SKC's Bison Basketball: shaping a legacy

By Maggie Plummer

That huge, gray, hulking cement structure going up along the highway in Pablo is more than just another Salish Kootenai College building.

It means that SKC's Bison Basketball program will have a home gym.

As that new gym takes shape, so does SKC's basketball legacy among tribal colleges.

The men's team has won the National Tribal College Championship the past two years, and is going for their third championship in a row this spring.

With six returning players and three talented newcomers, the Bison men are having a great season.

Community support for Bison basketball is growing all the time.

The SKC Bison Men's B-Ball Team

The program was written up last November in "Indian Country Today." Recently a Missoulian reporter and photographer traveled with the team to the Crow Reservation to cover two SKC vs. Little Bighorn College games there, for several upcoming feature articles.

Word travels quickly. Before long the Bison legacy of basketball success pulls more and more students to the tribal college in Pablo - not to mention what the teams do for SKC's school spirit.

You might say these Bison are gaining momentum - a thundering herd picking up speed.

SKC coaches, players and fans are keyed up about getting a home court and being able to host games on the Pablo campus. They envision that big arena filled with as many as 2,500 spectators for most nighttime games.

The Bison crowd is also getting pretty fired up about the upcoming SKC vs. Little Bighorn College games at Ronan's Events Center on Feb. 11 and 12.

"It's the first time of the year to have a tribal college team playing here," men's head coach Zachary Camel explained. "We're trying to have at least 2,000 folks in the bleachers."

For the Feb. 12 game, Monte - the ever-popular University of Montana mascot - will be on hand to cheer the Bison on and entertain the crowd.

Zach has coached the Bison for eight years and is now in his fifth year as the men's basketball coach. He points out that the men Bison have had 20-plus wins during the last three years and "we're heading toward a fourth year."

The tribal college championship tournament is part of the annual AIHEC (American Indian Higher Education Consortium) spring conference.

Winning is wonderful, but for Zach the big thing is "to give these kids the opportunity to continue their basketball careers."

He believes that the new Pablo home court will bring the college to the next level and give the students another aspect of SKC to be proud of. "Part of the college experience is athletics and it is important to have a place students, fans, and team members can call their own," the coach commented.

He added that the basketball program has been waiting for the new gym to pursue getting into the Frontier Conference.

"It (Bison basketball) is already a good deal, and it's going to be better," Zach said. "It's going to be great."

He feels that when the gym is ready it will be time to make some decisions about taking SKC to the next level.

The Pablo gymnasium, due to be ready during the 2007-08 basketball season, is part of a health and education center that also houses an indoor track, weight room, and events center for powwows, classes, conferences, and more.

The teams currently practice at Two Eagle River School, next door to SKC, and play all of their home games in Ronan. They play the Frontier Conference's Junior Varsity programs, community colleges, and tribal colleges.

"These are just kids going to school here, they're not recruited," Zach explained. "We start with a tryout."

For years, Les Big Crane and Zach's brother J. R. Camel, a former U of M player, have been assistant coaches for the men's team.

Zach pointed out that when the men played Little Bighorn recently over on the Crow Reservation, all seven players scored in the double figures, and five of them scored 20-plus points. "SKC won both games," the coach said. "The first game wound up with a score of 123 to 114, the second ended with 108 to 88. They're the ones coming to Ronan - Little Bighorn College."

One player on the Bison team is not only from the Crow Reservation, his uncle is Little Bighorn's coach.

In other words, it should be pretty interesting.

Juan Perez is SKC's Director of Student Life, and acting athletic director. "Every year we have additional games," he pointed out. "It's given us a lot more experience playing against other established programs, and gives SKC and the basketball program exposure. Already we have basketball players on the team who have come here because of the program."

He commented that the men's team has put about 7,255 miles so far this season on the vans that the coaches drive. "We have about 25 games scheduled this year, depending on a couple of tournaments," he explained.

Juan agrees wholeheartedly that Bison basketball is gaining momentum: "We're an up and coming basketball program. It's a group effort and a group success. This program is at the ground level, brand new, and it's real exciting to see it evolve. These kids get no tuition break, and we have no scholarships. The players have heart. They want to play ball. They're here to get their education first, but it helps that we have a basketball program."

Last year, both the men and women Bison played in the Thunderbird Classic in North Dakota and both were successful against United Tribes, which is a more established program, Juan said. When the men won last year's Tribal College Championship in Lawrence, Kansas, they managed to beat Haskell Indian Nations University on Haskell's own floor.

Juan is hoping for good-sized crowds for this season's home games, especially the Feb. 12 game. "This is a great showcase for tribal colleges, period," he added. "Little Bighorn is in an association. One of our goals is to be in an association."

The Frontier Conference is part of NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). To join that conference is "a dream of ours," Juan commented, "but there are a lot of things that will factor into whether or not we can get into it. We need resources. It's spendy to field a men's and women's program. We need to make sure that we have everything in place before we take that step. We're working now on getting a booster club together."

It certainly doesn't hurt that longtime SKC President Joe McDonald not only loves the game of basketball, but was for years a basketball coach.

Joe has been at SKC since the college started, and so - almost - has the school's men's basketball team, he said: "Our first tournament was in 1980, in Rapid City, South Dakota. We've been sending a men's team every year, and have been sending a women's team since about 1983 or 1984."

The SKC players used to call themselves the Cutthroats.

Both the men and women have played for the championship three or four times, and both have had plenty of success, he added.

Joe coached basketball at Northern Montana College in Havre, was assistant coach at University of Montana in Missoula, and also coached at Ronan High School.

"My claim to fame," he said with a chuckle, "was when I was coach at the reform school in Miles City. Back then it was called the Montana State Industrial School. That was way back in the late 50s. George Yellow Eyes, a Northern Cheyenne, was a player who made me well known in those parts. He was a great player, a high scorer."

Joe says he just plain likes basketball. "If we're going to do it (at SKC), we should do it right," he said, "fund them well, dress them well, travel well. They've always played well and behaved well. I get a lot of comments. This summer a lady on a plane recognized my SKC jacket. She told me she'd been on a plane with our team, and said they were such a nice group of men and women."

As for getting into the Frontier Conference, Joe agrees with Juan that it will be a process, one that will require money. "We will have to raise community funding," he said. "We'll need an athletic director to form a booster club, and hit local businesses."

The men's team is from all over the place. Locals on this year's roster are Andy Zimmer, Howard Walker, David Kallowat, and Gabe Caye. Everyone else is from off the reservation: Justin Tonasket and Joe Chartraw are from Omak and Neah Bay, Washington (respectively); Ed Running Rabbit hails from Great Falls; Delbert Trombley is from Browning; and Pius Takes Horse is from Wyola.

Chartraw, #34, and Walker, #44, are the Bison co-captains.

The 6'4" Chartraw is a Makah tribal member who was an all-state basketball player at Neah Bay High School. That's at the northwest tip of the country, he likes to point out. The 20-year-old freshman forward is majoring in Physical Therapy. He found out about SKC basketball through J. R. Camel when the two of them were playing tournament basketball, and he decided to come over and give it a shot.

Joe plans to transfer out of SKC after he earns his Associate of Arts degree in General Sciences. He'll probably head to either University of Washington in Seattle or U of M in Missoula.

"Bison basketball is a good opportunity for people to keep going after high school," he said. "What Zach and SKC are doing is really good for the community and good for Native Americans everywhere."

Walker, from Elmo, is a 6'4" forward who graduated from Polson High School after making all-state in both basketball and football. Now an SKC sophomore, he's majoring in Native American Studies. After this year, he plans to transfer to U of M in Missoula and pursue a degree in Criminal Justice or Forensic Science.

"I'm done playing (organized) basketball after this year," he commented.

Howard's goal is to become a Drug Enforcement Agent. "I just want to help people," he says.

He came to SKC because he liked what he saw when he watched the Bison playing at an AIHEC tournament. Immediately following high school, Howard went to Si Tanka University at Huron, South Dakota on a basketball scholarship. Going to college 1,300 miles away from home was "quite an experience," he said, and he's glad he did it.

But he's also glad to be back home. "This basketball program keeps me from drinking and doing drugs," he said. "It's fun playing with these guys. The new gym is going to be nice. It's going to make Pablo bigger - bigger events, bigger town, bigger college."

This year's AIHEC championship game in Rapid City, South Dakota is scheduled for the end of March and beginning of April, Howard pointed out.

Zimmer, # 00, is a 6'7" center who also graduated from Polson High School. A business major, the junior is pursuing a four-year degree from the tribal college.

Andy says he began attending SKC because he wanted to stay in the area. This is his fourth year playing with the Bison, and he thoroughly enjoys it.

The 22-year-old works as Resident Assistant at the SKC dorms, and is also the current student body president. Andy's goal is to guide his parents' business, Pablo-based Zimmer Tackle and Bait Company, into the 21st century.

He also hopes to work at SKC, he added.

Takes Horse, #32, a 6'1" guard, is in his third year on the team. He was at Kicking Horse Job Corps, and was told he could play for SKC. That's how he initially joined the basketball program.

In other words, if it weren't for basketball he wouldn't have attended college.

Pius says the program is a really good thing: "I love the atmosphere all around. Our personal problems don't carry on to the court. We pull together and stay together. That's why we're back-to-back champs."

He is currently working on his basic general education requirements at SKC, and plans to transfer to U of M in Missoula sometime next year, to hopefully end up in sports management. He would like to coach basketball and teach young kids, he said.

Running Rabbit, #22, is a 6'5" enrolled Blackfeet tribal member who came to SKC from Great Falls. He was attracted to SKC because of its basketball program. Now in his third year, the guard is majoring in psychology and wants to move into the social work area. He, too, plans to transfer to U of M in Missoula.

He's very glad to be a part of this team: "We get to do things we wouldn't otherwise get to do, like hang out with the boys. These are eight of the greatest guys in the world."

Board Chairman Bud Moran says SKC is the number one Indian college in the nation, and that the basketball teams make him and others feel proud. He credits the two head coaches for their dedication, and willingness to work generously within the college's limited budget - often throwing in much of their own personal time for the teams.

Zack stresses to his players that today's sacrifice is tomorrow's success. "There are life lessons being taught and developed in the young men during the seven months we are together," he said, "and I hope these lessons will stay with them for a lifetime. If after seven months each man is a better person and player than at the beginning of the season, I will have reached my goal and we will have won."

See also: The Lady Bison: Out to prove their stuff