'Getting them to believe'

It helps to have an undefeated record, towering players to dominate the boards, and a state championship.

The Shiprock Chieftains don't have many of those but if you ask them what the game of basketball means they will tell you that it is about self-worth, confidence in one's abilities and pride in their Diné roots.

"It's about first getting them to believe," said Cliff Johns, the team's three-year head coach. "Believe in themselves and their abilities. It's about instilling in them what it takes to be successful beyond basketball."

Having played Division I basketball at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Johns is teaching his team the game of life.

Life before the Chieftains

Like his team, Johns comes from a humble background.

He grew up in Pinon, Ariz., living a culturally rooted life with a mother who taught the importance of education and a father who taught the importance of art.

Naturally, after graduating from Winslow High School in 1988, Johns challenged himself with the goal of earning an architecture degree.

He played intramural basketball for a couple of years until an assistant coach of the men's basketball team witnessed Johns' forte - beautiful jump shots that he had worked to perfect since he could walk.

"I believe in being at the right place at the right time," Johns said. "I was left with a business card and a number to call."

Johns made the call and was asked to tryout for Wildcat basketball - one of the top 10 collegiate teams nationwide and coached by Lute Olson, a 25-year coach known for player development and players who went on to notable careers in the NBA.

Johns was put to the test. A prerequisite was to mesh with the Wildcat family.

"The guys had to test me out," Johns explained. "They had to figure out if and what I would be able to contribute to the team."

Johns overcame physical and mental abuse on the courts and received no congratulations for making the team.

"I just walked into the locker room one day and saw my name on a locker," Johns recalled, "I had a jersey, shoes and a game bag waiting for me. From there, I had to work even harder."

Johns played the 1992-93 season making him the first Native American walk-on to successfully complete his collegiate career under Olson.

About the fundamentals

"He had a lot of doubters," said Darrel Williams, a former high school teammate of Johns. "All he ever got was negative encouragement but he proved that how we learned the game, we could compete at the next level."

Both Williams and Johns played under Winslow's former head coach Richard Bratt, who produced state runner-up teams across the Navajo Nation.

"You just don't see that breed anymore," Williams said of Bratt. "He took raw talent and used it. He taught us how to put our individualism aside and what it meant to be on a team. He was strongly disciplined, fundamentally minded and stressed intensity."

As Williams sees it, Johns is bringing a new flavor of basketball to New Mexico, the next-level game.

And if you want to know that new flavor, watch his team play ball. There is trust between the players, every loose ball is attacked, everyone hustles offensively and defensively and they get it done.

In a match-up against the Gallup Bengals Jan. 7, the eventual championship team at their own invitational tournament this past weekend, the Chieftains lost by a mere three points - the closest any team got to the Bengals.

The Chieftains stayed neck-and-neck with the domineering and towering Bengals throughout the first half, which ended 22-19. The Bengals managed to extend their lead by the end of the third to 40-27.

The Chieftains came back by sinking in a couple of three-pointers and driving to the basket for the fouls against the Bengals.

After an unsuccessful three-point shot with six seconds left in the game, the Chieftains fell to the Bengals, 52-49.

Despite a lack of height, this "feisty bunch" used their "cat-like quickness," as described by other coaches and referees at the tournament.

The Chieftains' tallest player is Colby Nahkai at 6 feet.

"We like to run," said Nahkai, a senior guard and post. "We like to play an up-tempo game and practice like we play."

Their liking to running, sparked by twin brothers and cross-country runners Daron and Jaron Shorty, has made their conditioning workouts nearly painless.

"Practice," said Daron, the older twin, a senior and guard, "is all shooting, lifting weights, and running. You know, the fundamentals."

Chieftains then and now

Unlike former coaches who were simply in it to win, Johns says the game is about shaping and grooming respectable young men. This, too, is something the team can attest to.

"He's almost like a dad," said Daron Shorty. "He talks to us about what's right and wrong. Some don't have dads and he fills that role."

In comparing former coaches, Nahkai said his team just needed a push.

"Others never used to push us," Nahkai said. "They would just yell at us. He helps us see that education needs to be put before basketball. It's family, then academics, then basketball, and then spirituality."

The team attends Navajo ceremonies when time, practice and family allow.

"He teaches us to be respectful, to stay in shape and to focus on our goals," Nahkai added.

The Chieftains now practice twice a day - at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.

"It's something they had never seen before," Johns said of the team having to wake before the sun for practice. "My parents always told me to get up early and to not be lazy. By developing this mindset and way of thinking in them, I am also asking that they give up some for others.

"You end up overcoming a lot and doing bigger and better things," he added. "You become a better person overall."

The Chieftains (11-5) play at Bloomfield on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

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