By Jean Schurman
When I found out that the first and second rounds of the Men’s NCAA basketball tournament was going to be held in Spokane, Washington, I was excited. I mean, a chance to see that caliber of play, and visit grandkids all in one trip? Life couldn’t get much better than that. Then I looked at the cost of the tickets. Holy buckets! I know I am spoiled but that seemed like a lot of dough when I could watch the games on TV and probably have better seats. So I decided I wouldn’t go.
But that’s ok. This last weekend I went to the Class B combined tournament in Butte. Class B schools generally have an enrollment between 120 and 340 students in high school. This was both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments so there were 16 schools and communities represented. The towns that many of these schools are in are not large, and in some cases, not even incorporated. But these communities have a close-knit group of fans who are crazy about their teams and literally follow them across the state. (Kind of like those who would attend the NCAA tournaments.)
Someone once said that Montana is a small town with really long roads, and it’s never more evident than at a basketball tournament. Montana’s basketball tournaments, no matter what classification, are special. But the smaller schools, Class B and C, really bring people together. There are aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas, nieces and nephews, along with the immediate families there to cheer on their school. These people come from all over and the games become a giant reunion. It carries over to the motels and hotels as well. There are gatherings in the lobbies, at the breakfast bar, in the pools, and in the rooms. Although there’s a lot of basketball played, there’s even more visiting done.
And then there are the highlights of the tournament. One of the most memorable was St. Labre’s Shiloh McCormick. St. Labre is mainly made up of Native Americans from the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes. Life on a reservation is tough and there are a lot of problems facing the teens on these reservations. McCormick has faced these problems head on and come through with a determination that is admirable. Her determination was never more evident than Friday night in the semi finals against Fairfield. Although the Lady Braves lost, 77-63, McCormick poured in 48 points. She could barely walk after the game. But at 9 o’clock the next morning, there she was, leading her team to a win over Loyola, and advancing to the consolation game at 3:30 that afternoon where they defeated Shepherd and took home the third place trophy. She scored an impressive 117 points in four games over the weekend. It was an amazing feat, made even more amazing by the looks of admiration given her by the younger members of the St. Labre crowd, and the fist bumps she was giving to them. Her efforts will be talked about for a long time.
The Choteau boys’ team took home the championship for the second straight year. Friday night’s semi final game against Florence was a lesson in three-point shooting, given by Derrek Durocher. He shot 12 three-point shots and sank nine of them, nearly breaking the record set by his coach Matt Luedtke when Luedtke played for Ronan. The kid could not miss, from anywhere!
After thinking about the tournament, and the NCAA tournament, I have decided that I’m not really missing much at all. I wouldn’t have been familiar with the players in Spokane and probably will never know them. However, I’ll remember the look of exhaustion and pride on McCormick’s face, and how her uncle beamed when I mentioned what a good player she was while we rode the elevator. I’ll remember the quiet smile of a very competitive coach that almost had his record broken. And I’ll probably see some of the same faces again next year. Yep, Spokane’s got nothin’ on Montana basketball.
By the way, congratulations to Tanner Hanson of Hamilton who finished second on Saturday at the Regional Elks Hoop Shoot in Rapid City, South Dakota.