Kaj Sherman isn't your typical 7-foot post on the basketball court.

For 11 years, he wasn't hard to miss on a hockey rink, either.

Sherman, who grew up in Mercer Island, just outside of Seattle, played on a Washington select hockey team as a defenseman and right wing. After hitting his first growth spurt, he was 6-feet tall in the fifth grade. By sixth grade, he'd grown to 6-4.

"Some of them were a little timid when they saw me," Sherman said. "Others tried to take a shot at me because they wanted to take me down. I don't remember a time when it ended well for them. I was a lot more coordinated because I never had to leave my feet."

By the time he was a freshman at Mercer Island High, his family gave him an ultimatum.

"My family wasn't going to feed me unless I tried out for basketball," Sherman said. "I wasn't big, but I liked to eat, so I gave it a shot."

During his first two seasons, Sherman was unable to crack the varsity lineup.

"We had a phenomenal team that year," Sherman said. "So they just called me a work in progress and I practiced with the varsity and played on JV. My sophomore year, we still had a great team and I played a bunch on JV."

His junior year was cut short by a shoulder separation, in which he needed to have five bolts inserted, along with surgery to correct the problem. He played AAU basketball for the first time.

“Hockey was just as physical, but at that point I had to quit hockey and go play basketball,” Sherman said. “I was being recruited to play hockey at a private school in Minnesota.”

Sherman was even drawing comparisons to St. Louis Blues player Ben Bishop for his size. Bishop is 6-7.

“I was the real deal,” Sherman said. “I was captain of my team 9 of 11 years. I love basketball, but nothing is going to compare to playing hockey. Had I not gotten hurt, I probably would have kept on playing.”

Sherman has helped the NIC men’s basketball team to a 17-1 start. The Cardinals are ranked 10th in the NJCAA.

Sherman is averaging 17.2 minutes a game off the bench, along with 5.7 rebounds per game and 26 blocked shots on the season.

“He’s just a coachable kid,” NIC men’s basketball coach Jared Phay said. “He’s a very intelligent kid. He absorbs everything you say. If you tell him something once, he gets it.”

“The start was a little rough for me,” Sherman said. “I’m still used to having a hockey mentality on the court.”

Last Saturday against Southern Idaho, Sherman felt a little more comfortable on the court.

“Against CSI and also in high school, when I messed up and got fouls called on me, I knew I’d have to sit out the rest of the game,” Sherman said. “In hockey, if I did that — I’d just have to sit two minutes in the penalty box and I’m back in the game.”

NIC plays its next five games on the road.

Men: NIC takes the court for the first time as a visiting team in the SWAC on Friday at Eastern Utah (13-4, 1-2) in Price before traveling to Colorado Northwestern (5-11, 0-3) in Rangley, Colo., on Saturday.

“It’s always tough on the road in our league,” Phay said. “We’ve got to respect the fact we’re going to their place. It’s definitely been a challenge for us.”

Eastern Utah is coming off losses at Snow and Salt Lake last weekend.

“They’ll definitely be hungry for a win,” Phay said. “We’re just anxious to get on the road. Colorado Northwestern always scares us because that’s a game we should win, but it always scares you as a coach.”

Women: In the eight years as women’s coach at NIC, Chris Carlson believes this weekend’s trip to Price and Rangely may be the toughest one yet.

Eastern Utah (11-7, 3-0) is currently tied for first place in the SWAC after winning at Snow and Salt Lake last weekend.

“They’ve been taking it on the road and playing well,” Carlson said. “They’ve been playing some good ball.”

Sophomore guard Priscilla Santos currently leads the nation in scoring at 31.4 points per game.

“She’s built like Kama Griffitts and is really athletic and can score,” said Carlson of Santos. “She really gives them a nice punch.”

NIC (14-2, 3-0) faces Colorado Northwestern (9-8, 0-3) on Saturday.

“Colorado Northwestern has more wins than they’ve had in a long time,” Carlson said. “This could be our toughest swing through those schools that we’ve seen in eight years.”