By Jaylin Gamboa, Assistant Sports Information Director

Imagine talking about your favorite basketball player.
 
You know everything about him.
 
He is 6-foot-1-inch tall, weighing around 170 pounds.
 
He was born in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, where he played basketball in high school, and then moved on to play at Penn State University (Pa.).
 
You also know that he was a paratrooper back in World War II, where he continued to play basketball in Fort Benning, Georgia.
 
After serving for the United States, he continued his career in basketball, playing for the National Basketball League for a team called the Tri-Cities Blackhawks where he averaged 12 points per game. 
 
He was there, and played, when the Basketball Association of America and National Basketball League merged to form the National Basketball Association, also known as the NBA.
 
This man --- your favorite basketball player --- played for the NBA in its founding years back in 1949 and 1950.
 
This man is also your grandfather.
 
Stanley "Whitey" Von Nieda is the second oldest living NBA player. He has six children and 12 grandchildren – one of which is Tristan Von Nieda, who is a sophomore center on the South Dakota School of Mines men's basketball team.
 
"Basketball is huge in my entire family and it started with my grandpa," said Tristan who grins as he reminisces on the stories his grandfather has told him about his glory days.
 
The one that sticks out the most is when the Tri-City ownership reached out to Whitey after he competed in a Penn State playoff game and was supposed to be heading back to campus. The owner wanted Whitey so bad, he told him he would match his pay of $12,000 a year, and also slapped $2,000 on the table as a signing bonus.
 
The owner left the room before Whitey could stop him. Fearing that if he left the money on the table, the owner would think he accepted his offer, he grabbed the $2,000 and left for the university, planning to send the money back.
 
However, Whitey ended up spending a majority of the money on a frat party that night. Not having enough money to send back to the owner, Whitey signed the contract, and that is how he ended up on the Tri-Cities Blackhawks basketball team (now the Atlanta Hawks).
 
While with the Blackhawks, Von Nieda made the All-Rookie team, averaging 12 points a game, and the team made it to the final rounds of the playoffs both years. In 1949 Von Nieda was traded to the Baltimore Bullets, where he completed the 1949 and 1950 NBA seasons. He started every game playing both point guard and shooting guard, commonly known for his quickness on the court.
After leaving the NBA in 1950, Whitney coached at Elizabethtown College. In the 30 plus years following his coaching career, Whitey worked as a salesman for the Yellow Pages and tended bar on the weekends, which he finally gave up at age 85.
 
Tristan explains that Whitey taught all of his children how to play the game growing up. This led to Tristan's father, John Von Nieda, to play at the NCAA Div. I level for Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  After playing for the university, John went overseas to compete in Australia. Tristan's mother, who is from Switzerland, met John during that time and they ended up moving to Switzerland for a few years where John continued to play ball before he and his wife decided to move to the states.  
 
The Von Nieda family did not just get lucky in having a few members play basketball beyond the high school level, they are also lucky in a sense that this is what brings their family together.
 
Tristan explained that when his grandpa turned 95 years old, they held a birthday party at the house that Whitey raised his family in. Around 100 people showed up to celebrate one of the oldest living legends, and the family gathered in teams to play a game on the basketball court that was built on the property.
 
"Even my cousins and aunts who don't play still got out there to join in," Tristan said.
 
He continues on saying that he loves the atmosphere and energy that his family brings to join in on this competitive, but fun, competition.
 
Around the age of two, Tristan started picking up his first ball to play with his dad. Soon enough, John's passion for the game was transferred to Tristan, and his parents began putting him in little league groups to play. He has been playing the sport ever since.
 
Always a little tougher on Tristan than the rest of the kids, his dad coached every team he possibly could of Tristan's. Around the age of six, Tristan began attending several camps, one being the Swiss All-Star Camp. Not remembering too much from that time, he does remember how much fun he had.
 
Reminiscing on many memories on the court, Tristan excitedly explains that his favorite recollections are from high school.
 
"Playing in summer tournaments and team camps with my high school team is probably the most fun I have had. We would play 15 games in a matter of two to three days. It was nonstop basketball"
 
Coming from Fort Collins, Colorado, Tristan's basketball tapes were sent to SD Mines men's basketball head coach, Jason Henry.
 
"Tristan has done a good job in the off season and during the season of getting himself ready for the RMAC," Henry said "When recruiting him, it was great that he brought a big body, but he's also a guy who can guard and has a knack for rebounding. He's made a lot of progress since his red-shirt year, and we look forward to what he will bring in his junior and senior seasons."
 
Always being good at math and science, Tristan already knew he wanted to be an engineer, so South Dakota Mines was sure to be a perfect fit. Tristan declares that for the last three years, it definitely has been.
 
"I love the team and there isn't a guy on it that I don't like to be around," he illuminates.
 
"I'd love to play basketball competitively forever," Tristan professed. "However, engineering isn't a bad option either." Realistically, he says that outside of basketball he would love to work in Aerospace Engineering and do design work. Exactly where and what he will be doing is still up in the air as the possibilities are endless.
 
Whether Tristan's basketball career takes off, or he pursues his degree in the states, it is still unknown. If the chance to play ball arises, he is not against going overseas to do it. Switzerland is a major possibility and interest for him as he is also a citizen there and loves the country after countless visits.
 
However, one thing is for sure: Tristan is on track to graduate with his masters in the spring of 2020 and will leave Rapid City after and the South Dakota School of Mines wishes their very own Von Neida all the best.