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To me, “Rez Ball,” the movie that was recently released and has ties to Valencia County, is a sequel. I was part of the original in the 1970s.
Months before this movie debuted, my bit part in real life basketball team came via flashing back. This spark struck in January during a boys’ basketball game between Volcano Vista and Los Lunas at the LLHS gym, where part of “Rez Ball,” appropriately enough, was filmed.
As the two teams battled, I thought, ‘Man, they are playing hard.’ Suddenly, it brought back vivid memories of Poplar High School, nicknamed the Indians, who won Montana state championships a half century ago in 1974 and 1975, my junior and senior years in high school.
Poplar resides on the hi-line of eastern Montana, near the Canadian border, and is part of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. It remains an economically-depressed area, but man, could they play ball.
Thinking back to those days should bring up disappointment because Poplar was 4-0 against my Dawson County Red Devils during that time. We were good, handling other teams in our conference like Wolf Point, Plentywood and Miles City. We just weren’t good enough when we faced the Indians.
Still, there is immense pride in recalling those battles on the court, even when Dana Kern, the Indians’ power forward, hit a fade-away jumper at the buzzer to beat us. Kern, Kenny Smoker and Tom Granbois are names that are as fresh as if they were being introduced today before a big game.
Although we hadn’t spoken in about 50 years, perhaps a quick “good game” after that final loss, Granbois reminisced with me earlier this month via phone about those days. I had hoped he would help fill in the blanks in my memory and, perhaps, ease some concerns.
Now retired after a long career as a teacher, principal and administrator in Fort Peck area schools, Granbois was an excellent post player back in the day. He easily transformed from a defensive rock in the lane to a pillar of the community.
Even as a teenager, I figured it probably wasn’t easy for a Native team playing against mostly White schools in rural Montana.
“People would call you names, flip you off on the bus, all that kind of stuff,” Granbois recalled.
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Some kids would be afraid to leave the Reservation.
“They thought they would get thrown in jail,” Granbois said, adding, “It’s a lot different now. Kids are aware of the world.”
It was with a sense of relief Grandbois didn’t mention any negative experiences with Red Devil players or fans.
However, there were often gripes about Poplar’s aggressive, physical defense, pressing the entire game.
“We relied a lot on quick hands, body positioning,” Granbois said.
Tell me about it.
As a point guard, nobody wore me out like Kenny Smoker. I chuckled when learning that Smoker, who left me with a few bruises, is much respected for his efforts to improve health care on the Fort Peck Reservation.
There were also some snide remarks about the “undisciplined” style Poplar and other Native teams used. We called it “run and gun,” which was meant as a putdown but, these days, many teams play that way. The Indians were ahead of their time.
“We tried to force people to speed up,” Granbois said. “That’s basically what ‘rez ball’ is. If they score, you go right back at them as fast as you can.”
There would be complaints over the years from Reservation schools of bias from referees. While Granbois believes some of the officials “didn’t particularly like kids from the Rez,” the pace of the game was an issue.
“They couldn’t keep up with us — you had two officials trying to cover the whole floor,” which made for missed calls.
One of my proudest athletic achievements was being named All-Conference first team as a junior, an unexpected recognition. For decades, my recollection was that not one member of the state champion Poplar Indians was on the honor squad, that somehow, I was selected ahead of them.
To my relief, going back through old scrapbooks a few weekends ago, I discovered that my memory was wrong. Kern was on the first team, Smoker the second. For once, I was thrilled my memory failed me.
Poplar, with about 600 fewer students than DCHS, had moved from Class B to Class A, and there was no doubt jealousy and resentment over their success.
“Don’t let that little school beat you,” is what Granbois’ mother heard in the stands.
It was delightful to hear that those Poplar teams are still revered.
“For generations, they still remember,” Granbois said. “You’re one of the legends. That is something that is positive in the community.”
As our phone conversation concluded, I wanted to shake Tom’s hand, maybe give a little hug. He helped bring special memories back to life, in clearer focus.
My big regret through this journey was not making a better effort as a young man to get to know Granbois, his teammates and others. I would have been much the better person for it.
A half century later, I’m undecided about checking out “Rez Ball,” the movie. It will be difficult topping the original.
