Xavier Silas has been told by many people close to him that he needs to find an escape from basketball.

After a summer in which he literally traveled around the world, his friends, family and peers soon realized that the NIU men’s basketball forward needed a leisure activity to clear his mind.

“This summer, Chauncey [Billups] and my dad [James Silas] both suggested to get into golf,” Silas said. “It helps mentally, it’s tranquil and a getaway from basketball but it’s still a competitive sport.”

Silas’ coach, Ricardo Patton, and longtime friend Jarrell Sweet were also influential in suggesting he start taking some swings instead of jump shots.

Sweet, who Silas described as his “right-hand man” and will be moving in with him this upcoming November, is Silas’ go-to guy if the Austin, Texas native wants to go hit a bucket or two.

“We are definitely getting into it slowly but surely,” Silas said.

Like many who know Silas on a personal basis, Sweet is well aware that his longtime friend is a competitor to the max whether it’s on the basketball court, playing video games or golfing.

“It’s not something that we just don’t want to do for fun,” Sweet said. “It gets pretty heated out there on the driving range.”

Returning as the leading scorer and captain of the Huskies, additional pressure has been put on Silas to carry the team atop the standings.

So in the event where Silas is feeling frazzled, golf has become an escape from the pressures of the basketball court.

“When he does get stressed one of the first options is, ‘hey lets go hit a few balls’,” Sweet said. “[We can] talk and get away from it all.”

Similar to any person who’s a novice to a new game, Silas is still learning the details of the game he took up this past summer.

“He’s got a long way to go,” his father said.

Yet in spite of not dominating on the green early on, success isn’t what Silas is looking to take away from this new hobby.

“It’s good to have something going on like golf,” Silas said. “Where you have to work on your patience and you have to focus. I think it will help me focus mentally and getting away a little bit from basketball.”