we could do so they just kind of pushed us to get better at basketball but also just be better in school and just better as people," Nate said. "So they always just pushed us. And it’s funny because they’re super competitive also so whenever we tried to play games as a family, my parents kind of had to sit out sometimes because they would get too into it too so they didn’t want to add to the competitiveness.”
But what makes this family even more special is the fact that Nate is one of just two current collegiate players to have three siblings that also played basketball in college. A feat his siblings weren’t even aware of.
“I had no idea that Nate was one of two, that blows my mind," said Sidney Niwahereza, his older sister.
“Yeah I didn’t know that either," said Ashley Green, Nate's oldest sister. "But again it credits a lot to my parents, credit to how they developed us as players.”
“What’s crazy is I don’t think it’s hit all of us, because for us it was kind of the norm," KJ said. "It was always the goal from day one. But to hear that, now that we’re done playing, it’s starting to set in that it’s pretty rare.”
For Nate, as the baby of the family, he says in a way, it was expected of him to make it to the next level.
“I wouldn’t say there was a lot of pressure, it was kind of just in the family," Nate said. "It was kind of when my time came just see what would happen and obviously here I am. I’m very grateful.”
But between the four Santos siblings, who’s the best?
“I think we each bring something different to the table," Nate said. "I would say personally, I’m the best. I don’t know if my siblings would agree.”
“I will say, he has a lot he can back up," Ashley said. "We’re just going to out that out there, because there was a time when he couldn’t, he couldn’t back it up. So for him to put himself even in the mix of the conversation is great. I’ll actually give him kudos to this point in time. Like yes we don’t play anymore, Nate you can have it!”
All joking aside, these big siblings are proud of their youngest brother.
“I don’t have words to say how proud I am of him," Ashley said. "That’s why it’s such a joy just to watch every game. That’s what sucks me in, just to watch every minute that he is out there.”
“We all wherever we are in the world, in the country, we watch Nate," Sidney said. "And there’s no words that can describe the sense of pride. He’s earned this. It wasn’t given to him. It wasn’t something that came lightly, like he earned the position that he’s in and we’re all so proud to see all that hard work pay off.”
And for the final two years of Nate’s college career he plans to take in all he and his family have accomplished.
“It’s very special because just growing up you can see all the work that we put in has kind of put off and that what we’ve done is really special and not a lot of people get to do it," Nate said. "Just the family dynamic that I’m used to, you forget how special that is. So to hear that is very rewarding.”
The Flyers face Longwood at 2PM on Saturday. You can catch the action on Spectrum News 1.