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A game for the ages

Published on February 17th, 2010

By VAN WILLIAMS

The game of basketball has always been a part of Alvin Edenshaw's life, and he's still a gym rat at age 60.

He is a member of a 50-and-over traveling team that just got back from a tournament last week in Washington, and he plans to participate in another tournament this spring in Idaho.

"I feel good," Edenshaw said. "I run with the young guys all the time."

Before going back on the road, though, he will represent his Haida heritage in the All Alaska Native Basketball Classic at the Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage. The annual winter festival also features the Alaska Native Small Village Tournament.

Edenshaw isn't just a player; he's the tournament director. In fact, he's been organizing basketball events for Alaska Natives for the last two decades, creating intramural games with the Anchorage School District in the 1990s and a Native league at the Boys and Girls Club in the 2000s.

"I just saw the need that there were a lot of Native basketball players in town here and there was nowhere for them to go play," he said. "I think some of these guys got a little more exposure and went to other schools afterwards. They felt much better ... getting out of high school and coming to Anchorage and competing with these guys."

Take Matt Carle of Hydaburg.

A former star in high school and then at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Carle, now 33, said he competes in the Native basketball tournament because of his appreciation of elders like Edenshaw as well as respect to his indigenous heritage.

"I think there's a certain responsibility," he said.

At the same time, though, it's something he looks forward to each year.

"It gives us the opportunity as Alaska Natives to play a lot of times with people from your home community or from your tribe," Carle said. "There is a lot of camaraderie between the players. A lot of them grew up playing against each other. ... so there is a lot of competition between the different teams.

"I know we personally, from my region, we take a lot of pride in having a team that's comprised of just people from Southeast or from our own community. I take more pride in that."

Village tourney returns

The All Alaska Native Basketball Classic has been part of Fur Rondy for years and years, but the Alaska Native Small Village Tournament is making a return after being gone for the last several years.

Edenshaw said John McCleary of the municipality's Parks and Rec Department played a big role in bringing back the event this year.

"John was instrumental in putting that together," Edenshaw said.

The tournaments showcase Native basketball players and give the youngsters a shot at stars like Carle, Chris Bryant, Jeff Kinneeveauk, Butch Lincoln and Stanley Ratcliff.

"It's important to get out there and play," Carle said. "I don't like getting out there today knowing I'm not as good as I was and then you've got some of these young cats that are coming at you."

He laughs.

"It seems like every year I get some young Native kid saying something like 'I thought you played college ball. You're not that good.'

"It's like, 'OK.' That kind of gets me back into it."