As the final beats of the drum echoed through Paul "Dizzy" Trout Memorial Fieldhouse and gifts were exchanged, I saw clips from my year at Red Cloud Indian School flash before my eyes. I remember joyous moments, such as  watching Terran finally get a grasp on fractions by using what he could relate to best: a ball and a hoop. There were also thrilling moments outside of the classroom, such as an 18-point triumphant rally and victory in the first round of the YMCA basketball tournament. To see my own energy become contagious, both within the classroom and on the court, was the most powerful moment of them all. However, somber circumstances, such as heartbreaking funerals brought forth by poverty, alcoholism, and suicide always seemed to tame the exuberance on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Little did I know that, in the midst of all these unfathomable affairs, the birth and molding process of an educator was taking place. 
 

You have to live on the "rez" to understand that each basketball game is as sacred as the notion of warriors counting their first coup, a prestigious yet intimidating battle between opponents seeking to send each other a firm message. I was fascinated by the impact that this mere sport of ball and hoop had on the community as a whole. Players had character both in appearance and in personality, with names like Braveheart, Buffalo Soldier, Her Many Horses, Eagle Bull, and Bear Robe, offspring of tribesmen and tribeswomen who fought hard to preserve the ways of the medicine wheel for generations to come. Who was this rookie, volunteer teacher and coach, in the shadows of these tribal elders? If intellect is measured by life experience and survival, then these young tribal athletes, my self-proclaimed disciples, defied scholarship to its very limits. 
 
On March 10, 1996, the Red Cloud Middle School boy's basketball team rallied behind its coach, who happened to have a mild case of chickenpox, to bring home the consolation championship medal back to the lower gym. Hence, with an overall winning season, I lived to see another day of many families struggling for opportunities on the rez, while my students found a means for defending their young coach, beyond the realms of the hardwood, within their own homes. I still wonder if they were truly victorious in the grand scheme of sport under my guidance and care. After one year, I left Pine Ridge a better man, a person that would forever be changed in my perspectives on life thanks to the humanity, strength, and resilience of the Lakota community. Yet, I left behind a group of warriors, young men and women, my council of scholars, who taught me the most important lesson of all, that basketball is not just a game of ball and hoop – it is a sacred balance between the past and the present.
 
Kasra Sotudeh, Ph.D., serves as the Academic Discovery & Curriculum Design Coordinator with the Athletic Study Center, working closely with administrators, academic advisors, learning specialists, and program coordinators to support the overall growth of every Cal student-athlete.