Basketball forward, 2006-2010

At OSU: Schaftenaar earned a starting forward spot by his sophomore year in 2007-2008 and averaged 9.9 points and 4.0 rebounds as an upperclassman. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound native of The Netherlands also earned All-Pac-10 Academic honors three times. He was named Most Valuable Player of the College Basketball Invitational in 2009, which OSU won on the shoulders of Schaftenaar’s 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.

Now: Schaftenaar is six years into his professional basketball career overseas, spending two years in the Canary Islands, two years in the mainland of Spain and the last two years in Greece on the island of Crete. He’s averaging 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in the Greek Basketball League. 

Schaftenaar’s team only plays one game a week and on non-game days will practice once or twice a day depending “on if we’re winning or not.” Even if Schaftenaar’s team does practice twice in a day, he still has the middle of the afternoon free, a time often reserved in Greece for naps.

“I’m not huge on the napping,” Schaftenaar said. “I do it a little bit now.”

Schaftenaar, 27, isn’t sure where his playing career will take him or where he’ll live after he retires, but he expects to play a couple more years and wants to stay involved in basketball afterwards, possibly in coaching. He’s also been married since 2011; his wife Katlyn Miller was also an OSU athlete, playing for the softball team the same years as Schaftenaar was on the basketball team. They both majored in Business, lived in Bloss Hall at the same time and started dating their junior year.

“We’re happy and it’s good,” Schaftenaar said of the married life. “The whole time we’ve been overseas like this, we’ve been together.”

Though the 10-hour time difference from Corvallis to Crete makes it difficult for Roeland to watch his younger brother play for OSU, he enjoys the opportunity to catch a live stream whenever he can.

“It’s very cool, very surreal to see him on the court,” Roeland said. “I miss playing in Gill Coliseum, so it’s very cool seeing him play there.”

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