Nic Waln, in purple, would help the White River Tigers, capture three titles in four years.
Native Sun News picks the 2013 Lakota “Dream Team”
By Joseph Budd
Native Sun News Correspondent RAPID CITY — In 1992 the National Basketball Association took several stars of the NBA and formed what became known as the “Dream Team” This squad was made up of a who’s, who of players and would include such names as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, John Stockton and others who would represent the United States in the Olympics that year. The experiment worked well. The US squad would outscore their opponents on the average of over 40 points a game in winning the Gold Medal. The Native Sun News announces our own dream team, a squad that if assembled would be both fun to watch, but also hard to stop on the courts. One would have to imagine this squad working independent of their respective schools, but working together as one team; the Dream Team. First up for the team would be a classic, but good hands center. Near the basket he could keep opponents away, but could also score when needed. During several games this season his actions helped keep Pine Ridge in the game and the Thorpes would advance to the state tournament. He is only a junior so he will be back to thrill the fans next year. His name is Jeff LeBeau. Next up for the team a scoring threat is always a good weapon to have. Week in and week out it was fun to see how many points this Mustang could hang on the boards, or with a slam dunk, take the momentum away from an opposing team. The Little Wound squad would advance to a District Championship and so for a Forward, we pick Anthony Hopkins. For the other forward, a little back history comes into play. Red Cloud’s basketball program saw the team lose a longtime coach and a Christian McGhee would step in to help the team out. As both coach and AD, the team utilized several veteran players, while bringing up a strong core of younger players. The results would see Red Cloud advance to the Region Championships. One of these seniors is a great shooter from the outside could also power it inside and so we’re picking up Duran Richards for the Dream Team forward this year. On to the Guard positions, our first guard would see the team advance to the Regional level, just missing a trip to the State Tournament. However, this squad would provide several highlights, including a great shootout with Little Wound at the LNI, a 15-5 record and the team taking the District title with a win over Winner. Helping power this offense, was a senior who had a good touch on the breakaway but also quick hands for stealing the ball. This player, James Henry II makes up our first guard position. Our last Guard, another senior has quite a history behind him as he has played for his school for a number of seasons and captured several titles with the program. At guard, he can work well with his teammates, or as the need arises, take the game into his own hands and has a three-point shot that can catch opposing teams off guard. With the Tigers, they would capture back to back titles, but also was with a group of six seniors who would claim the crown with only a single loss in their season and for this we select Nic Waln as our guard for the Lakota Dream Team. Now, like any dream team, there is an extra pick out there, a person who comes off the bench to boost a team’s morale or if needed, to spell another player as need arises. Players like these can be an advantage to any squad, and for Todd County, Hehaka Nunpa performed well. Taking part in limited time he would appear in 21 games, averaging over 10 points a game for the squad. For the coaching spot, looking at new talents coming in and seniors leaving, a coach doesn’t have a lot of control over who stays on his roster for a long time, but has to utilize those players he has. In a strong balancing act he has to work with players who might be absent, players who come down sick and in the end, find a way to put these players together, work together. Dusty LeBeaux from Pine Ridge Thorpes would be the ideal coach for this task, in leading the Thorpes to a State berth. For honorable mentions, these players each performed well in their own right. They deserved to be named and are a credit to the schools they represent. The Native Sun News congratulates them for performing well. (Contact Joseph Budd at joseph@rapidnet.com) Copyright permission by Native Sun News
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