THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Mims' leap from track to basketball star leads him to Vandals

Standing at 6-foot-9 in high school, Julius Mims was bound to compete at the NCAA Division I level in something.

Just what, totally changed in 2020 for the future North Idaho College standout.

“I did the high jump in high school at Billings Skyview High,” Mims said. “I was planning to do the triple jump as a senior before COVID-19 hit and the season got canceled.”

As a junior, he went unbeaten in the high jump, going as high as 6 feet, 10 inches during the season before winning the Class AA Montana state title with a jump of 6-9.

“In my junior year, I cleared the bar by a good 3 inches at 6-11 at state, but my foot hit the crossbar,” Mims said. “I was projected to break the state record as a senior, but it is what it is.”

Ahh, that pandemic.

As a freshman at Billings West, Mims played on the same high school basketball team as RayQuan Evans, who played basketball at NIC before transferring to Florida State.

“We had a good connection when we were young and I saw where NIC was able to send him after he left,” Mims said. “So I thought, 'Yeah, I’m going to give them a shot.' I’d seen the success of the program and wanted to get out here and better myself in basketball.”

SO MIMS, with only an offer in basketball from Glendive Community College in Glendive, Mont., coming out of high school in 2020, opted to focus on basketball rather than track and field at the next level.

You can thank Evans for one more assist for the Cardinal program well after he’d moved on from NIC.

“RayQuan called me and he (Julius) had every high major school wanting him for track,” NIC men’s basketball coach Corey Symons said. “He just wanted to play basketball. Looking back, he was good out of high school, but wasn’t anything special. He was just a good athlete. But since he’s been here, he’s lived in the gym and worked on his game.”

Mims had never been to Coeur d’Alene before committing to the Cardinal program following his first visit to the city.

“We’d been in Polson, Mont. (some 50 miles south of Kalispell), for a family vacation and saw that Coeur d’Alene was close, so we came from there to here,” Mims said. “My grandparents, mom and I got a chance to see everything they have here and I was all for it. It was pretty unique for sure. Track came so naturally to me and jumping, it was just a god-given talent. But with basketball, I knew I could get better and wasn’t at my full potential yet.”

Mims played at NIC in the COVID-abbreviated spring 2021 season, a season which only consisted of six games and ultimately didn't count toward eligibility.

The past two seasons at NIC, Mims averaged 17.2 points per game and 9.5 rebounds.

“If you’ve watched him long enough, you’ll see he’s an amazing athlete,” Symons said. “He’s an elite, elite athlete. When he was in high school, he jumped over 7 feet, and to think about it, it’s just insane. That’s pretty close to Olympic record stuff. At 6-9, he can shoot it and really stretch the floor. He shoots 43 or 44%, and that’s a big commodity at the next level. He rebounds well, plays good defense and a good rim protector.”

MIMS COMMITTED to the Idaho basketball program last Saturday and will join the Vandals and new coach Alex Pribble for the 2023-24 season.

“When I talked to coach Pribble, he said I’d be playing the same role, running the floor, rim running and rebounding and getting offensive putbacks,” Mims said. “I’m just going to be doing the same stuff that I’ve been doing here for the last few years.”

And while he could have left NIC last season, he opted to remain a Cardinal.

“I had a few schools looking at me, but thought this was a great spot,” Mims said. “I love Corey and everything he’s done for me. And I had a great connection with (assistant coach) George Swanson (who left after last season to become an assistant at NCAA Division I Evansville) when he was here. I just felt like riding with Corey and trusted him. And look where I’m at now.”

“I’ve known coach Pribble for a while from his time as an assistant at Eastern Washington (2013-15),” Symons said. “When he got the (Idaho) job, I called him and told him I’ve got a kid that is getting recruited heavily and someone should take a look at him. They dove into his film, evaluated it and fell in love with his game. My job is to get kids like him on his radar and Pribble and his staff fell in love with him. I really think Idaho got a steal with him and he’s going to do great things down there.”

Even in his third season at NIC, Mims was still doing things that Symons hadn’t seen before.

“We run a lob play at the start of the game, and it’s crazy how many times we get this,” Symons said. “But (point guard) Cobi (Campbell) threw him a pass that was a little offline. Julius jumped up and caught it with both hands and tried to reverse dunk on a guy, missed it, and got mad. I told him nobody in the country would catch that pass, let alone have a chance to dunk it. He’s a great kid and a great player, but just has to believe in himself.”

MIMS SAID the atmosphere around the Vandal program, which went through a coaching change following its fifth straight losing season, was too much to pass up.

“The facilities, coaching staff and community is great in Moscow,” Mims said. “The energy and everyone is very open and kind there. It’s a lot like Coeur d’Alene and I’ll fit right in there. Basketball over there is totally revamped right now with new coaches in men’s and women’s basketball. When I was on my visit, they just hired a new assistant coach. The whole atmosphere really got me excited and I can’t wait to get down there.”

In addition to Mims, other NIC players Taden King (NAIA Nebraska-Kearney), Phil Holmes (NAIA Peru State in Nebraska) and Xavier Bailey (NAIA Montana State-Northern in Havre) have signed to continue their playing careers next year. Brendan Johnson is still weighing offers at the Division II level.

Mims also had offers from Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Radford, Idaho State and Texas State.

“I was still talking to Coastal Carolina, Montana State and a handful of other schools,” Mims said. “George tried to get me at Evansville too, but communication kind of fell off. Those schools were great, and I was planning to take a visit to Louisiana and Florida because I haven’t been out of the Northwest, but they didn’t come through. I kind of thought I failed them on my end by not getting out there earlier, but I feel everything happens for a reason. I’m happy with everything they showed me at Idaho. I’m ready to go and make some noise. Whether it’s getting in the weight room or challenging other people, I just strive to be the best player I can be.”

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 jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.