Phillips twins growing in starter roles on Cashmere basketball team

When a fan or coach looks at the Cashmere High School boys basketball roster for the first time and sees the names Sam Phillips and Nate Phillips, they may assume they are brothers.

What they may not realize is the Phillips brothers are twins, a surprise given that they do not look the same.

Twins Sam and Nate Phillips are two of the five starting sophomores on a young Cashmere boys basketball team. 

The Phillips brothers, who started on the team as freshmen, bring athletic ability and experience to this season’s lineup. During their freshmen season, Nate Phillips had to sit out half the season due to injury while Sam Phillips was an All-CTL second-team selection.

Nate Phillips noted there was more pressure for him and his brother going into their sophomore season as the team lost five seniors to graduation.

“There’s a lot more pressure for us to score, play defense and a lot of rebounding,” Nate Phillips added. “We expect a lot, and so do our coaches and everybody. We want to go to state.”

Sam Phillips noted there was extra pressure because one of the graduated seniors was their older brother, Noah Phillips. 

“He was kind of the leader of the team, so this year we’ve had to step up and become leaders,” Sam Phillips added.

The brothers continue to adjust to their roles on the team. One thing that has helped them this season, is playing alongside familiar teammates, including Kittitas transfer and CHS lead scorer Mason Landdeck, who the Phillips have played basketball with since grade school.

The Bulldogs are ranked first in the Caribou Trail League with a 5-0 record and 10-2 overall. The brothers said the season has gone well so far, yet they are going to continue to push forward in the coming weeks.  Nate Phillips added the goal to finish with league and district titles, which will set them up the team for good seeding at the state tournament.

Having extra responsibilities is not new to Sam Phillips, who started growing into a leader when he played quarterback for the Bulldogs football team in the fall. Senior teammates Sam Dotson and Huber Farias have also helped the brothers transition into leaders.

Although they are twins, the brothers do not have a psychic link with each other. However, they sometimes finish each other’s sentences.

Sam Phillips said they do feel a connection with each other, and with their teammates on the court. Nate Phillips attributed this to all of the time the brothers and their teammates have spent in playing together. 

The Phillips brothers played all of the sports they could while growing up. They are both competitive and will push each other to do their best.

“If one of us wants to go to the gym, we'll push the other one to go,” Sam Phillips said.

“During a game if one of us isn’t doing so good, we'll try to pump up each other to play at a higher level,” Nate Phillips added.  

The brothers said Noah Phillips also influenced them by playing the same sports as them, and pushing them to do well.

Bulldogs boys basketball Head Coach Levi Heyen has known Nate and Sam Phillips since they were 8-9 years old. He was their teacher in middle school and has coached them in youth basketball.

“It’s been fun watching them grow as athletes,” Heyen said. “Kids like Nate and Sam are ones you get excited for at a young age. We even had a countdown when they were in eighth grade, and counted down the days until they became high school basketball players.”

Heyen explained the brothers bring different strengths to the team. He described Nate Phillips, who leads the Bulldogs in three-point percentage and is tied for the most three-pointers, as one of the team’s best shooters.

As for Sam Phillips, Heyen said he has grown into a solid point guard, a position he began playing as a freshman. He noted the brothers also have different personalities.

“It’s a fun dynamic in that they’re different on and off the court, but they’re huge contributors to the success of our team,” Heyen said. “They’ve come up with their own specialties. It gives us more balance and makes us a tougher team.”