For the first time in decades, Tanana won't have enough players to field a high school basketball team — and it will be years before there are enough kids for another team. It's a hard blow for a community that has basketball woven into its identity.
Savien Linnear, Anthony “Buzz” Kennedy and Isaac Morgan take advice and a water break during halftime in their semifinal game against Scammon Bay at this year’s Alaska’s 1A High School State Championship Tournament.
It was the last high school basketball game Tanana will play for a long time. Four of the team’s seven players are graduating seniors this spring. And there isn’t anyone old enough to fill their spots. It will be years before there are enough kids for another team. Roughly 200 people live in Tanana, along the edge of the Yukon River, deep in the heart of Alaska’s Interior. It’s had a high school basketball team for more than 40 years. But enrollment has dropped over the decades, and this year the K-12 school has just 30 students. Tanana residents say this is the first time they can remember not having enough high schoolers for a team. After this year’s graduation, they’ll have just two high school players and an upcoming eighth grader.
“All our heroes are basketball players,” he said. “All of our parents and older siblings played basketball. And, you know, we don’t have enough equipment for football or baseball or anything else like that. Basketball’s it.”The same trophy case that holds Marks’ jersey also holds dozens of trophies, plaques and medals marking a long legacy of success dating back to the 1970s. But one trophy that’s missing is the state championship. The Wolves have been the runner-up at least four times.
“We got blown out by 50, and it was more than embarrassing. It was demoralizing. It felt unfair,” said coach Tanner Winters. “We didn’t know what we were up against.” “That’s kind of another goal of mine. Scheduling all that I did was not just to go play teams that we see again, possibly, but to see Alaska,” he said.
Christine Erhart, John Erhart Sr. and Kathy Roberts piece together a jigsaw puzzle late one night in Tanana. They all grew up playing basketball in the village. Christine and John Sr.’s son, John Jr., is on this year’s team.
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