Nate Renfro is a former Sahuaro student who now plays for the San Antonio Spurs development team, the Austin Spurs. He graduated from Sahuaro in 2015 while averaging 16.4 ppg, as well as 9 rebounds and 3 blocks as a 6’7 senior; however, he didn’t always have that huge stature. He came into high school as a 5’8 freshman, but was 6’3 by the start of his sophomore year. In an interview with Dons Insiders, Renfro said, “I have been playing basketball since I was five-years-old, so obviously playing in college was a goal and aspiration of mine, but the height didn’t hurt anything and (basketball) became a little easier after I grew.” He finished his high school career ranked as the 29th best player in the entire state of Arizona, as well as the team finishing with a 23-6 record that season. He had a 4.0 gpa as well, and was ranked number 1 in his class as a junior.

He went on to play for The University of San Francisco, averaging nearly 22 ppg in his senior year there. USF reports that Renfro is the only player in school history to record at least 100 or more blocks, 600 or more rebounds and 100 or more steals in a career. He also owns the record for most games player in a career there, with 132. He was also very academically accomplished, being named to the All-WCC First Team All-Academic Team three times and the CoSIDA District 8 First Team.

In his first season on the Austin Spurs, he had averaged 3.4 ppg that season, as well as 5.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists so far. He recorded 6 blocks against the Memphis Hustle in the first game of the season, which is a career high so far in his G-League career. His 2.8 blocks per game is the third most in the whole league.

Whether it’s athletically or academically, Nate Renfro has always stood out from the rest. Now all of his hard work could pay off, and his NBA dream could finally become a reality.