The tryouts are done. The team is selected, and tomorrow (March 4) the Potawatomi Fire will travel to their first game against the Rockwall 7’ers in Royse City, TX. After five away games, the first team owned by a Native American tribe (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) in The Basketball League will host the Little Rock Lightning at their first home game on March 19.
On Feb. 28, Seat Selection Night was held at FireLake Arena, and season ticket holders could pick out their seats. On March 1, season tickets went on sale for those unable to attend the event. They will be available through March 16. Individual game tickets will be available beginning March 5 at 10 am.
Fire Head Coach Derrick Rowland has traveled across the country searching for the right players to complete the team. He and Assistant Coach Brad Walck also held three tryouts at FireLake Arena. They considered the talent and civicmindedness of thousands of players. Then, they held an 11-day training camp, which began Feb. 18, to make their selections for the 12-man team.
“Well, number one … this is a high level basketball league, so you’ve got to be able to … hang at this level on the court,” said Rowland. “I’m also looking for character guys, guys that are willing to give to the community.”
“Because … we are a community’s team … we’re here for the community,” he said. “So you’ve got to be willing to do that. And … you got to be motivated. I mean, I’m looking for these guys to want to get to the NBA or get to the major teams in Europe.”
Rowland said two of his players are seven-foot tall - Anthony Allen and Leon Hampton. Then, he also has some “specialty guys.”
“I got guys who are very athletic that can perform the slam dunks that get the crowd going,” he said. “I got some great ball handlers, the smaller guys that are fast, that can dribble the ball, you know? So … we want to make this game an event … we want to get the crowd on their feet, and I think I’ve got some guys that can do that.”
Walck - who has 22 years of high school and college coaching experience, including 12 years at Tecumseh High School - agreed that the Fire players are “very talented.”
“They were the best players that came off their college teams,” said Walck. “So, you’re getting the best of the best.”
Four of the players are from Oklahoma, and one is from Shawnee. Walck said Monty Roberts, who graduated from Dale High School, is actually the 13th player, who will step up if anyone gets hurt.
Roberts played basketball and baseball in high school, and has since played in local and Native American basketball tournaments.
After high school graduation, he went to work in his father’s trucking company for seven years. He has worked at Shawnee Milling Co. for five years, is married and has three children. But he has kept his love of basketball, playing whenever he has a chance.
“I’ve even, like, taught my kids,” said Roberts. “So that kind of makes me play even more.”
Roberts enjoys the competitiveness of the sport and hopes to prove to the community and himself that he can still “play at a high level” at age 30.
David Godbold, of OKC, said he’s 36, and another teammate is 35.
“We have some older guys with a mix of 28, 29, 30(-year-old) guys that are trying to prove themselves,” said Godbold. “So, that’s the thing about our team is we have a good mix, so the younger guys can learn, and the older guys can kind of show them the way.”
Godbold said he’s been playing basketball since he was about five, and both his parents also played. He went to Douglass High School where his team made it to the state semifinals before falling to Vinita.
Godbold was a four-year starter for the University of Oklahoma, and then went professional. In 2009, he played for the Colorado 14’ers in the NBA D-League. Then, he began his time with the European circuit. He played one year in Poland, one year in Finland, two years in Slovakia, and five years in Germany.
Godbold is happy to be closer to home where he’s able to play in front of family.
He said he loves basketball because, growing up, it gave him a chance to create bonds with friends “that you just don’t normally get throughout your normal day.”
“It’s a chance to kind of get away from every day life also,” he said. “When I’m on the court, I feel like there’s no bothers, no worries in the world. That’s kind of my safe space.”
Drelan Tripplett is also from OKC and shared Godbold’s reason for loving basketball.
“If I’m having a bad day, once I step on the court, I’m not having a bad day anymore,” said Tripplett. “It’s like my getaway. So, you know, most people travel. Most people use drugs or alcohol to feel a way, and I just come to the basketball court.”
Tripplett started playing when he was 14 and recalls a day with friends when he was “dominating in sandals,” and he was discovered by an Amateur Athletic Union coach.
Tripplett attended Millwood High School, and his team won the state tournament. From there, he graduated from York College in Nebraska. Then, for the next six-and-a-half years, he played for overseas leagues in Malaysia, Singapore, three areas of Australia, and the Dominican Republic.
Tripplett said it means a lot to him to be on the Fire team.
“I know we’re gonna make history here as the first ever (professional) tribal team, and obviously, it’s the first team here,” he said. “And, you know, me being an Oklahoma native ... I take pride in it … because I know how hard it is to make it out of Oklahoma being a ball player. I understand.”
As a ¼ Comanche, Tevin Foster, of Lawton, is also proud to be on the first tribal TBL team. He shows his Native American pride with a tattoo of a chief on his leg and the word for Comanche, “Numunuu.”
“It just means a lot to me to be able to play, to be a part of the native culture and professional basketball team close to home and keep inspiring, you know,” said Foster. “I want to win a championship this year, for the first year, and make history.”
Foster graduated from Lawton High School in 2013 and played football in his freshman year at South Dakota University. He transferred to Drury University in Springfield, MO, where he got his Bachelor’s Degree, and then returned to playing basketball at Abilene Christian University, in TX. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Higher Education, which he someday hopes to use as a teacher and coach.
Foster played overseas for two years in Croatia and Serbia.
In Dec., Foster shared his love of basketball with 60-70 children during a Christmas basketball camp in Lawton. He hopes to have another camp during spring break.
Like Godbold and Triplett, Foster said basketball is a “stress reliever” for him, as well as a way to build relationships and communicate.
“Most of my friendships and relationships come through basketball, and the basketball world is small, so I just love being a part of the culture and competing and just keep inspiring, like I said, the younger generation, so they can see they can do the same thing,” said Foster.
Ready to assist the players will be Walck’s daughter, Randee Walck, who is volunteering as the team’s doctor, and 2015 Tecumseh High School graduate, Taylor Williams, who will be using her Master’s Degree from the University of Central Oklahoma to serve as the Athletic Trainer, “responsible for the prevention and treatment of injuries.” Williams said this is her first time to work with a professional team.
During the Fire’s Media Day on March 1, Shawnee Mayor Ed Bolt and Erica Bass and Stacy Cramer Moore, both with Shawnee Tourism, all said they were excited and ready to have a professional basketball team in Shawnee.
For more information, visit the Potawatomi Fire website, www. potawatomifire.com or their Facebook page.
