Since 1976, the Lakota Nation Invitational has been the top high school basketball invitational in South Dakota. What started as purely a basketball event, the LNI now consists of everything from cultural and academic events to a multiple arts and crafts competitions as well. The action on the court, though, still drives fans, players, and schools to Rapid City each December for this annual event.
Bryan Brewer, Dani Walking Eagle, and Laura Big Crow joined the program to talk about the creation and evolution of the Lakota Nation Invitational.
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Bryan Brewer - LNI President/Founder
Bryan, I know there were tense times back in the early '70s here in South Dakota but you decided to start the LNI. What was going on at that time?
Back in the '70s, I was coaching at Pine Ridge. Dave Archambault was out at Little Wound. And one of the things is that we're all Indian coaches and had been concerned about our teams and we were having a very difficult time of getting games. No one wanted Pine Ridge teams to come to their home court no matter where they were. Of course, they didn't want to come to Pine Ridge reservation to play us. They were afraid of violence and things like that.
So that's how we started with the LNI. We were visiting and Dave Archambault said, "Bryan, why don't you let us see if you can get a tournament for a couple years? Maybe we can get some games on the schedule." So I said, "Okay. I'll try." So I contacted some Indian schools in Topeka, Kansas, Olathe, Kansas, [inaudible 00:02:21] Nebraska and started talking to them and see if they would be willing to come to Pine Ridge. And they all said, "Yes. We'll come to Pine Ridge." So that started our first tournament. We had our first tournament in 1976. We had eight teams. Then we had a second year there.
But I tell you what, the place, our gym, seated about 1200 people and we were packed the first day. There was just so many people there. But after two years, they just couldn't do it there anymore. The fire marshal was on our case. People would come there early in the morning and ask if they could put their coats somewhere on the bleachers, so they'd have a place to sit. But it was really exciting. I mean it was a small gym, so it was exciting, standing room only. I mean there was people standing all around the court and everything. People loved it. But it was decided that Pine Ridge was too small.
The Rapid City Civic Center was brand new, just opened up. And so the All-Indian Tournament moved to Rapid City and that was their first basketball game ever held in the Civic Center and that's where we've been ever since. I think this will be our 44th year coming up.
I really feel bad for our seniors, who won't have the opportunity to play their last year. Hopefully, this is something that we can get going again. I know we can. We're planning on expanding it next year. We've had 16 boys teams and 16 girls teams.
Next year, we're going to go to 24 boys and 24 girls teams. So we are going to grow because the Civic Center has expanded with a building of the new Monument. The Monument will be finished. So we will play the first basketball in The Monument also.
We're looking forward to it. We're going to add some more events right now. The Civic Center right now is just ... We couldn't do much more because we outgrew it. But with the addition of The Monument, we'll be able to add more events, do some different things. So we're looking forward to that right now.
When you were talking to the community of Pine Ridge that you wanted to put this tournament together, was there some reservations about it or were they all in knowing exactly what you wanted to do for the kids?
My reservation group was all for it. We had some of the other reservations, they were for it too because they were having the same problems we were. Rosebud, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, they were having the same problems. The big problem was working Pine Ridge though. That's where everything was centered around.
Yeah, yeah. It was terrible times. It wasn't just Pine Ridge reservation. It was all the reservations suffered because of this. So when we got the tournament moved to Rapid City, most of the Indian schools they wanted to be there. And this is about the time that Larry Luitjens was at ... He was coaching at Custer. And even though all of the problems that we were having on the reservation, Larry came to Pine Ridge to play ball. And it was really something.
Larry Luitjens was a huge supporter, wasn't he?
Yeah, yeah. He played Red Cloud. He played at Pine Ridge. He played all the Indian schools. I know there was a lot of pressure put on him for ... some probably from his community. But Larry said, "Well, it comes down to basketball." He said, "I just want to play the best team." And we felt that way also. There was a point where Larry won the tournament, the All-Indian tournament. He won it four years in a row.
Yeah. And there was some pressure on me. You're letting those non-Indian schools coming in and they're winning all the tournaments and they're taking it away from our kids and things like that.
It all boiled down to competition. Wasn't it?
Yeah, right. We got all the coaches together, all the Indian schools together. We said, "All right. We're getting a lot of pressure here. Custer's on a roll. None of you can beat them. Do you want them out of the tournament or what?" They all said, "No. We want them in the tournament. Playing Custer makes us a better team."
Are you surprised where it's at today how much it has grown?
It's grown so much. It was the All-Indian Tournament. Then one year we were in Rapid City getting ready to the tournament and Chuck Cuny and I ... Chuck was the principal at Red Cloud and both of us were running the tournament. The tournament was started because of the racism. He said, "Let's change our name to the Lakota Nation Invitational and invite non-Indian schools and start reconciliation." This was right after Tim Giago and Governor Mickelson started that Year of Reconciliation. So he said, "That's what we want to do. We want to stop the racism. We want our children to get along. We want to educate our children, Indian and non-Indian children that we're all brothers and sisters." So we changed the name to the Lakota Nation Invitational, so we could invite non-Indian teams.
But it grew from there. We went from eight teams to 12 teams. Now, we're 16 boys teams and 16 girls teams. We added wrestling. We started out with wrestling. Now, we have wrestling. We have cross country. We have volleyball. We have a big volleyball tournament in end of September, first of October. We do our cross country then.
And then we do cultural events now. We do academic events. We have a big knowledge, little competition in junior high and high school ... participate in a knowledge bowl competition. They have a poetry slam that has really picked up. People love that. We have an art show that we started. It's a full day art show with artwork from not only the Indian schools but whoever would like to bring from other schools. They're invited also.
We have a business plan competition, which is really great. We actually had a couple high school students with their business plans actually start businesses. That is something.
One of the things that ... The Lakota language, we have a big fear of us losing it. We now have Lakota Language Bowl where the schools, elementary schools, junior high, they come in. They compete against each other in our Lakota language. So that has taken off. One of the big surprises is we started an archery competition and that is really big. I didn't realize it would be that big.
When did you first start adding these other events?
About five years after we started, I asked Chuck Cuny. I said, "Chuck, we ought to start wrestling." He was a hard-core basketball fan. He said, "No way. We're basketball. We're not ..." But it took a couple years talking to Chuck. He finally said, "Okay, Bryan. Do your wrestling." We had our first wrestling tournament. But it was really great for our wrestlers. Once we started the All-Indian Tournament, the number of boys that went out for wrestling just doubled in most of our Indian schools. We had the finals on Saturday night right before the finals of the basketball tournament. The lights go out. The lights are centered on the wrestlers. And it's really exciting. So it really grew. I'm so glad we did it.
How many kids are involved in the LNI? In all of the events that goes on, how many kids are involved?
Last year we had close to 3,000 students participating in all of our activities.
And what does it mean for them? I mean we know that in football we'll have ... There's the Presidents Bowl in Sioux Falls. There's the Rushmore Bowl in Rapid City. There's the Hub Bowl in Aberdeen. A lot of the coaches talk about ... a lot of these kids they get so excited because of that one event, because it is the largest crowd that they may ever play in front of. What about the LNI? What does it mean for these kids?
Well, our girls basketball championship game ... there's more people there than any state tournament championship. So our girls basketball championship game is bigger than any of the state tournaments as far as people there to watch them. It's a chance for our children to leave the reservation. They go to Rapid City for four or five days. They compete. They get to do everything normal [inaudible 00:11:52] getting off the reservation. The big thing there is they're meeting new kids from other places. They're meeting Indian kids, non-Indian kids. I feel it's really good for them.
And it's more than just basketball now. It's like every year it's a big family reunion. It's the only time I see a lot of people is once a year at the tournament. It's the only event that brings the whole [inaudible 00:12:19] together. All of the Lakota, Dakota, [inaudible 00:12:23] it's the only event that brings everybody together with not only basketball but the tribes. All the tribes, they have their meetings there. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, the federal government, they come in. They have their meetings there during LNI also. There's a lot of people there. There's a big educational conference that goes along with the LNI. So it's thousands of people there that come to Rapid City and participate in it. It's more than just basketball now.
You had to make this a nonprofit organization. What did you have to put that together? Because you have 15, 20 people on the staff that work on this LNI tournament.
When we started it, it was just run out of our school activity account, money-wise and everything like that. But it just got too big. I still run it. My wife ran it. Pretty soon it was just too big.
We can't do it. We created a board of directors. We now have a board of directors that runs LNI. Chuck Wilson, he is the president. He's the athletic director at Todd County. He's been our president for a number of years now. Danny Walking Eagle, she is our secretary. She handles everything. And then we have seven board members who ... What we did is we got ... It started out with the five schools that have been with the tournament since the beginning. A lot of schools would come in. They'd stay a couple years then they'd leave. Then they'd come back. But we got the board with the schools that have been real loyal to the tournament, so that's where our board of directors comes from. Then they added a couple members at large. So right now I believe there's nine board members. All the board members are connected with one of the Indian schools. They're either coaches, athletic directors, superintendents, principals. Those are the people that sit on our board.
Who are the five original schools?
Pine Ridge, Red Cloud, Little Wound, Crazy Horse, St. Francis. Those are the original five.
Where can this go? Where can it go? We know you're going to add more teams with basketball. But what is the vision? What's the future do you think of the LNI?
This is something that we really talk about. Our goal is to get as many students to participate as possible. Like we said not everyone plays basketball and we'd like to showcase all of our students. We have some amazing students who were doing a lot of different things. We feel that LNI is an opportunity to showcase them, to let our tribe honor those students. There are educators who are doing these things.
It's also we like to use it as a time for healing. We have a lot of things that we'd like to do or could be our future there also. We're doing a lot of healing with our students and our people on the reservations with all of the trauma and things [inaudible 00:15:51] that they continue to go through with drugs and alcohol, things like that, the abuse. There's a lot of things that we would like to do. We just have to do it. Us older guys, we're getting old now, Jesse Mendoza and all of us. A couple years [inaudible 00:16:09] 40 years might be a good time to retire. Jesse said, "Well, let's see if we can make it to 50." Yeah.
Bryan, you coached Pine Ridge back in the '70s. Give me at least one event that you remember the most, whether coaching or watching an LNI basketball event?
I've been asked that many times and it's so difficult to do, Craig. We've had so many great basketball players. We've had so many great games. If I think of one game, it was when our smaller school Lower Brule beat St. Thomas More in the championship.
That was probably one of the most exciting games I've ever seen. And it was kind of like a Hoosier game, a smaller school playing one of the bigger ones, one of the big powerhouses and winning. You have to give credit to all of the kids from St. Thomas More and Lower Brule. But we've had so many good games there that ... and great players, boys and girls.
The Activities Association wanted to get a member of the Native American schools on there, a great idea. Is it getting better? Is the relationship getting better on the kids from the native schools involved with high school athletics?
I really believe it is. I really believe it is, Craig. And I think we got to give a ... We couldn't have moved on without Wayne Carney, the executive director of the High School Activity Association. None of this would have happened without him. He really pushed for it. Now, on every sport we have a ... we have an Indian ... we're on every advisory board. For all of the sports, we're participating. So it's a lot better than what it was [inaudible 00:19:06]. Things have changed. We'll always have our difficulties, Craig. Our struggles and everything of trying to get these things but things are a lot better. I see us communicating with each other now. We have our new executive director. He is working with the Indian schools also.
So we're really trying to work together. We're trying to make it better for our children, not only for our Indian children but for all of the children in the state. We always say, "We're more alike than we are different." But sometimes that's a ... people have a hard time understanding that, that we are all brothers and sisters, and our Lakota children, we are citizens of the state of South Dakota. Sometimes they don't think we are but we are. We're citizens of the state. Our children have the same goals as every other child. We just hope the best for all of our children.
Dani Walking Eagle - LNI Secretary
It was in the mid '80s when the Lakota Nation Invitational added the girls tournament to this huge event out west. You were one of the first to start playing in that tournament.
Yes. Exactly. So my senior year was when it started in 1984/85. So we were able to ... under Mr. Jones, he was our coach, we played against Alex "Red" Prue's team in the first championship in Little Wound. We lost by two points in the championship game when I was a senior.
The tournament started in '76 with boys basketball. Of course, it has exploded to a number of other events. As someone who just maybe watched the boys play, what did it mean to you to watch the LNI grow to where it is today?
Well, for me, to see the boys be able to play and then going from Pine Ridge onto the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center ... Before we got to be in the tournament, I was a cheerleader. So I would cheer just to be able to go to watch the tournament, because it is and ... was and is the premiere tournament for a lot of reservations and for Native Americans. I mean that is the tournament that everyone wants to be a part of and to participate in. So it means a lot for any ... I think anyone native or non-native. But, for natives, it's like our state tournament. And then it's just a gathering of nations of teams, all the top talent on the reservations and off the reservations to come together for an event like that and just to feel ... for instance, to see the other talent that you would never get to see during your schedules in your high schools.
Those great years in the mid '80s when the girls basketball tournament was started, you played in Eagle Butte. You didn't play in Rapid City right away. What was that right?
No. They did not move to Rapid City until later on. So it moved from Pine Ridge to Eagle Butte and then as soon as people started ... the board itself started saying, "You know what? We need to make it equitable. We need to make sure that what we do for the boys, we do for the girls." So they decided to do it simultaneously running it up in Rapid City. I can't remember what year that was. They made the move and the board was really good about that.
If I remember it was the late '70s, like '79, because that's when the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center opened up. I believe the LNI was the ... one of the first events held in Rapid City.
It was. The boys team when they moved from Pine Ridge because it had just got too big ... And back then it was called the All-Indian Tournament. It was eight teams. When it moved to Rapid City, it was still All-Indian. It didn't make the move to the Lakota Nation Invitational but it did open up the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. I think that's such a great thing because we were told that get to open The Monument next year. Yeah, next year too.
Looking at how we were going to manage that, how we were going to just get the teams. That's not going to be a problem. We always have a waiting list of teams that want to be in. Everyone wants to be in it from different states even. So it's just a matter of how we're going to manage it within the dates that we have so that we can make sure that everyone gets time in The Monument or ... Everything was about Barnett before and the ice arena, that kind of thing. Then we have gyms all around Rapid City. So it's just going to a matter of scheduling.
You played with St. Francis and then decided to get into coaching. What did you do right after high school to get you into the coaching aspect of basketball?
I was recruited up to the University of Mary in Bismarck for volleyball because our teams at St. Francis ... We had a history and legacy of championship teams at St. Francis. So I was able to play on our '84, '85 ... those teams that went made it to the state tournament in volleyball. And that was my doorway to college level. So I played with the University of Mary in Bismarck for the years that I was up there. And then I graduated in '89 and came back to St. Francis to teach and then to coach.
And, of course, "Red" Prue was still there at St. Francis. You guys won the LNI in 1996. What was that year like?
That was a phenomenal year. We were 22 and 0 going into the state tournament. We were number one seat. So we just had a phenomenal team. Of course, going into the tournament itself, it was just fantastic. I mean that year was just one of the highlights of my coaching career at St. Francis and working with Alex "Red" Prue.
What are the kids saying? What are the kids doing in preparation for playing in the LNI? Because it is most likely the largest event that they will play a ball game in front of, even bigger than the state tournament.
There's excitement. There's electricity in the air. There's the fact that you're going to see your friends that you made of other teams, but also that you get to play on the big court in the Barnett. So we make sure that there's equity there between girls and boys getting into the Barnett. The anticipation is there. Everyone's game is stepping up. You've got the best teams from all over the state. You've got the best teams from every reservation. There's just a lot of electricity in the air.
You have spent your whole adult life in education. You were the principal at St. Francis. And, now, you're with the Oglala Lakota County School. What has that change been like for you going from St. Francis over to the Oglala Lakota County School?
I think with the new high school that opened up there ... They just opened the Lakota Tech High School, a technical career high school. I saw that the district was innovative. They were going in an area where student interests and student needs were going to be served. After 30 years at St. Francis, it was just a huge change because being principal there's a lot of different stresses that you have to deal with. And I think I just needed a little bit of time away from that. So going into the federal program and then getting to work with principals, getting to work on the financial side, the whole finance side of it, just agrees with me because all my training is as a superintendent/principal/teacher. So everything that I've learned at St. Francis I was able to actively bring into what I do over there. But I just see that the district is on the rise. Their high school just opened up and there are already almost 400 high school students in that technical high school.
What did basketball and coaching ... how did that prepare you to become a principal?
Well, of course, it was about empathy and teamwork and problem solving. So doing those kinds of things as a principal, I was able to just know what the students were going through, going ... to be able just to get on that court or just to get to school. I grew up in St. Francis too, so being able to bring that experience to my principalship and have that empathy and just know where I needed to appropriate my dollars so that I could make any obstacles that athletes had go away so that we could, number one, get them in the classroom and then, number two, support them in their athletic endeavors.
Well and in your time that you have available, you're also on the Lakota Nation Invitation board. You serve as the secretary. Where do you see the LNI going down the road? What's the future?
We've been discussing it. I also run the LNI volleyball tournaments. So I run a 16 team volleyball tournament in September. We did our 25th year last year.
Yes. Because volleyball is the sport that I went to college in. I had the chance to play college basketball but at the time I just wanted to make sure that I concentrated on one sport and then just getting through college, so that I wasn't overwhelming myself. But, to me, I see it growing bigger. We have the three gyms that we're going to be able to utilize, and then during that time, I do the vendors. I run the vendors for the LNI tournament.
So we're just going to continue to grow. We're bringing in esports as another event. So we're looking at not only athletics but academics because not everyone is an athlete. So we try to bring in events that will work with all the students so that everyone in the high school or the middle school is participating in something during LNI. That they're all part it, so that they can become part of our family.
Give me one game as a player that you remember the most, who you went up against, maybe you won, maybe you lost. Give me one memory that just sticks out in the back of your mind.
The LNI championship against Little Wound, our team against Alex "Red" Prue's team. It was controversial because the clock was running and our coach wasn't paying attention. So they had to put time back in because it ran out but the clock was running during a call. The outcome could have been so different between us and Little Wound. We ended up losing by two points. But because of I think "Red" Prue being able to be more persuasive, they put the time up back.
You coached, played against "Red" Prue and you won a championship with "Red" Prue. What was that relationship like between you two?
Yes. I've always looked up to him at first as my coach and then as a mentor. And then coming out to college and then being able to coach with him, learning a lot from him just in the way he prepares an athlete, the way he brings a team together, and the way he makes them believe that they can do anything they want as long as they become a family and they look out for one another. Those were some of the great ideals that I learned from him. And then because we were that '96 team coming out, we were the... That's what got us both started in administration. We both became assistant principals after in '98. And then I think we just took the next step into that and then started our master's program for administration at that time. So I always thought I was just going to be a teacher and coach. That's what I went to college for. And then I got talked into doing that and vetted for it and interviewed for that and then finished a master's degree to get certified.
Laura Big Crow - Lakota Tech (Coach)
As a kid, you knew of the LNI. What did you think of the Lakota Nation Tournament even before you even got into high school?
Well, it's huge for us, especially down here on the reservation. I mean it's like the big show, the big dance, the big tournament. You can't wait to play in it until you're old enough.
Who did you look up to during that time?
A lot of people, I guess, anybody who played for Pine Ridge, for sure. I just I always wanted to be [inaudible 00:37:11] so any team, any girl that played for Pine Ridge, I guess, any athlete. My brother was in high school when I was in middle school, so I followed the boys team a lot. He's just been my inspiration.
Well, eventually, you got to play in the LNI. What was that experience like? You played, what, two or three years in the LNI. What was that whole experience like for you?
I loved it, the crowd, the size of the court, the intensity. I mean just everything about it is just an amazing experience. I played four years in LNI. So it's just an amazing experience being on the court in front of all of the people and the announcers and ... It's just a nice spotlight.
You went off to Williston State after you played for Pine Ridge, after high school. And then you were at Mayville state. That's where I saw you play. You played the University of Sioux Falls one year and I was doing USF Cougar basketball games at the time. But when did you decide that, you know what, I want to be a basketball coach, I want to be a teacher and maybe go back to Pine Ridge and be that mentor?
I've loved basketball for as long as I can remember. I couldn't even recall when. I just always knew that I wanted to play. And, I guess, once I got to college and I realized, hey, it eventually is going to end, I wanted to keep basketball in my life. And that's when I decided I knew I wanted to coach. I knew I wanted to come back to the reservation and coach and I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I mean, I guess, once I started getting ready for college is when I really decided that that's what I wanted to do with my life.
You coached in the LNI. You were a runner up first before you won the championship. What was it like that first time as a coach? You're in the championship game. You're taking on Cheyenne-Eagle Butte. Unfortunately, you lost though that year. What were your feelings at that time?
I was so excited for my girls. I mean the reason I coached for one is so that they can experience what I have already experienced. So I mean that feeling that I had for them to be able to be in the big game and play in front of all those people is just pretty much indescribable. I was so excited for them and just really proud. They did really well that year.
Well, you were runner up to Cheyenne-Eagle Butte but you got it back. That next year you go back in the championship game and you beat them. In fact, you won the next two years. What was it like actually winning a tournament that you played in as a high schooler?
It was great. It was an amazing feeling. I talked to Bryan Brewer constantly about when I first started coaching about wanting to come and win LNI. It was an amazing experience winning it for two years. There's no other feeling like it. It's almost like you won the state tournament that happens at the beginning of the season.
A couple of titles at the LNI and now a new adventure for you, Lakota Tech, public high school there, what, in Pine Ridge. What was that like in the decision for you to go to Lakota Tech?
Lakota Tech's a part of the Oglala Lakota County School district. And that's where I came from. I came from Wolf Creek Elementary School. That's where I went to school my entire life until I transferred to Pine Ridge for high school. It's almost like coming home. I mean I grew up next door to Wolf Creek School. My mom lives next door. I would have went to high school here if we had it when I was younger. So I mean it's almost like coming home and just living my dream still coaching and teaching.
Who was a coach or two that really influenced you, Laura, to be the kind of coach that you are?
Well, Dusty LeBeau, for starters, has been a huge part of my coaching career. I started coaching under him. I played for him. He's just been a real mentor all throughout these 12 years. And then, I guess, both of my college coaches, I stay in touch with both of them on the regular. I played for a lot of coaches who loved basketball and that's why I do it because I love the game so much. So they've inspired me to try and help other girls love the game just as much as I do.
What kind of a mentor role are you for your basketball team, even off the court at Lakota Tech, how you did it when you were at Pine Ridge? What kind of a mentor role did you play for those girls, who were not out or maybe those that didn't play basketball as a teacher?
Now, my girls call me Momma Laura, which means I'm getting older. But I like to think that to be a big sister, a mother type to a lot of the girls that I coach. It's more than basketball for me. Of course, I love it and I want them to be successful but I always want them to be successful afterwards in the classroom. The teacher part comes out. I'm a mom so the mom part comes out. I want to make sure everybody's fed and happy and mentally well. So, I guess, I mean just having someone in their corner at all times no matter what, that's really what I want to do.
Tell us about Pine Ridge, Lakota Tech and the challenges that you have to face every day with your kids.
I'm so excited that these kids are getting the opportunity to play. We're the only school on the reservation currently playing basketball. It's tough. I'm practicing in pods, so I only have 10 girls at a time. So that's a huge challenge for us as a team and myself as a coach to not have all of my girls together at once. My practice hours are a lot longer. I'm in the gym for almost four and a half to five hours a day.
Laura, how about players that you've coached and they've gone off to college, maybe played basketball? Are you seeing more of them have that opportunity?
Yes. For sure. And not a ton of them are going for basketball. I have a ton of them that I've coached who are going and graduating and finishing. And that's really exciting for them because sometimes we don't get the opportunity here off the reservation to leave for sports. But to even get the opportunity to leave and get a college education is huge. There's been a lot of girls that I've coached, who are doing it right now, who are finishing actually.
You have been a great mentor. You have proven that you can go to college. You can be successful in college. You can be successful after college. You've been a great mentor for all those ... for all the kids out there in Pine Ridge and at Lakota Tech.
Well, thank you, I just want them to know that there's opportunities. A lot of people want to be on the reservation. And I did. I always knew I wanted to be back home. But you're going to have to make some sacrifices and leave for a little bit. But you can always come back and make a difference.
I think it was 2004. I'm trying to remember if that was your senior year. You were at the state tournament. You were the winner of the Spirit of Su award. How special was that, getting that award that year?
It was amazing. SuAnne is a hero to so many people on the reservation. It was even more great because she's my first cousin. I mean it was an honor. It really was.
If you had a chance to do it all over again, what would you change when it comes to basketball?
Not a thing. Not a thing at all. I have been so grateful to experience what I have experienced. I just hope that I can help other girls experience the same thing that I have because it's been great. Basketball has taken me so many places. It has given me so many opportunities. I love it so much. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
I know I saw a story once where you wanted to have a family of gym rats. Do you have that now?
I do. I have three children and I have one more on the way and they love the gym. Gosh, they love it. They've been out of the gym for a while due to our current situation, but they cannot wait to get back in there.
And when it comes to the Lakota Nation Invitational, what was your biggest memory as a player? Besides the big crowds, we know that was huge for you. But what else stands out in your memory while playing in that tournament?
I guess just hanging out with the team, being in the hotel room, the atmosphere, meeting people from different schools, interacting with all of the other teams that go there. I mean it really is more than just a basketball experience. I mean it's really a chance to go out and meet new people. It's just like a huge family. LNI is like a huge family and you can't wait to be back in that family reunion every December.
