Kole Beving was under the weather when the Nevada boys basketball team played its biggest game of the season against Grand View Christian on Feb. 6 at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines.
Beving had been sick, but he was not going to miss the chance to help his team clinch the Heart of Iowa Conference championship.
Nevada coach Tyler Struck said Beving could barely make it up the stairs following the game. But it was worth it for Beving, who hit 3-of-4 attempts from 3-point range and finished with 11 points, two rebounds and one steal during a 68-63 Cub victory in overtime that gave Nevada the conference title.
“I hugged him after the game probably longer than anybody else,” said Struck. “There were multiple times I wanted to take him out in the fourth quarter and in overtime, just try to get him to catch his breath. He was like ‘I’m not coming out. I’m good.’”
Beving even had a key rebound during Grand View Christian’s final possession of regulation to help Nevada prevail.
With just two games left, the Cubs improved to 17-3 overall following an 81-26 rout of Iowa Falls-Alden on Feb. 9 in Nevada. Despite not filling up the stat sheet every night, Beving has been a huge part of Nevada’s successful season.
“He does a lot of the dirty work that you don’t see,” said Nevada’s all-state forward John Nelson. “Cole is always great at filling his role and doing what he’s supposed to do.”
Beving played a small role at the varsity level last year as a junior. He played in 20 of Nevada’s 24 games and averaged 1.1 points.
After a busy offseason of lifting, attending open gyms and football camps, Beving had taken his athletic ability to a whole new level.
Beving played outside linebacker on Nevada’s Class 3A state football championship team during the fall. He finished with 34.5 tackles, three tackles for loss and two interceptions to help the Cubs make history with their first state football title.
When it came time to transition over to basketball, Beving was ready to step up his game there as well.
“I talked to Struck at the beginning of the year and embraced my role,” said Beving. “Everyone on the team has got to play their part if we’re going to make a long run. I’m just doing what I can.”
Through the Grand View Christian game Beving was averaging 5.5 points and 2.2 rebounds. He had made 19 3-pointers at a 32% clip.
Beving excels on the defensive end of the court. He has become a valuable perimeter defender for the Cubs.
“Defensively, I can hang with those guys now,” Beving said. “Better than I did last year.”
He has also hit some timely 3-pointers throughout the season, with his most notable effort coming against Grand View Christian.
“That’s what being a senior who accepts, this is what I am going to do to help the team,” Struck said. “I don’t care if I’m sick, I don’t care if I don’t make the newspaper — I’m going to show up and do what I need to do.”
Beving hopes to help Nevada take care of business against West Marshall and Boone to close out the regular season. Then it is on to 3A substate play, where he hopes his senior class can continue to make history.
“Just keep winning,” Beving said. “It’d be awesome going from football and carrying it over to basketball.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: How Kole Beving has embraced his role for Nevada in boys basketball
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
