Dependable, coachable and driven are only a few characteristics Moscow men’s basketball varsity coach Josh Urhrig uses to describe his former accomplished player.
Moscow High School standout Gabe Quinnett will have an opportunity to play for Idaho basketball when he decides to walk on this fall.
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Quinnett, a son of former Washington State legend Brian Quinnett, always had an eye to continue his playing career here in the Palouse. But unlike his father, Gabe wanted his name on the back of the Silver and Gold.
“It has been his goal since his sophomore year,” Urhrig said. “He always has told me that is his goal, and that he wants to play for Idaho.”
This past season, Idaho basketball experienced one of the worst seasons under head coach Don Verlin, and now are in the midst of an exodus of young talent transferring to other schools.
Moscow High School and coach Urhrig have experienced quite the opposite, with a resurgence of power to the program behind the skills and leadership of Quinnett.
Urhrig first caught a glimpse of Quinnett during the summer before his freshman year, saying that his coachability and work ethic is what stood out from the rest, and is something that Urhrig believes is still his biggest strength.
“He never took a day off and he never took a play off,” Urhrig said. “It wasn’t just offense for him. The game is played 90 feet of the floor and he played 90 feet of the floor.”
When Quinnett joined the varsity team his sophomore season, Urhrig realized the potential he could bring for the Bears.
“He was a pretty quiet and shy kid,” Urhrig said. “He didn’t want to overstep any boundaries and sort of played in the shadows and in the background a lot.”
The switch clicked the next season when a bigger role was asked from Quinnett to help continue the growth of a team that just recently made a state tournament appearance.
“He took on a bigger role as just being a leader of the team and was more confident in himself,” Urhrig said. “He started to feel more comfortable and wasn’t afraid of stepping on anybody’s toes anymore.”
During Quinnett’s junior campaign he became the most valuable player in the 4A Inland Empire League, leading the Moscow Bears to their second straight IEL championship and their second straight state tournament appearance.
Quinnett turned it up another level once again going into his senior year, leading Moscow to a 19-5 record, one of the best in school history.
Moscow won the 4A Inland Empire championship for the third consecutive season and made its way to a state tournament appearance once again.
Quinnett finished with MVP honors once again, First Team All-State honors, a regional all-star team selection, and was named the North Idaho 4A/5A Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-4-inch guard simply dominated on both ends of the floor, averaging nearly 22 points a game and eight rebounds per game. Quinnett led the team in both scoring and rebounding for the Bears.
“His impact is going to be felt for years to come,” Urhrig said. “He was a program guy. The younger guys seeing that dedication he had in practice and that mentality that he instilled within our team carries over into program wide.”
Quinnett can be the piece Idaho needs to put the Vandals back on track, and despite it possibly taking time to groom the future walk-on, the coachable and driven mentality Quinnett brings are traits that this program needs.
“I do think that within a couple years he can provide and be a good impact for (Idaho) and help them be successful,” Urhrig said. “He’s so coachable that he’ll do whatever the coaches ask him to do and he’ll put in the work and be where he needs to be.”
Time will tell on what Quinnett can bring to the Idaho program, but if his production in high school says anything the Vandals may have found a future gem for Idaho basketball.
Chris Deremer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cderemer_VN