St. Francis guard Nick Niego is one of many branches on a lush family tree.
It started decades ago when Ron and Pat Niego had eight children, with seven playing basketball in college at Lewis after prepping at either De La Salle or Maria.
Those offspring had offspring of their own, and more than two dozen Niegos or Collins or McNamaras or Pozdols are involved in sports.
They all got together during the holidays, but Nick fondly remembers summers going to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin and mixing it up with his aunts, uncles and cousins.
“Years ago, we would all to Wisconsin and have pickup games,” he said. “That was a good time. I was one of the younger players. Sometimes, I would go against some of the older guys.”
No competitions were held during a recent Christmas gathering, but there was conversation.
“We talked about everything — football, basketball,” Nick said. “Some of the guys are working and they talked about that. We talked about college.”
Ah, college.
Nick is right in the middle of that, following in the footsteps of his older siblings.
Quinn played basketball at Brother Rice and St. Xavier. Josh played basketball at Brother Rice, Lewis and St. Xavier. Charley played volleyball at Mother McAuley, Notre Dame and North Carolina, while Grace played volleyball at Mother McAuley and was a manager at St. Xavier.
Nick, a sophomore, is in the middle of his second season at St. Francis in Joliet. He’s being relied on to be a spark off the bench.
Niego chipped in with three points and a steal in 11 minutes Wednesday night during a 70-66 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference win over Governors State in University Park.
That came after he put in a career-high 16 points on Dec. 30 in a 92-75 win over Goshen at the USF New Year’s Classic in Joliet.
The Saints (12-1, 6-1) are fighting for a conference championship, and Niego figures to be a key part of it.
“He is so consistent,” St. Francis coach Ryan Marks said. “His preparation is consistent. His understanding of the scouting report is always terrific.
“He comes from a long line of athletes and he certainly has that gene as well.”
Marks, a Chicago native, has had a variety of coaching jobs across the nation. He returned to the area eight years ago after coaching at Texas-Pan American, then looked into recruiting a Niego.
“When I first got to St. Francis, Quinn went to St. Xavier,” Marks said. “I really liked him, but we didn’t have a scholarship available for that position. Then we recruited Josh really, really hard. Some Division II school jumped in late and he went to Lewis and he transferred to St. X.
“But when I recruited Josh, his mom told me, ‘Just remember, there are more brothers coming.’ We’re obviously thrilled to have a Niego.”
Nick is following his brothers and father, Charlie, in playing college basketball. But he also plans on pursuing Charlie and twin brother Tom’s profession of being a Chicago fireman.
Nick said he wouldn’t mind a career in coaching basketball as well. He has been working with neighborhood kids in Chicago and finds it rewarding.
“It’s awesome to see kids develop,” he said. “I can tell that a lot of them work on their own, and there is a lot of progress I’ve seen with them.
“Hopefully, we’ll see some of them playing in high school.”
The 6-foot-2 Niego, meanwhile, is overcoming his own learning curve in college.
“This year, I feel a lot more comfortable,” he said. “I’m used to the speed of the game and the physicality. I’m a little undersized going up against guys who can jump out of the gym.
“The God-given talent that they have — the speed and athleticism — it’s a lot different than high school.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
