He came to North Idaho College because he wanted a chance to learn how to lead.

In his time in the backcourt for the Cardinals, 5-foot-9 sophomore Michael Hale not only learned how to lead - he guided the NIC program to heights they'd never seen and learned how to be accountable both on and off the court.

Hale was recruited out of Federal Way (Wash.) High after his team won the state 4A boys basketball championship with a 62-54 win over Garfield of Seattle at the Tacoma Dome in 2009.

"Out of high school, there weren't many teams looking at him," NIC men's basketball coach Jared Phay said. "He had a lot of those same teams interested that were after him this year."

Those teams included Creighton, Montana, Portland State, Hawaii and the University of Texas-San Antonio.

At Federal Way, his team finished 28-2. Also on that team were Jeffrey Forbes, who went on to play at Eastern Washington University and Isiah Umipig, who is playing at Cal State Fullerton.

"We had a great group of guys from that team," Hale said.

Coming to NIC from Federal Way, Hale admitted he was a little nervous filling the shoes of Melvin Jones, who went on to play at Portland State. But Hale jumped into the starting lineup, which featured 10 sophomores in the 2009-10 season.

"Following Melvin, there were some high expectations coming in," Hale said. "Whatever I had to do, whether it was play defense or get the ball inside, I did it. Whatever it took to win."

Hale wasn't big on Phay's list at first, but thanks to assistant coach Corey Symons, wound up at NIC.

"Coach Phay wasn't too big on my size," Hale said. "Coach Corey was always talking about the way I played and not worried about my height."

"Nobody is fond of a player at his height at first," Symons said. "It took a little bit of talking to Phay, but once that happened, he fell in love with him."

Hale developed a friendship with Symons after arriving in Coeur d'Alene.

"First thing is he helped me develop as a person," Hale said. "He'd stress to me to take responsibility as a person, both on and off the court. We'd go into the gym and have some shooting games to practice. Coach Corey is a great shooter also."

The two could also be found at high school basketball games around the area.

"I was always going to games with him, checking out some of the local talent," Hale said. "I'll miss him as a person. He was always a funny guy.

He always knew when to joke and when to get serious. He's a really cool person."

Symons kept Hale on track in the classroom.

"He was always on me about my schoolwork," Hale said. "He had all my passwords for my classes so he could see my grades and that I was turning all my assignments in. He was always supporting me on and off the court."

"Mike's a great kid," Symons said. "It wasn't that hard to keep him on the right track. He'd do what we told him to do and has been on track the entire time he's been here. He works just as hard in the classroom as he did on the court."

As a sophomore, Hale averaged 17.9 points, four assists, two steals and four rebounds a game for NIC, which fell to eventual NJCAA champion Southern Idaho in the Region 18 tournament semifinals.

"I tried to become more of a leader this year," Hale said. "When I came here two years ago, there were plenty of sophomores to lead the team on the floor. After they left, I stepped into a bigger role and as a sophomore, my job was to be a leader on the floor. Whatever I've had to do and needed to do. They're a great group of guys. It was a great year and I couldn't have asked for better teammates."

Following the season, Hale began the process of finding another school after graduation from NIC

Of those, it was the visit to San Antonio that drew Hale in.

"I came real close to signing with Creighton," Hale said. "But after going to San Antonio, it felt right to go there. My next stop was going to be Montana, but after visiting in Texas - it was an easy decision."

Hale added the process became a little hectic.

"At first it was a little overwhelming," Hale said. "It's really nice to be looked at and to be wanted. Going into it, I had pretty high expectations. The campus is in a beautiful place."

UTSA qualified for the NCAA tournament and fell to tournament top seed Ohio State in the second round 75-46 in Cleveland. The team returns four starters - with the lone exception being at point guard.

"On the day of my visit, it was cloudy," Hale said. "They told me they hated that I came out on a bad day - but it was still 80 degrees out. I've got a chance to play right away."

"It's a good fit for him," Phay said. "Michael really didn't get caught up in the size of the program or what school it was - he found the best fit for him."

Hale was named second-team NJCAA All-American both seasons at NIC and the Cardinals held the top spot in the NJCAA polls for much of December.

"His influence has been huge for us," Phay said. "It makes your job as coach a lot easier when you have a good point guard. When it comes down to it, I'll probably miss everything he did for us and his presence on the court. He was unbelievable and always does what you want him to."

"The point guard is like our quarterback on offense," Symons said. "He's like a third coach on the court. Trying to find someone to replace him will be difficult. He was such a leader that once he stepped up, he had a coach's mentality on the floor. He had that will to win, but that's one thing you're born with. Michael hated to lose and was going to do anything to try and get us a 'W'. He did a good job of staying out of trouble off the court and because he's so quick on the court, it made him fun to watch."

When approaching the recruiting process, Hale reached out to some of his former teammates to get advice.

"They told me to make sure you get along with everyone," Hale said. "The most important thing was they told me to have fun on my visits. My family was also a big part of my decision to leave."

Of taking his game to the Division I level, Hale said he's prepared for the adjustment.

"There's always going to be nerves," Hale said. "I want to go there and impress. I'm just going to go and do what I need to fit in."

"Michael's a great kid," Symons said. "We're going to miss him around here."