School Of Mines Star With Unique Name Has Equally Unique Game

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - It's been another stellar season for the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team. The Orediggers finished the regular season 23-3, RMAC co-champions, and well on their way to a Division II tournament berth.

The Orediggers' best player, Gokul Natesan, is the son of Indian immigrants and the first member of his family ever to play basketball. His first name is a traditional Hindu name.

"Gokul is the birth place of a god, so it's a location. It's like a holy location; it's very spiritual," Natesan said.

His game is equally unique.

"I think his biggest strength, he's so competitive, and he's got the quickest set of hands. He'll pick your pocket and you won't even know it," head coach Pryor Orser said. "His hand speed is the quickest hands I've ever seen."

He's all arms and legs -- a gangly 6-foot-5 sophomore guard who happens to lead the School of Mines in scoring.

Natesan had six 3-pointers and 25 points against Chadron a couple weeks ago. There aren't many shooting guards like him, and especially not many who speak fluent Tamil. He grew up in Northern California, but his parents emigrated from India to chase the American dream. Little did they know their only son would be chasing a basketball.

"My dad loved basketball. He lived in Detroit for a little bit … and he started watching the Bad Boys, Pistons … then he started putting me through it," Natesan said. "I basically grew up with a mini hoop."

Orsor got one look at him in high school and saw a perfect fit.

"Obviously he had a perfect math score, he wanted engineering, something computer science," Orsor said. "He had length, he had stats, and he was in California. So I went and saw him play … there were so many things I liked about him, I chased him around every game -- and he turned us down the first year."

But not for long -- Natesan eventually came around. He's now fluent in basketball, Tamil and computers. Natesan is scheduled to graduate in three years with a degree in computer sciences. Most School of Mines students require five years.

"My GPA right now is a 3.8 here," he said.

"That's upsetting, isn't it?" CBS4's Vic Lombardi asked him.

"A little bit," Natesan replied with a laugh.

"One of the things that you -- when you recruit -- kids from India or that culture -- is the parents will do anything and everything for their kid to succeed," Orsor said. "Whatever they set their eyes on, their parents will do anything in their power for their child to do what they want to do."

"In high school, my mom was, 'The grades, you've got to get good grades … the SATs.' But now when she calls me she never asks me about my grades. She doesn't even know my grades. My mom talks to me about basketball and my nutrition," Natesan said. "That's the biggest thing. She wants me to do basketball as long as I can."

The Orediggers are the No. 2 seed in the RMAC tournament and will host Adams State on Tuesday. Metro State got the top seed and will host Colorado Christian.