Program from 1975 National Indian Basketball Tournament. From the collection of Bruce Bad Moccasin.
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA — The time was back in the 1970s and for most of the country basketball meant players like Bill Russell of the Celtics, Phil Jackson of the Knicks, or Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game. But far away from all the lights, the money and the media, a small team playing among their peers proved dominance that few could match, fueled by a passion for education and each other: The Lakota Coup Counters. The team was originally named after a trucker, Ralph Macy. Macy’s Diesels would feature a lineup that had players such as Mike Wells, Lou Mendoza, Jim Bill Ross, Jess Mendoza, Richard “Tuffy” Lunderman, Larry Mendoza, Sonny Hill and Bruce Bad Moccasin. In those years, a team had to win the “State” basketball tournament, and then the “Regional” basketball tournaments in order to qualify for the National Indian Basketball Tournament. In 1974 and in 1975, Macy's won both the South Dakota State and the Regional tournament to qualify for the National Tournament. Macy's would play the United Tribes team in the regional. It was in 1976 that the two teams became one during the National Indian Basketball Tournament that was held at Mary College in Bismarck, North Dakota in 1975. The Coup Counters were formed in 1976. Coaching this squad of players fell into the hands of two players, early on: Lou Mendoza, and Richard Lunderman. This team for the most part would play at gyms around the two Dakotas, in places like St. Francis, Pine Ridge and advancing to a national tournament meant playing against the local teams in a given area. In 1974, after a tournament held at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota between the two Dakota teams, the Macy’s and the United Tribes of North Dakota decided on putting together one single team which led the clubs to several national titles. Those early days of playing basketball, according to Bruce Bad Moccasin, now living in Pierre, was a lot of fun, “being with family and friends”. Unlike today’s professional basketball, where money was a driving force, in the National Indian Activities Association, the game played a key outlet for these young men to enjoy the sport they grew up playing. However, to join the Coup Counters, two given criteria had to be met, early on. One was the player needed to be in college continuing an education or a college graduate, and two, an enrolled member of one of the Sioux tribes. Bad Moccasin pointed out that within a picture, the Coup Counters had a player from every tribe within the state, With Bad Moccasin from Crow Creek, Mike Wells from Standing Rock, Lunderman from Rosebud, Randy Plume from Pine Ridge and Jim Bill Ross from Flandreau-Santee, among the regular players, the team had an impressive lineup. These players also had an impressive college background, with Bad Moccasin coming from South Dakota Tech, Ross, Wells and Lunderman at Black Hills State College, Randy Plume from the University of South Dakota and Jim Walker, stepping up from Dickinson State. The first tournament the team played as the Coup Counters was at a tournament at Holy Rosary Mission, now Red Cloud Indian School in 1976. They won and qualified for the National Indian Basketball Tourmament in Ft. Duchesne, Utah. The Coup Counters would work through the tournament, using a man-to-man style that was their trademark, until facing off against the Nez Perce Nation team from Lapwai, Idaho. The first quarter of the game, the Coup Counters trailed early, due to outside and fast break options that presented themselves, but the Coup Counters would rally late, cutting the lead from seven to 3 points by the end of the first quarter, 24-27. Finding a good rhythm and fast-break ability themselves, the second quarter saw the Coup Counters take the lead, with a 52-48 score, powered by Wells, Walker, Lunderman and Wylie Big Eagle’s skills. After halftime, the team started out hot, stretching the lead to twelve, at 62-50, from baskets by Lunderman, Harley Zephier, Wells, Big Eagle and Walker. However the opposing Idaho club would climb back into it, trimming the lead to 66-63, before another run, would put a ten-point lead up for the Coup Counters, with 2:10 left in the third period. The Idaho team would score six points to two, to close out the third period, setting up a fourth period with the score showing 75-69. Both teams would go back and forth, with Lapwai’s club closing the gap to 77-74 with a little under ten minutes remaining, but the team’s defense would falter, as the Coup Counters would push their speed advantage, scoring 12 more points to five from the Idaho club, with 6:40 left in the game. Mike Wells, who would go on to be named MVP for their first ever national tournament, would score, along with Randy Plume, Walker, Lunderman and others. The Idaho team, not willing to go down without a fight would make it a six-point game, at the 2:46 mark, but the Coup Counters would win, 105-98, on the strength of 34 points from Jim Walker. When asked after the tournament, his comments were telling, “I just thought we had to play good defense and hit the boards. We tried to rebound as much as we could and play good defense.” One big reason this team also did well hinged on the player who would later be known as the "Bionic Indian," the 6'8" center Mike Wells who had 28 points. Randy Plume would add in 12, as the Coup Counters had previously advanced to the semifinals twice before, as the Dieses. But now this team was set to chart their course into Native American history. (Part II next week) (Contact Joseph Budd at joseph@rapidnet.com)
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