As one door shuts, another opens in New Mexico for Fromm
Nathan Fromm
His dream of playing NCAA D1 basketball was going to become a reality.
Then he was ruled ineligible to transfer. Then the coach at his old school quit. For a moment, his world stopped.
But his story didn’t.
Fromm, 19, landed at New Mexico Junior College in a move that has the 6-foot-5 guard enthusiastic and optimistic about the upcoming season.
“I consider this a blessing in disguise,” he told me. “I feel like, even though I signed with Albany I wasn’t necessarily at the level I should have been. I thought I was, but after talking with my (new) coach and going over things, there is a lot I need to work and I think this next year, even though I probably won’t put up those numbers again, but I’ll definitely be much better.”
Fromm led team in points (20.0), rebounds (6.0) and steals (1.8) per game and was second in assists (2.1). He also shot 45 percent on 3s and was the only Western Wyoming player selected to the All=Region IV Team.
“Last year definitely helped; it gave me a feel for the game,” he said. “We played some really good teams, so I know what the higher-end of competition is. I also know that the team I’m on now, with the players we have, I’m not gonna average 20 a game this year because that’s not what my team needs me to do. I’m fine with that.
“Coaches aren’t necessarily always looking for a guy that puts up 20. They are looking for the guy that knows how to play the right way and gets along with teammates.”
Fromm, of Service High fame, is already living on campus in New Mexico and taking a summer course. He’s also training at the school’s facilities.
“I’ve been working out five days a week with the coaches,” he said. “If I was just back home, I wouldn’t be getting the intensity of the workout and have somebody to push me and tell me what I need to do.”
The coaches have challenged him with tough love and at times the conversations were brutally honest.
“I was getting mad about it,’ Fromm said with a laugh. “It may not have been what I wanted to hear but it was definitely something I needed to do. My coach, he explained it so well. He was just telling me how I needed to change the way I work if I want to get where I wanna get.
“I prided myself on having a good work, but if you want to be great, you have to take it to another level.”