Meet the Freshman: San Francisco’s Nick Loew

Nick Loew is a Bay Area native coming out of Burlingame, Calif. Standing at 6-foot- 8, 225 lbs, Loew immediately became a walk on option for Rex Walters and the Dons when he was academically accepted to the University of San Francisco. Loew is a developing player that will deeply benefit with playing and practicing with a veteran based San Francisco program. He will also compliment the Dons with his height and ability to find the open man on the court.

At Burlingame High School (California)

Loew played four years of basketball at Burlingame. He was the Panther center and made his presence known in the Peninsula Athletic League. During his tenure, Loew compiled 39 double-doubles, putting himself in Burlingame’s record books by with the most in school history. Additionally, during his junior year, the team won its first ever California Central Coast Section (CCS) basketball title. Loew finished his senior year  averaging 22 points and seven assists per game.

During his senior year at Burlingame, Loew was developing into a center with a versatile game. He began to learn the basics of being a post player and earning the points in the paint. This is best illustrated in an article from the [Peninsula] Daily Journal when Loew was awarded “Player of the Week”. During the end of Loew’s senior season, Burlingame’s Head Coach, Pete Harames, said:

"“The last couple of years, we’ve liked to have him in that low post so he’s gotten more and more comfortable with it… You’d almost want him to be a little more selfish. We definitely want him getting more shots in the low post and there is no question he has been doing that the last few weeks — really asserting himself, I think. He’s going to the basket and getting fouled a lot. That’s definitely where we’d like him to have the ball.”"

Needless to say, this ability will be crucial in Loew’s development as a Don. His familiarity with Panther teammate and 2014 recruit Frankie Ferrari, also from Burlingame High School, is also a great asset.

Impact at San Francisco

Loew will be a walk-on athlete for Rex Walters and the Dons. You have to really tip your cap to an individual who is willing to sacrifice their own time, money and effort to be a true walk on for a University. Just because Nick is a walk-on does not mean he will be stuck on the bench. Don walk-on Gavin Hoffman has regularly seen playing time since his sophomore year at USF. The key is that Loew would have to buy into Rex’s game plan and put in the necessary work to be a consistent contributor to the squad.

The future is looking bright for this kid up at the Hilltop if he can find create an opportunity to crack into the Dons lineup.