Students heading to Phoenix
Four Fort Simpson players on territorial team vying for championship at the Native American Basketball Invitational
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 2, 2015
PHOENIX, ARIZ.
A team of 12 high school students from across the Northwest Territories departed for an international basketball competition on June 26.
Coach Neil Barry prepares to embark on a trip to Phoenix, Ariz. where he will coach a team of high school students at the Native American Basketball Invitational. Barry, left, stands with Kevin Roche, Zehro'h Waugh and Tyler Lafferty. Bryce Hardisty-Phillips, not pictured, will join the Fort Simpson boys. - April Hudson/NNSL photo
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The team is battling it out on the court against 152 other teams in Phoenix, Ariz. as part of the Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI), which began June 30 and will run until July 4.
Coach Neil Barry said the team this year is younger than usual. The age range for the competition is 14 to 19, and the Northwest Territories team has two Grade 8 students from Fort Simpson who are 14.
"They're allowed to play in the tournament but it's not recommended because it's such a high-level competition. However, these two are good enough that they can compete," Barry said. "I wouldn't take them if they wouldn't be able to."
This is Barry's fourth year coaching a team at NABI. The 2015 team consists of four Fort Simpson players: Tyler Lafferty, Kevin Roche, Zehro'h Waugh and Bryce Hardisty-Phillips. The boys will be joining Yellowknife players Devon Fillion-Delorme, P.J. Wedzin and Gabe Klengenberg for the tournament.
Four boys from Inuvik will also be attending, including Liam Larocque, Jackson Christie, Keenen Wolki and River Ross. From Deline, John Roche will be representing his community.
Team manager Warren Cli, who splits his time between Fort Simpson and Edmonton, and assistant coach Mark Harewood, from Lloydminster, Alta. are also attending.
Barry said this year's team will be challenged by how physical American players are. The competition is a tough one but the last time Barry went, his team made it to the second round of playoffs before being eliminated.
"I'm excited to get down there and work with them all together. I like the mix of talent we have, and they're all good kids with good attitudes. I have some big kids on the team and some really good guards," he said.
Although some of the team members will be first-time NABI players, this will be round two for Roche and Lafferty. Roche played the tournament in 2013 and says it was an experience he won't forget.
"It was awesome," he said.
"The most unexpected thing about Arizona was the heat - it was really hot. But the experience was great."
Barry said he "stumbled" across NABI four years ago and decided to put in an application. That got the ball rolling for the last four years of NWT players and he said he has built a relationship with the tournament's founders that makes each year special for his team.
"They treat us really well. They even let us into their homes and we hang out," he said.
"It's basically a basketball player's dream to go down there and play in a big tournament, all Native, and to get exposed to NBA arenas. What more could we ask for?"
Referees usually have National Collegiate Athletic Association experience and some are ex-NBA players. One of the tournament's founders, Mark West, played 17 seasons in the NBA and played for the Phoenix Suns from 1988 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2000. He currently holds third place in NBA history in field goal percentage - a basket scored from a shot or tap other than a free throw.
Aside from the experience of playing professional basketball, Barry said the students will also take part in the tournament's educational component.
"(NABI) was designed to encourage First Nation athletes to go to college or university. They have motivational and educational sessions every day, and they have a cultural component," he said.
The cost for the NWT team usually exceeds $30,000. Barry said that cost was offset by fundraising as well as team members working around town to save up money. Some players also paid out of pocket.
Barry also said the tournament encourages NWT players to keep playing and excel on a national level.
"Aboriginal athletes in the NWT don't often make the bigger teams and play (nationally)," he said.
"I (see) NABI as a way to help kids who live in smaller communities to get a higher level of experience. After four years of this, now we're seeing more of our aboriginal players in the Arctic Winter Games. Their playing level has gone up.
