THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Former NIC basketball players making most of extra time

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, who knew what the future held for college athletes.

For some, careers ended in an instant, with no postseason tournaments held.

Others have stuck it out, for better or worse.

In the case of a few alumni from the North Idaho College men’s basketball team, they’ve made the most of those extra moments on the court, albeit extended.

IN CASE you’ve missed it, both 6-foot-4 guard RayQuan Evans and 6-6 guard/forward Alphonso Anderson are still at it as "super seniors", and in big time conferences to boot.

Evans has started all three games at Florida State this year, averaging 7.3 points and 2 rebounds per game, with 10 assists. Evans played behind Scottie Barnes during the 2020-21 season, Evans’ senior year. Barnes was the fourth overall pick in last summer’s NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.

“RayQuan had talked to us about entering the (transfer) portal beforehand,” NIC men’s basketball coach Corey Symons said. “But he’s at a great program at Florida State. He’s got a chance to play some big minutes for them this year. And there’s no better league than the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) to be in.”

Braian Angola-Rodas, who helped lead the Cardinals to the NJCAA Tournament as a sophomore in 2016, played two seasons at Florida State after his time in Coeur d’Alene ended after two seasons.

For Anderson, it was a little more difficult.

Anderson began his career at Montana, then played at NIC as a sophomore during the 2018-19 season, before transferring to Utah State. Utah State qualified for the 2020 NCAA Tournament, which was eventually canceled. Utah State also qualified last spring, losing to Texas Tech in the opening round.

After the season, Utah State coach Craig Smith took the head coaching job at Utah, and Ryan Odom was hired to replace him. After a quick search, Anderson ended up at Pacific of the West Coast Conference.

“With the new staff, Alphonso wanted to take a look and see what was out there,” Symons said. “We’re tight with the coaching staff at Pacific and really wanted to help get him there.”

Pacific was coached by Damon Stoudamire before he departed for an assistant coaching job with the Boston Celtics. Pacific is now coached by former Idaho head coach Leonard Perry.

“Leonard’s a good friend of ours,” Symons said. “It’s a really good fit to go play for that group.”

In case you’re into bookmarking those types of things, the Tigers will face No. 1 Gonzaga on Jan. 20 in Stockton, Calif., then again on Feb. 10 in Spokane.

Nate Pryor, who departed NIC for Washington after the 2019-20 season, is listed as a junior at New Mexico State after playing one season for the Huskies. James Carlson, a Lake City High product, and Emmit Taylor III of Lapwai are in their second seasons at Idaho State, both listed as juniors thanks to COVID.

As for this year’s NIC team, Cooper DeWitt, a freshman who also played for the Cardinals last spring, has signed with Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. IUPUI plays in the Horizon League.

“This extra year really has helped for kids like ours,” Symons said. “It really helps recruiting-wise. What’s great is that he’ll get there as a sophomore and now has three years. Having that extra time really helps those guys develop.”

IT IS not just at the Division I level that the former Cardinals are impacting rosters.

Philip Malatare, Ismael Valdez and Damarius Brown are at NAIA Eastern Oregon in La Grande, where former NIC assistant Chris Kemp is the head men’s basketball coach.

At the Division II level, Joey Naccarato, the Coeur d’Alene High product who played one year at Division I UMass-Lowell and one year at NIC, is a junior in his second season at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. And Yusuf Mohamed is a senior at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

“Helping get the kids to the next level is why we do what we do,” Symons said. “We want to do anything we can to help them reach their goals. There’s a reason why they come to North Idaho. We’ve put 50 to 60 kids in Division I programs in the last 15 years, and maybe most importantly, most of them are finishing their degrees.”

And also, getting to finish the on-the-court stuff the right way.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.