Courting a dream

Hoop dreams die hard.

A couple of years ago, John Nonemacher - 23 years old, working as a hotel clerk and staying at his parents' Kalispell home - was pondering his next life move.

"I really had nothing to do," he said.

He decided he wasn't yet ready to let go of his basketball vision.

So, he sent out e-mails - 30 in all - to college basketball coaches around the country.

Nonemacher explained he was in his early 20s and while he had no organized basketball experience, his main selling point was an attribute coaches can't teach.

He told them all he was 6-foot-10 and he had a twin brother who matched him inch for inch.

He got five responses.

"That was a little disheartening," he said.

Two of the five who bothered to write back were along the lines of 'what are you doing?'

But three schools, University of Wisconsin-Stout, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Washington college, expressed interest.

"It was kind of the dorkiest e-mail," recalled Wisconsin-Stout head coach Eddie Frist.

But it's Frist's policy to leave no stone unturned when it comes to possible talent.

"I always respond to every e-mail I get," he said.

"We'd love to take a look at you," he told the Nonemachers.

Frist actually figured the twins, while very tall, wouldn't be able to dribble and chew gum at the same time.

But he wanted to see for himself.

"Wisconsin-Stout e-mailed every day for two weeks," John said.

"Every day was a new question. They actually kind of annoyed me into going."

That's when he let brother Jacob in on his dream.

Jacob wasn't interested. He'd gotten past the college idea.

"I had a job. I had a girlfriend. I was pretty happy with where I was," he said. "I was good. I didn't need anything."

"I made him come out, drive over. It took like an hour until he said 'this is kind of neat,'" John said.

The first thing Blue Devil coaches noticed was the Nonemachers aren't 6-10. They are 7-0.

"No matter what measuring stick you use," John said.

"They've got two really great abilities. They're 7-foot tall and they're athletic," Frist said.

"Right away, John and Jacob had good athletic ability, nice touch on the ball, soft hands. They could play defense, they could move their feet," Frist said.

"From there on, it was hugs," John smiled.

"Once their game gets really solid, once they get better at the game, they're going to be tough," the coach said.

"They still make mistakes they just can't make," he went on to say.

"But it's a work in progress. They just continue to develop. It's a matter of them developing their basketball skills and their maturity skills. It's a real pleasure to coach them.

"Their best basketball is ahead of them."

That's gotten the attention of professional teams overseas as well as an NBA scout or two.

Which is all very interesting, when you consider the second half of the Nonemacher story.

"It's a good story, no doubt about it," Frist said.

As juniors, they were cut from the Flathead Brave boys basketball team.

"We were only 6-8, so apparently we were four inches shy of making the cut," John joked.

"Coach had his system, had his team. We just couldn't put the year-round effort into it," he hastened to add.

"Just one of those things. It was on both sides."

Being cut didn't keep them off the court.

"We always played in high school - just never on the team," John said.

City league basketball was always available. And there was always the FHS gym.

"We used to walk around the gym and pull on every door," Jacob admitted.

There was always at least one unlocked.

Those one-on-one sessions in Flathead's darkened gym sometimes lasted hours.

"That's all I needed. I was a happy boy," John said.

They had no hard feelings toward the Flathead coaches or the basketball program, both brothers hasten to say.

"I still root for them and I still follow the Braves online," John said.

"I wasn't even bitter then," Jacob said.

"We just figured that was it. We just tried out out of the blue. We were behind," he said.

"We didn't know enough to know better. We didn't know the system," John agreed.

First-year Flathead coach Kent Leiss stopped John in the hallway the next year, but by that time, John wasn't interested.

The only one with hurt feelings was Micki Nonemacher, the twins' mom.

Height runs in the family - dad Thomas was 6-6 at one point in his life and Micki has a 6-6 brother as well.

Her twins weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce and 7 pounds, 11 ounces and were each 22 inches long at birth.

"It was always my dream (to be a basketball mom), from the time I gave birth to them," she said.

"(Their being cut) was kind of a heartbreak for me," she said.

They're in no danger of that these days.

Not only is the town of Menomonie, Wis., in love with the twins, but Jacob Nonemacher is a preseason All-American candidate and the Blue Devils are in a position to do well in their conference - and nationally.

"They're excellent young men. They really have done an excellent job in our community," Frist said. "They're great people. Everybody loves them."

"They've really made you a part of their family," Micki Nonemacher told her sons. "I have to admit, I love it."

Micki loves listening to Blue Devil games online.

"The radio guys sometimes talk to me," she smiled.

"It's just a dream come true. Every game is a miracle for me, win or lose," Micki added.

"It wasn't a financial dream. That's for sure," Jacob said.

There's no scholarship involved - John and Jacob are getting through college the traditional way - loans.

Ironically, John hasn't gotten much playing time over the past two years. He injured his wrist before his first year and suffered back spasms last year.

But the Blue Devil coaches have big plans for the year ahead.

"You can play them together," Frist said. "That would be a wonderful situation to be in."

"Coach and I have talked this summer about the last two years and how disappointing they were," John said.

"I've been feeling really well this year," he said.

Division III basketball is a big deal in the Midwest - and especially in Menomonie.

"Stout basketball is the biggest thing there," John said.

The Blue Devils were ranked 18th nationally a year ago, but they return all but two members.

"We've got good chemistry, great coaches. We're really excited about this year," John said.

The message the Nonemachers hope to give high school athletes - appreciate the game and know there are options other than Division I.

"I don't think (kids) think (Div. III is) an option. But it is," Jacob said.

"There's a lot of other schools than the Montana Grizzlies."

"I learned a lot from our dad about dreams," John said.

"If you never chase it, you never know. I'm still young enough, I can chase it. If nothing else, I got a college education."