From Almira To Whitworth, Dunham Quietly Makes Mark

Whitworth basketball player Nate Dunham said he has lived a pretty boring life.

But that’s OK.

Because the truth is, grass becomes green in a boring manner and the sun often rises and sets in not-so-spectacular fashion. But when they’re at the height of their brilliance, they attract the eyes of many.

In a society where glitz and pomp and pageantry and ego captivate the American audience, there will always be a place for the quiet and reserved and humble and … boring.

Dunham, the Pirates’ 6-foot-6, 205-pound academic All-American forward, grew up in Almira, Wash. He prepped at Almira/Coulee-Hartline and led the Warriors to the State B title his junior year.

“I don’t know, I guess I play basketball the same way I grew up. In small towns, everyone knows each other and tends to stick together and help each other when needed. On the basketball court, I just ask myself, ‘What do I have to do to help the team win?”’

At Whitworth, as at ACH, Dunham has been a model of consistency. As a college freshman, he made 56.5 percent of his shots. The figure rose to 58.1 his sophomore season and climbed to 61.9 percent last year.

In Whitworth’s first two games this season - the Pirates are 1-1 - Dunham is 18 of 25 from the floor and averaging 22 points per game.

Dunham is not a shooter, though. His field-goal percentage is actually higher than his free-throw percentage. He is 8 of 14 from the line this season.

Dunham is the kind of player who silently and methodically moves up and down the court, in and out of traffic, for 35-40 minutes per game. And at the end of most contests, Dunham usually ends up leading all players in scoring and rebounding.

“I’ve always been fortunate enough to play on teams that had good ball-handlers and good passers,” he said. “I get a lot of easy looks at the basket. It’s definitely not the shooting touch.”

Dunham is only the second four-year starter Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs has coached in his 11 seasons with the Pirates. Friedrichs called Dunham a model student-athlete. Dunham has a 3.5 gradepoint average as a math major and plans on being a math teacher.

“Nate has very high expectations of himself,” Friedrichs said. “He doesn’t have a bad practice and you seldom have to correct him.”

Whitworth has its sights set on a run at the NAIA Division II post-season, to be held at the College of Southern Idaho in the spring.

The Pirates were headed toward the postseason last year, and at one point were ranked No. 8 nationally. But between their play tailing off at the end of the season and not winning a Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges road game, the team failed to gain an at-large bid to the playoffs.

“It’s definitely a great motivator for us this season,” Dunham said. “What we have attempted to do this year is build strong personal relationships within the team. Winning is often a result of that.”

In coming from a school that plays Class B sports, Dunham never had any difficulty adjusting to playing against bigger and better college players.

“What amazes me about Nate is that when he started, we had him playing more on the perimeter,” Friedrichs said. “In moving to the low post the past couple of seasons, he always has to battle against bigger guys.

“But he has a tremendous knowledge of the low post and has the ability to recognize what’s going around him defensively.”

Although statistical records at Whitworth are not complete, Friedrichs believes Dunham likely has the best field-goal percentage mark in school history. Last year, he went over the 1,000-point mark in his career.

“He’s ideal,” Friedrichs said. “He does so many things right. He plays with very little emotion, but he has tremendous focus on the court.”

Yes, boring can be beautiful.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHITWORTH COLLEGE The roster and schedule of the Whitworth men’s basketball team, 18-10 overall last season, 7-5 in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges.

Rosters Name Ht Position Year Hometown Sean Weston 5-8 Guard Sophomore Lacey, Wash. Jeff Mix 6-5 Forward Sophomore Spangle Nate Williams 6-2 Guard Junior Portland Roman Wickers 6-2 Guard Senior Houston Gabe Jones 6-5 Forward Junior Olympia Nathan Dunham 6-6 Forward Senior Almira Louis Vargas 6-1 Guard Junior Honolulu Jeff Arkills 6-4 Forward Senior Yakima John Beckman 6-7 Forward Senior Forks, Wash. Doug Schulz 6-5 Forward Freshman Richland Tyler Jordan 6-1 Guard Freshman Spokane Greg Jones 6-6 Forward Freshman Spokane Nate Fox 6-5 Center Sophomore Snohomish, Wash.

Schedule Nov. 20 Defeated Northwest College 82-56 Nov. 21 Lost to Carroll College 73-67 Nov. 24 Defeated Okanogan 98-60 Nov. 28 vs. Lewis-Clark State 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at Central Washington 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9 at Northwest College 7 p.m. Dec. 16 vs. Carroll College 8 p.m. Dec. 30 at Southern Calif. College 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2 at Christian Heritage College 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12 vs. Willamette* 8 p.m. Jan. 13 vs. Linfield* 8 p.m. Jan. 16 vs. Whitman* 8 p.m. Jan. 19 at Pacific* 8 p.m. Jan. 20 at George Fox* 8 p.m. Jan. 26 at Pacific Lutheran* 8 p.m. Jan. 27 at Lewis & Clark* 8 p.m. Feb. 2 vs. George Fox* 8 p.m. Feb. 3 vs. Pacific University* 8 p.m. Feb. 6 at Whitman* 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Linfield* 8 p.m. Feb. 10 at Willamette* 8 p.m. Feb. 16 vs. Lewis & Clark* 8 p.m. Feb. 17 vs. Pacific Lutheran* 8 p.m. Feb. 21 NCIC Playoffs TBA Feb. 24 NCIC Playoffs TBA * - Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges game