Brothers’ closeness extends to court

For years, the Frisbie brothers’ friends thought they were twins.

“We had the same bowl haircuts through elementary school,” Ben Frisbie said.

It was in middle school that the differences between the brothers became obvious: Nate had a growth spurt and passed Ben by.

The Lake City High School basketball standouts are seniors but they’re separated by 19 months in age.

Ben just turned 19 this month. Nate won’t turn 19 until a year from August.

“We started school the same year,” Nate explained. “Mom started Ben a little late and started me a little early so we could go through school together.”

They’ve shared pretty much everything most of their lives.

“We’re best friends,” Ben said.

They’ve chosen to share a bedroom even when they could have their own rooms.

“We both have queen-sized beds. Our room is the size of a master bedroom,” Ben said.

They’ve shared the same sport, too – except for the one year in middle school when they played on separate soccer teams because of their age difference. It’s not a coincidence that that was the only year they played soccer.

They’ve shared the same class schedule in three semesters at LC. They’re both busboys at Outback Steakhouse.

And if one of them is asked to spend the night at a friend’s house, they go as a package deal.

They draw the line, though, when it comes to girlfriends.

“Girlfriends are one of the few things we don’t share,” Ben said, smiling. “But we can’t date a girl unless it’s OK with each other.”

For the record, the handsome brothers are currently unattached.

“We have interests. We have our eyes on a few,” Ben said.

The Kansas-born Frisbies have had a globetrotting-like experience so far in life. They’ve lived in five states following their father, who is a pastor.

They’ve lived the biggest chunk of their lives in Kalamazoo, Mich. Before moving to Coeur d’Alene in October 2007, they lived two years in New Hampshire.

Although they were both starters as freshmen and sophomores at Kearsarge High School in North Sutton, N.H., they’re having the most fun of their prep careers this season.

They’re two big reasons why Lake City (13-3 overall) got off to a 6-0 start in the Inland Empire League. The Timberwolves were ranked No. 1 in the state going into the week, but they suffered their first league loss, 53-40, to Post Falls on Tuesday.

They had a difficult transition at LC last year. Nate, a 6-foot-3 post, earned a starting job, averaging about 8 points per game. But Ben, a 5-11 guard, struggled and eventually missed the second half of the season after breaking a wrist when he was pushed into a wall in a game at Sandpoint.

Ben was named the player of the year in New Hampshire’s Class I as a freshman and was a first-team all-state pick his sophomore year. Class I would be comparable to 3A in Idaho.

“5A basketball here is a higher level than what we played in before we moved here,” Ben said. “I don’t think I was prideful, but last year was a really humbling process for me to go from a starting role to being a bench player.”

Ben’s spirits sunk when he suffered the season-ending injury.

It affected Nate, too.

“I didn’t want to be playing without Ben,” Nate said. “It kind of killed my drive to play when he was out.”

Another thing that made last year difficult for them was trying to adjust to a slower pace of play under coach Jim Thacker. At their former school, the Frisbies played in an up-tempo style.

“It was a lot different than what we were used to,” Nate said.

Thacker resigned after the season and Jim Winger, who coached previously at LC, returned.

The Frisbies embraced the change.

“We’re having the most fun we’ve ever had playing this year – including our freshmen and sophomore years,” Nate said.

Ben is averaging a team-leading 12.7 points per game. He also takes about two charges and gets two steals per game. Nate, who has scored in double figures eight times, is averaging 9.7 points, eight rebounds, two blocked shots and one dunk a game.

“Ben has been solid all year,” Winger said. “As far as quickness goes, I don’t think we’ve had anybody quicker. Sometimes he can get to going too fast. But the positives with him far outweigh the negatives.

“Nate didn’t play up to his capabilities early in the season. I thought at times he was just going through the motions. A key to our season was getting Nate to play at the top of his ability and get after it every night. In our last loss (in late December) I challenged him in front of the team. Really, since then, he has played very hard and very well. He’s dominated quite a few games.”

One aspect of their abilities that stands out is their jumping ability. Nate has a 40-inch vertical, and it appears he jumps higher with his long arm span, and Ben has a 38-inch vertical.

Where does it come from?

“We got a trampoline back in middle school and we’d spend hours on it jumping,” Ben said.

They hope to lead LC to state for the first time in six years.

“I’ve never been on a team that has worked this hard,” Nate said.

“We have great team chemistry,” Ben said.

The brothers would like to go on and play in college.

Preferably, they’d like to play at the same school.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, the Frisbies are essentially attached at the hip – like Siamese twins.