Sharing the hardwood with a brother through four years of college ball is a one-of-a-kind opportunity — Chad Sherwood got that chance.
Senior guard Chad Sherwood attempts a reverse lay-in against University of Northern Colorado Thursday in Cowan Spectrum.
“It was awesome. (Nate) got offered and immediately called me saying, ‘Idaho offered me, should I do it?’ And I said, ‘Bro, yes you should.’ It was a no brainer for him,” Sherwood said. “Getting to play with your brother in college, you can’t beat that.”
That wasn’t the only anomalous component in relation to his five-year career as a guard on Idaho’s basketball team. He headed the installation of the Sherwood name as household terminology among Vandal fans. He also was the “Joe guy” on a six-senior team — the adhesive holding the unit together — and he introduced himself to the Idaho basketball record books.
He did all that as a walk-on.
“Coming in as a walk-on, you just have to have confidence in yourself,” Sherwood said. “I knew I was good enough to play, I knew I could work my butt off, get up there and start. And when I got up to that point, it felt amazing.”
Now, he’s known as one of the foremost, pinpoint long-ball specialists in Idaho history. He finished out his Vandals career in the top-10 of both makes and shooting percentage from deep on one of the program’s finest units. After the season, he earned the Mike Sprenger Award, given to players that “embody what a Vandal should be.”
“If you’d have told me that he was going to be one of our top-10 all-time 3-point shooters in makes and percentage when he came in, I’d have said you’re crazy,” Head Coach Don Verlin said.
It’s gone by in a flash, though.
“As a freshman five years ago, I thought, ‘that’ll be forever, I’ve got so much time,’” Sherwood said. “Now I just have a couple of weeks and I’m done. Man, it goes by quick.”
He’s made the most of his time here. He was a key contributor, and oftentimes started on three of Idaho’s most notable teams — the second-most experienced scoring roster in the country when he was a senior. He said he’ll always cherish those pregame moments, where he and his brother, junior forward Nate, sat side by side and were introduced as starters in front of record-breaking Cowan Spectrum audiences.
Reaching that apex didn’t come without play-style transitions and rigorous practice and school routines.
He was a slasher as a high school player at Oregon’s West Albany High School, where he helped the Bulldogs to their first state tournament in more than 20 years.
Ironically, he met up with Idaho teammate Victor Sanders in a state playoff game his senior year. Neither of them then knew they’d play together again just a short while later, but as allies on the court.
Sherwood was offered scholarships by lower-division schools near Albany, but he said he knew he had Division I potential — like his father, Bill, who suited up for Oregon State. Idaho was the best school that gave him a chance, and, of course, he jumped at the opportunity.
“I came here and the guys were awesome to me so, of course I said yes,” Sherwood said. “I took it as a challenge.”
Upon Sherwood’s arrival as a preferred walk-on at Idaho, Verlin recognized his 3-point potential, and started him on a repeated 30-minute sprint, catch-and-shoot drill to refine that noticed capability.
“It was tough, you’re a little behind and you know you have to work a little bit harder,” Sherwood said.
“We knew one of his strengths was going to be shooting the basketball,” Verlin said. “There was an emphasis for him particularly on being a guy who could knock down the open shot … He took it seriously and ultimately did a great job of executing that plan.”
His schedule was nothing short of chaotic — weights early in the morning, class directly afterwards until team meetings, then a quick bite, practice and the nightly game of homework catch-up. In general, college life can be a strain on student-athletes, but Sherwood said he pulled through.
With an uncanny time management strategy, he attained an academic scholarship his senior year, and is about to earn his master’s in movement and leader sciences, which has already afforded him a job as a sales engineer in Corvallis, just 11 miles from his hometown.
“Chad’s going to be successful in anything he does,” Verlin said. “His is such a great story and it just tells you what kind of person he is and how determined he is.”
Although he’s ecstatic to have a bit of his own cash, the transition out of DI basketball at Idaho won’t be easy. Sherwood said he’s already begun to miss the bond the team had and the fact he’s actually done with his collegiate career hasn’t quite set in yet.
“Being done is a huge change because basketball has always been a part of my life, I’ve been playing all my life,” Sherwood said. “It really hasn’t set in, but when that hits it’ll probably be the biggest downside of the whole thing.”
The upside? The memorable moments, like owning a winning-record over four years against Washington State, supposedly Idaho’s “big brother.”
He said he loved quieting opposing fans during away games — like the shellacking at Western Michigan — the fan appreciation, brotherhood aspect and lessons he said he hopes have been instilled in the younger players.
“A good leader is a person that leads by example, and the example he set every day was second to none, even when he was younger,” Verlin said. “It’s just been an absolute pleasure having him.”
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @coltonclark95