Small package, large results

Don’t be fooled.

Redshirt freshman Sam Dowd might stand 5-foot-8, but is tough as nails.

And it’s got nothing to do with a basketball court, though he’s been pretty nails for North Idaho College men’s basketball team this season.

Dowd, a 2014 graduate of Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, transferred from NAIA Carroll College in Helena, Mont., where he redshirted last year, to join the NIC program in the fall.

“I grew up in the Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma area,” Dowd said. “After my freshman year, I moved to Spokane to go to Gonzaga Prep.”

It was far from a storybook experience.

“For a couple of years, I was on my own, bouncing from home to home with my friends,” Dowd said of living in the Seattle area. “Family friends, coaches and lived with my coach for the summer until a month before school started until a family took me in. And it was just unreal that they’d take a kid off the street into their home and help turn my life around. Without them, I wouldn’t be here today. They did what they could for me.”

When issues came up there, Dowd found another home again, thanks to an AAU coach in Spokane.

“It wasn’t working out with family issues with (the first family I stayed with in Spokane) so I called my buddy Matt (Miller) one day before I was going to leave for Seattle,” said Dowd, who was considering returning to western Washington. “I didn’t know where I was going to go, didn’t know where I was going to stay. Straight up, I just asked him if I could live with him and he was worried that something was going on. I’m glad I made that call and that God has a path for me and I’m just going to keep striving and keep praying.”

Matt’s parents, Ron and Karen, welcomed him into their home with open arms after Matt went to Central Washington to continue his schooling.

“They just took me in and treated me like one of theirs,” Dowd said. “It was just something special and I call them mom and dad. They feel comfortable, and they adopted me and I’m just happy where I’m at. They supported my decision to come here and it’s just a great environment.”

At G-Prep, Dowd played football his junior and senior year.

“I played football at Gonzaga Prep and they just won a state title this year,” Dowd said. “It’s kind of cool seeing everyone with their rings. It’s excellent for their program and for that school. The community is just unreal.”

After a year in Helena, Mont., Dowd wanted to find something a little closer to Spokane.

“It (Carroll) was a great university, great four-year program and great campus,” Dowd said. “But it was too far from home and just being and having a family for four years and going so far away, it was really different for me. It was just awesome to get to talk to the coaches here and contacting NIC and tell them this is a place I want to be, close to home.”

As NIC coach Corey Symons searched for players, he heard of Dowd’s desire to move closer to home, and told him if he wanted to come to Coeur d’Alene, he’d have a place for him.

“It was just a leap of faith,” Dowd said. “I just prayed on it. Coach Corey, Coach G (NIC assistant coach George Swanson) and the rest of the coaching staff made it comfortable for me and didn’t rush me into any decisions at all. I was just happy to feel the support of the community around me.”

“Nice thing is, if you know Sammy, he came from a tough situation, but that’s what made him the man he is,” Symons said. “He’s an unbelievable kid. He’d do anything for anybody. What he’s been through, you kind of tip your hat to him for everything he’s been through. He found a home in Spokane, but we’re happy he found a home at the college level with us.”

Dowd is a business and communications major. As a backup point guard to Lucas Antunez of Spain, Dowd has started two games but has played in all 32 games this season.

“He’s a great point guard,” Dowd said of Antunez. “He’s older, he’s been there and now, I’m just being a sponge and soaking everything in and learning from him and the coaches. If I play two minutes or two seconds, I’m going to do it at my hardest. Coming off the bench and giving the guys a spark, and just being that motor and always talking and smiling. Just keeping everyone together and remind them we’re a family, no matter what, win or lose, we’re all going to be here together at the end of the day.”

Thus far, it’s been more winning than losing, with NIC winning its first 31 games this season. The Cardinals (31-1) advanced to the NJCAA tournament for the first time since 1997 after receiving at an at-large bid to the tournament, and open tourney play tonight at 6:30 p.m. PDT.

“It’s been a remarkable season,” Dowd said. “It’s been crazy. Just the vibes, the feel, the community and our fans, just everyone around us is supporting us and believing in us. And we believe in ourselves too. We get a great opportunity to showcase our talent at the national level, and I’m excited for that. I’m excited for this team. We’ve got some great leaders, Braian (Angola-Rodas), BJ (Blake), Kyle (Guice), Kaleb (Warner) and Trey (Burch-Manning). Everyone is a leader, 1 through 12, Dylan (Okoro), Tony (Naccarato). We’re all just buying in. Yes, we had that hiccup against Salt Lake (a loss in the Region 18 title game), but we needed that. That’s a great team, and to beat them four times is tough. But we learned from it and now we can get back to NIC basketball and cherish this moment that we have.”

And for a few games, Dowd — who is eligible to return to NIC next year — was a key reason with the team remained unbeaten as long as they did, finishing with a 15-0 record in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.

“If you watch some of our games down the stretch, he flat won some of them, which was huge for us,” Symons said. “We’re excited to have him here. Hopefully, and we’re crossing our fingers that we’ll get to keep him another year, but he’ll probably get a scholarship to play somewhere else. He’s eligible to come back, but my philosophy is that if he finds something he likes at the four-year level, take it. If he finds something he likes, we’ll support that, but we’ll also take him back.”

Dowd is averaging 5.0 points per game with 56 assists this season in 20.5 minutes per game for NIC, which opens the tournament tonight (6:30 p.m., njcaatv.com) against Southwest Tennessee, which beat Spartanburg 77-73 on Monday.

“I feel like everyone on this team has heart,” Dowd said. “At the beginning of the season, it was a little rocky. It was just finding everyone’s ego and destroying those egos and telling them that if you buy in, no matter if you’re picking up towels or giving the starters water or picking up chairs, you’ve got to buy into that. If you buy in and you play together — I think everyone loves each other — then it’s tough to beat.”

As teammates tend to do, there are some flareups that need to be taken care of.

“I think the only thing we disagree about is video games,” Dowd said. “Who’s the best at (NBA) 2K16 or FIFA, that’s the only thing we complain about. Coach always tell us to shut up at practice because we don’t stop talking about it. Even that, everyone comes and competes. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first team, second team, whoever.”

Often times, when a big play has happened on the court, it’s usually Dowd or BJ Blake that’s leading the cheers.

“The nice thing about it, our success is based off one thing,” Symons said. “And that’s based off our energy, and how excited they are for each other’s success. And that all starts with two guys that have been friends since they were little and that’s Sammy and BJ. Sammy, he’s the life of the party. And that’s a big reason why we’re successful.”

And in just a short time, Dowd has also learned and grown from his time at NIC.

“I feel like I’ve grown as a person,” Dowd said. “We’ve done a good job of holding each other accountable. Being able to build relationships, fix relationships, communicating. These guys are great. I don’t regret the decision at all. On top of it, they give me confidence ... I’ve got confidence in shooting, but they just tell me to shoot the ball. They like how I take care of the ball and come off the bench and play my role. And I take pride in that. I’m just growing with them, and I hope they’re growing with me as well.”

Dowd has a few unique — and not so unique — techniques to prepare for games.

“I usually take a shower before the game,” Dowd said. “I get ready by putting everything on, listening to music and eating some Skittles. Whenever the coach is talking pregame, I’m usually eating Skittles. I don’t know why, but it calms me down a little bit. I ride a hoverboard, get taped and come into the locker room and listening to Nipsy Hustle and J-Cole. On top of that, right before the game, I’ll run hot water on my hands and I pray for my buddy Dom Cooks. He passed away from cancer and we’re off to the races.”

Dowd has his special way of remembering Cooks, a student from Decatur High in Federal Way, who passed away from brain cancer in 2014. Cooks was only 18.

“Usually when I get taped, I’ll write on it with permanent marker,” Dowd said. “It’d be cool to get something made with his name on it that I could wear. I’ve Nike ID’d my shoes, and have ‘RIP Cook’ on there. Some people think cancer beat him, but I truly think he beat cancer for sure.”

Dowd believes in both Symons and assistant coach George (Coach G) Swanson.

“They’re characters,” said Dowd of Symons and Swanson. “Outside of the small jokes, they’re unique people. Corey, he believes in his players and really helped us grow as men. Coach G, he’s always there, always supportive. Sometimes he doesn’t answer his phone, but that’s all right. They’ve really helped me a lot, religiously and just talking to the guys. They really build relationships and they really do take care of their guys. They’re very loyal and I just don’t want to leave. Those two are a good coaching tandem. Corey, he’s got so much confidence in his second year, and has only six games. Starting your career like that, you know he’s going to do good things.”

And so will Dowd, should that chance presents itself.

“Obviously, I’d love to continue playing at a lower level Division I program,” Dowd said. “That would be fun and I’m striving to earn a scholarship and a full-ride scholarship. Not a lot of kids get that chance, and not a lot of kids in my situation get that chance. And I want to take every opportunity to do that if I can to play at a high level. Hopefully I’ll help a team get to a championship because I hate losing. Every day, we get dirty at practice and battle. I’m praying every day that we can turn that around at nationals and reel a couple of schools in that like me. If I can come out and show a little heart and defense, maybe I can land a scholarship.”