Biography
Truman
2017-18: One of the most potent scorers in program history added another chapter to that legacy as a junior ... started 30 of the team's 31 games ... named First-Team All-GLVC on Feb. 26 and a member of the GLVC All-Tournament team along with Brodric Thomas on ... his 78 three-pointers made are tied for seventh in the program's single-season chart and his 200 attempts from behind the arc are tied for fifth, just as many as he had when he was a sophomore ... moved up to fifth for career three-pointers made with 216 and eighth in three-pointers attempted with 513 to go with seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.421) and third in free throw percentage (.857) ... just like Cory Myers in 2017, scored his 1,000th-career point at Maryville and became the 29th member of that prestigious club ... the bucket after that was a 35 footer at the buzzer to win it for Truman over the Saints, 75-74 ... with one season left to play, Velky's 1,184 career points are good for 15th in program history ... scored in double-figures for all but three of his games including 20 or more nine times and 25 against both Lindenwood on Nov. 15 and Drury on Jan. 15 ... in the three GLVC Tournament games, he averaged 19.7 points per game en route to that All-Tournament Team nod ... first on the team in minutes played per game (32.6), first in free throw percentage among those with at least 30 made (.850), second in scoring (16.6), third in assists per game (2.5), fourth in steals per game (0.9), and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.390).
2016-17: Jake Velky started 29 of the team's 32 games and not many players in the nation could have asked for a better start than the one Velky got in 2016-17 ... after his first eight games, he was averaging 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game ... not only was Velky scoring in bunches, but he was doing so at an incredibly efficient rate ... during that same stretch, the Waverly, Iowa native was shooting an incredible 62.2 percent (46-of-74) from the floor, 58.7 percent (27-for-46) from behind the arc and 94.7 percent (36-of-38) from the free throw line ... despite an ankle injury late in the season, Velky still managed to lead the squad in scoring (16.1 points per game) ... Velky is the first Bulldog not named Mike Carlson or Seth Jackson to average at least 16 points per game in a season in 17 years since Cory Parker in 1999-00 ... Having just completed his sophomore campaign, Velky is already putting his name all over the program's record book ... for a single season, 2016-17 is second in three-pointers made (93), second in free throw percentage (.896), fifth in three-pointers attempted (200), and seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.465) ... as far as career marks, the 6-1 guard is second in free throw percentage (.863) and tied for second in three-point field goal percentage (.441) ... Velky's breakout performance came at Quincy in the 10th game of the season on Dec. 10 ... that night, the three-point assassin poured in 35 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including 2-for-4 from deep, and was a perfect 13-of-13 from the charity stripe ... that effort is the most points for a Truman player since Seth Jackson racked up 42 at Drury on Jan. 29, 2015 ... those 35 points were joined on the stat sheet by eight rebounds, three steals and two assists ... Velky's 13-for-13 effort from the free throw line was just two shy of Terry Bussard's (15-of-15) set on Jan. 30, 1979, which still stands as the only game where a Bulldog attempted at least 15 free throws and made all of them ... amongst GLVC ranks, Velky was first in three-point field goal percentage (.465), first in total treys made (93), first in triples made per game (3.2), third in free throw percentage (.896), fourth in three-pointers attempted (200), 10th in points per game (16.1), 12th in total points (466), and 14th in free throws made (95) ... nationally, Velky was slotted sixth for three-point field goal percentage, 17th for free throw percentage, 31st for total three-pointers made, and 34th in three-point field goals per game ... for single-game marks in the school records, his eight three-pointers made at McKendree on Jan. 7 are tied for sixth, his .857 three-point percentage at Lincoln (6-for-7) on Nov. 26 is tied for eighth and his 14 triples attempted vs. Missouri S&T on Jan. 28 are tied for ninth ... went for 20 points nine times and 25+ in four games ... of the team's top nine individual marks for three-pointers made in a game, Velky's name is next to two of them including the games mentioned above at McKendree and vs. Missouri S&T ... in the 79-71 overtime win against Benedict in Kentucky, Velky finished with 14 points, but nine of them came in the five-minute extra period ... he and Cory Myers combined to score 16 of Truman's 20 overtime points ... named Second-Team All-GLVC ... named Academic All-GLVC.
2015-16: Much like Nikola Pesic, Velky was a super sub as he appeared in all 30 games with just one start that came against Grace on Dec. 12 ... was on the court for a total of 582 minutes or 19.4 per contest ... averaged 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game ... shot 46 percent from the field, 39.8 percent from three-point land and 75.8 percent from the free throw line ... had the best scoring game of his young career against Central Christian when he poured in 24 points on an efficient 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) to go with six rebounds, five assists and three steals ... had at least 10 points in eight games ... reached that mark in six of the first 14 games before doing so twice in the final 16 games ... registered at least five helpers in two games including seven against Iowa Wesleyan (Jan. 3) and five vs. Central Christian (Nov. 18) ... when he made that one start against Grace, that was the most playing time he saw in a single game all season as he was on the court for 31 minutes.
High School
A four-sport athlete in high school, Velky started and lettered all four seasons at Waverly-Shell Rock ... averaged 19 points per game and more than five rebounds per game as a senior where he earned all-state honors ... named all-conference all four seasons and is the school record holder in career points, three-pointers, and free throws ... in addition to helping guide his team to a 2013 Iowa state championship, his team won three conference titles and went a combined 91-13 during his four seasons on the court ... member of the National Honor Society.
Personal
Son of Tom and Danielle Velky and he has two younger siblings.
