Nathan Funk (born November 7, 1983) is a 6'3" (192 cm) American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who had a standout collegiate basketball career at

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and underg ...

and played professionally in the top leagues in Germany and Turkey. Funk was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa where he attended Blessed Sacrament Middle School and

Bishop Heelan Catholic High School Bishop Heelan is a private, Catholic high school in Sioux City, Iowa. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. The school mascot is Crusaders, and their colors are navy and old gold. Athletics The Crusaders compete in the Mi ...

. He is the son of Timm and Jean Funk and has two siblings, Justin and Sara.

Player profile

As a fifth-year senior, Funk recently led the 22–10 Jays to the 2007

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern United ...

title with a victory over rival

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

. After scoring 66 points in three tournament wins in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Funk was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Currently, he is sixth on Creighton's all-time scoring list, behind fifth-place

Kyle Korver Kyle Elliot Korver (born March 17, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player who currently serves as the director of player affairs and development for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played col ...

. Funk also holds the all-time record for games played as a Bluejay. His junior year, Funk led the team in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 17.8 and 5.1, respectively. During the 2005–06 season, he was forced to sit out the rest of the season and undergo surgery after injuring his labrum while diving for a loose ball. Creighton University requested an extra year of eligibility for Funk due to his injury. This request was approved by the NCAA. Funk's career-high in scoring, 38 points, came during a victory over Dayton four days before he received his season-ending injury. He was both named to the all-MVC team and was runner-up for Valley Player of the Year Award in 2005 and 2007. Nate Funk played one season for Germany's

Eisbären Bremerhaven Eisbären Bremerhaven ( en, Polar Bears Bremerhaven) is a professional basketball club from Bremerhaven, Germany, that competes in the ProA. The team was established as the professional section of the club BSG Bremerhaven and played in the first- ...

basketball team. He was one of the top scorers on the team. He then played two seasons in Turkey for

Erdemirspor Erdemir Spor Kulübü, also referred to as Erdemirspor or Erdemir Zonguldak, is a professional basketball team based in the city of Zonguldak in Turkey that plays in the Turkish Basketball League. The team was founded in 2000. Their home arena is ...

Trivia

*Nate Funk was the last active Creighton Bluejay player that played in an official regular season game at the

Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha Civic Auditorium was a multi-purpose convention center located in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1954, it surpassed the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum as the largest convention/entertainment complex in the city, until the completion of CHI Health Center ...

. *Nate played in 135 games in his collegiate career, which is the career record at Creighton. *Nate's 1,754 career points placed him sixth all-time on the

Creighton Bluejays The Creighton Bluejays, or Jays, are the athletic teams that represent Creighton University, a Jesuit/Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They compete in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference. Sports sponsored Baseba ...

career scoring chart. He also ranked 31st on the

career scoring chart. *Nate Funk is one of

Bill Simmons William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention wi ...

' "Reggie Cleveland All-Stars" for white players with black sounding names. *After one season Nate Funk leaves Bremerhaven.

References

GoCreighton.comGoCreighton.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, Nate 1983 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Turkey Creighton Bluejays men's basketball players Eisbären Bremerhaven players Sportspeople from Sioux City, Iowa American men's basketball players Small forwards