Forward Conner Nord hasn’t missed a single game in his three years at St. Thomas and is averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game during the first three games as he starts the 2013-2014 season.

Coach John Tauer said Nord, a junior, is a stabilizing force in the paint and because of his hard work, was named a team co-captain this season.

“He’s played a lot for us these first two years, and so one of the things we’re most proud about is Conner’s eagerness to get better,” Tauer said. “Sometimes you see a guy get to a certain level and become a bit satisfied or complacent, and really he’s the opposite of that.”

Guard Dylan Stewart played basketball with Nord on the Eden Prairie high school team and said he notices the effect Nord has on his teammates.

“He’s really good at leading the team, telling people where they should be on the court if someone doesn’t know, helping out the freshman, helping out the sophomores, even helping out me,” Stewart said.

Nord was selected to a 10-player United States Division-III All-Star team that competed in Brazil in August.

“That was an incredible experience; I got to play with a lot of other talented players,” Nord said. “We played against one of them the other night. He played for River Falls, and I’m still good friends with a lot of those guys. Overall, it was the time of a lifetime.”

Kyle Jonas can be reached at jona7984@stthomas.edu.