Jan. 10, 2015
By Matt Bontorin, MSU Athletic Communications
"Wollenman! Who is Wollenman?" shouted ESPN color commentator Dick Vitale during the first half of the Spartans Champions Classic matchup against the Duke Blue Devils. Vitale wasn't the only one asking this question. Redshirt-junior forward Colby Wollenman had entered the game at the 5:55 mark of the first half with the Spartans down 30-24. With Michigan State in foul trouble, the former walk-on was faced with the task of guarding one of college basketball's premier superstars, Jahlil Okafor.
After an early miss, Wollenman had a partial block on Okafor and proceeded to knock down a 16-foot jump shot and a nice inside layup to keep the Spartans in the game at the half.
With a career high in points and praise from one of college basketball's most well-known analysts, Wollenman went from scarcely recognizable to a fan favorite in just minutes.
"The thought of where I came from, playing 2A basketball in Wyoming where kids were half the size of Okafor, to playing five minutes in the first half against Duke, it was unbelievable," said Wollenman.
Wollenman's journey to Michigan State began in the small town of Big Horn, Wyoming. With a population of 490 and a graduating class of 33, the 6-7, 220-pound athlete was a big fish in a small pond.
Wollenman excelled in soccer, football and basketball at Big Horn High School and led his basketball team to a perfect 28-0 record and a Wyoming 2A state championship in his senior year. After raking in multiple awards, Wollenman was recruited by some small local colleges.
While the three-sport superstar enjoyed his success on the field, his intentions were never to continue playing sports after high school. With a 4.0 GPA and a goal of becoming a doctor, Wollenman politely declined offers to play Division II basketball and football in order to pursue academic scholarships.
After scoring in the top percentile in the country on his college entrance exams, Wollenman was deemed a National Merit Scholar. He eventually settled on Michigan State after being awarded a National Merit Scholarship, a professorial assistant scholarship and an honors scholarship by the university. These three combined scholarships covered all four years of his undergraduate studies.
"I wanted to go to a better school than where my athletic talents could take me," said Wollenman. "I was more interested in schools that would give me a full-ride academic scholarship, or close to it. I wanted to go to a relatively large school and a school with a good pre-med program."
Wollenman enrolled in the Lyman Briggs Pre-Medical program at Michigan State with no intentions of ever trying out for any of the varsity sports teams on campus.
"When I got here, I didn't have any intention of walking on," said Wollenman. "I didn't really think I was capable of doing it. I had Division I basketball up on a pedestal in my head. It was something that I thought would never happen."
After meeting several friends around campus who played pick-up basketball, Wollenman was encouraged by his peers to join them in a walk-on tryout for the men's basketball team in late November of his freshman year.
With nothing to lose, Wollenman agreed to take part in the tryout.
"I figured what the heck, I might as well give it a try," said Wollenman. "I kind of just winged it going into the tryout, not thinking I had any chance."
With the understanding that head coach Tom Izzo and his staff we're looking for hard workers who were able to communicate, he went in with the plan to prove he was in shape and could bring energy to the floor. What Wollenman didn't anticipate was how well of a shooting performance he would have.
"It's funny because back then I definitely wasn't a shooter," said Wollenman. "I barely ever shot jump shots in high school. During the tryout I shot three threes in the scrimmage and hit all three of them. I kind of tricked the coaches into thinking I could shoot."
With an outstanding first impression, former graduate manager Blake Saunders approached Wollenman and inquired about his availability.
"Blake started asking me about my class schedule and which classes I had in the afternoons," said Wollenman. "I told him I had class from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Tuesday's and Thursday's. He looked at me straight in the face and said, `You might want to get that changed.'"
With that advice, Wollenman quickly altered his schedule to fit afternoon basketball practices. He had made it.
"It was a dream that I didn't think was possible," said Wollenman. "So few people from Wyoming go on to play Division I sports."
With a spot secured, Wollenman's next job was to find a niche on the team while also learning to balance his heavy course load. Izzo's message to him was to push the guys ahead of him every day in practice, be vocal and bring energy.
Off the court Wollenman continued to excel, earning a 4.0 GPA in his first two semesters at Michigan State.
"It obviously gets stressful at times," said Wollenman. "The classes I've taken are not easy and require a lot of effort. What usually ends up getting cut out is sleep. Over time I've done a better job of managing my time, and doing what I need early and not wait until the last minute."
With his first year of college in the books, Wollenman dedicated his summer to training in East Lansing. The 6-7 forward put on 15 pounds of muscle and nearly doubled his bench press. The coaches took notice and also saw improvement in his shot, rebounding and his overall defensive presence. They were so impressed they made the decision to redshirt him.
"It was definitely a compliment," said Wollenman. "They figured if I kept improving like that I would be able to play at some point."
The coaches were right. After another year of steady growth, Wollenman entered his redshirt junior year ready to make a push for playing time. With key losses to the Spartans frontcourt in 2014, he knew that there was an opportunity to create a role for himself. However, what he didn't anticipate was that he would eventually find himself in the rotation for key non-conference games against Duke and Kansas.
"I definitely didn't see it coming," said Wollenman. "Once the season started I thought I might see some minutes if our guys got into foul trouble but I couldn't have anticipated playing 18 minutes against Kansas or five minutes in the first half against Duke. It's been a pretty awesome ride so far in terms of what I've gotten the chance to do."
Despite the increased playing load, he has continued to excel in the classroom. With a 3.9 GPA and a recent MCAT score of 39, Wollenman has separated himself as one of the most qualified candidates for medical school in the country.
To this point, Wollenman has gotten letters of interest from top-five medical schools in the nation such as Washington University in St. Louis and Harvard.
Wollenman's aspirations of becoming a doctor started at a young age. His father, Dr. Paul Wollenman, is a renowned horse veterinarian who spent three years in private practice before founding and building an equine clinic in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1981.
"I definitely looked up to him and saw what he could do," said Wollenman. "I just fell in love with the body and how it works and what you can do to help somebody. To see somebody's health improve and know that you are responsible for it is something I want to be able to do."
With a year and half of remaining of eligibility, Wollenman reflected on how far he has come as a basketball player and what he plans to achieve by the time he leaves.
"I was absolutely nobody when I first made the team," said Wollenman. "You couldn't tell if I was on the team or a manager. I think it's funny that some people have started calling me by name around campus. It makes you feel pretty good to know what you've been doing is being recognized. I still want to score more and rebound more but the biggest thing for me is playing well according to what our coaches are looking for. I want to be remembered as a guy who did his job the right way."
As for his future plans in the medical field, Wollenman hasn't yet picked school or a specialty, but his focus has not wavered from what he set out to do when he came to Michigan State.
"Basketball is a finite thing for me," said Wollenman. "I know I'm going to do something else afterwards, so I need to keep my priorities in check. Being a part of this team has been amazing, but reaching my goals as a student will always be most important to me."
Print Friendly Version
