Notebook: Unity Christian guard is an elite soccer player and golfer, too
Unity Christian senior Colin Nieuwenhuis, shown during a game last season, had a career-best 32 points on Tuesday against Covenant Christian. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - Colin Nieuwenhuis went from zero points to a career high in a two-game span.
The Unity Christian senior drained seven 3-pointers and scored a career-best 32 points on Tuesday in a 66-60 win over Covenant Christian. That’s pretty impressive considering he had no points the game before at Zeeland West.
The 6-foot, 160-pounder is a good point guard. But he’s an elite soccer player and a golfer, too.
He was named to the Dream Team after helping Unity Christian win the Division 3 soccer state championship last month with a 3-2 win over Detroit Country Day.
“It’s unreal,” Nieuwenhuis said. “Its a dream come true. Ever since I was little watching my brothers play, it was my dream to win a state title. To do it with all my friends and representing Unity was a lot of fun.”
Brothers Trevor and Evan also were standout soccer players at Unity and Calvin University.
Nieuwenhuis has an offer to play soccer from Division I Liberty University. But plans changed when a lingering knee issue caused him pain when he played. So he made up his mind that he’d switch to play college golf.
“That’s kinda changed since the season,” he said. “I plan to play soccer in college next year. I realized the love for that game that I have and I’m not ready to give that up. I want to stay closer to home. I’m late in the (recruiting) process for Division I. I could play at Calvin. But I’m also talking with Western (Michigan), Oakland, Dayton and Saint Louis.”
On the golf course, he’s elite, too. He won six of the seven conference matches and averaged 36.8 strokes in the 9-hole matches.
In the summer, Nieuwenhuis and basketball teammate T.J. Fisher went on a two-week trip that had little to do with sports.
“It was me and a group of my friends,” Fisher said. “We decided to go on a missions trip in the summer so we decided to go to Uganda and worked with some underserved people.”
The Unity Christian basketball team has five sophomores this season, so Nieuwenhuis has taken on more of a leadership role.
“We have a lot of young guys, who don’t have much experience,” Nieuwenhuis said. “So I want to be the best leader I can to help them along the way.”
Unity Christian’s Colin Nieuwenhuis plays in a soccer regional semifinal game on Oct. 24, 2023. He would help the Crusaders win the Division 3 state championship. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
NOTEBOOK
CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Two players have transferred out of Catholic Central. D.J. Nystrom and Isaiah Hamlet are no longer at the school.
FOREST HILLS NORTHERN: Junior Justin St. Antoine is not playing basket this season. He started at guard for the Huskies his freshman and sophomore seasons. St. Antoine is a standout baseball player and decided to focus on that sport for now.
EAST KENTWOOD: 6-foot-9 forward Christian Humphrey-Rembert has committed to play basketball at Howard University, a Division I program in Washington DC. Click here to view the story.
FRUITPORT CALVARY CHRISTIAN: Bradley Richards had 35 points and and 14 rebounds as Fruitport Calvary Christian beat Fruitport High School for the first time ever, 62-57, on Dec. 5.
GREENVILLE: Senior guard Trevor Zamarron will miss the season after tearing his ACL in November.
HAMILTON: Justin McIllwain missed his team’s first two games of the season with a knee injury. But he looked great in his first game of the year on Dec. 5 against Zeeland East. The senior forward had a career-best 27 points, including four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. McIllwain injured the knee during the football season. He is the team’s quarterback. Click here to view the story.
ROCKFORD: Junior forward Lucas Pitsch will be out at least three weeks with a hip injury from the football season. Pitsch is a 6-foot-6 wide receiver for the Rams.
UNITY CHRISTIAN: Junior forward Jake Chapman will not be playing basketball this year. He suffered cardiac arrest two months ago during the football season. Teammate TJ Fisher also is out for awhile. The senior guard fractured his neck last week and will miss at least six weeks of the season. Click here to view the story.
WELLSPRING PREP: Senior Zeke Jackson was nine points away from setting the school’s career scoring mark as of Dec. 4. Jackson has 864 career points. He had a triple-double in a 91-58 win over Sacred Heart when he had 29 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and 7 steals. Against West Catholic, Jackson had 23 points and 14 rebounds.
