David Fatoki is the personification of perseverance paying dividends.
When the 2011 Homewood-Flossmoor graduate arrived at Washington University in St. Louis, he dreamed of making an immediate contribution to the men’s basketball program.
Since there were other guards on the Bears roster with more experience, however, Fatoki had to wait. He played the first two seasons on the junior varsity, while also seeing limited time on the varsity.
As a freshman and sophomore, Fatoki appeared in a combined 26 varsity games, tallying 31 points while not making any starts.
Fatoki played in 27 varsity contests in 2013-14, coming off the bench to average 3.7 points per game.
As a senior, Fatoki finally received the opportunity to be the Bears’ starting point guard.
To say the Hazel Crest resident, who was chosen a 2015 DIII News Honorable Mention All-American, made the most of that chance would be an understatement.
The 5-foot-11 senior started all 26 games this season, averaging 13 points. He finished first in the University Athletic Association and fourth in NCAA Division III in assists per game (7.6). Fatoki paced the UAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.19) and was second in steals (1.9).
“(The Division III honor) is really cool,” Fatoki said. “Being recognized as a good player is a good feeling.
“I wasn’t striving for it; it wasn’t a major goal. But I knew that if I played up to my potential, it was definitely something that was attainable. It’s a great feeling to be recognized among the nation’s best players.”
Along with his distributing skills, Fatoki also proved quite capable of putting the ball in the basket as he reached double figures in scoring in 19 of the 26 games this season. He scored a career-high 28 points in a 90-72 win over Illinois Wesleyan on Dec. 13.
“Going to WashU, I had very high hopes because we were very good my senior year of high school,” Fatoki said. “I didn’t know much about Division III.
“I wanted to come in and make a huge difference. I knew that if I stayed confident and I was still confident in my game, I would have success.
“I took the route of improving, improving and improving and that my time would come.”
Which it certainly did this season.
In guiding Washington University to a 20-6 record and a mark of 9-5 in the University Athletic Association, Fatoki finished with seven or more assists in 16 of his 26 games. He finds himself sixth on the Bears’ list for assists in a season with 198.
Fatoki was the UAA Athlete of the Week twice this season and was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week three times. He concluded his career with 298 assists, good enough for ninth place in Washington’s record book.
“By playing on the JV my first two seasons, I learned to stay humble,” Fatoki said. “The first couple of years were hard on me.
“But I learned that you have to stay confident in yourself and stay dedicated to what you love and want to do.
“If you don’t give up and improve on your own and improve on your own, opportunities will find you.”
Off the court, Fatoki will graduate in May with a degree in finance. He has accepted a position in management consulting with a St. Louis-based firm that he will begin in early June. Fatoki also said that he would like to pursue coaching.
“What stands out the most is the overall experience of being at WashU,” Fatoki said. “In Division III, you play some of the top programs and academic institutions.
“To continue to play basketball and receive a great education and be challenged at this academic level, there’s not a better college to do both.”
Recognizing Raynor
Aurora University’s Amie Raynor (Sandburg) was named the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference’s Player of the Week in softball for the week ending March 1.
In her first game as a Spartan, the junior outfielder contributed a home run, double, three RBIs and two runs in an 8-0 five-inning victory over Otterbein. The Orland Park resident was 2-for-3 on the day.
Mike Walsh is a freelance reporter.
