Basketball or Nothing (2019) s01e02 Episode Script
Getting Defensive
[Raul.]
Last night, defensively, I thought, as a team, we gave up how many points? Too many.
We're not We're not in sync here.
I mean, we were running around like we don't know what we're doing.
To me, that's sad.
Playing no defense, trying to reach all the time.
I always hear people say, "Why don't you just leave 'em alone? Let 'em play.
" In other words, "Don't try to coach 'em, don't try to change 'em, just let 'em play.
" And I say, "Well, we can't do that, you know.
" Now, again, see where the defense is, see where the offense is, see where we're at, then he's gonna make the pass.
That should have been his Go ahead and move it.
Watch.
It should have been our steal right there.
See? Yeah, we're not anticipating that one.
[Cooper.]
I know he has experience and he knows what he's doing, so he he knows more than us.
To have a coach like that is pretty awesome.
[Raul.]
If it's not there, don't don't force it.
We turned it over again.
We can't do that.
[laughing.]
It's not funny.
The harder I push 'em, the better they're gonna be.
I want them to be able to play up to their full potential.
And without that, I then I'm not doing my job.
I don't know what we're running here, we're just running around.
As far as I'm concerned, if I'm not gonna control what's happening out there, then I don't need to be here.
That was a terrible quarter for us, there.
[woman singing in Navajo.]
[chorus singing in Navajo.]
[Raul.]
Ready? - On the whistle.
- [blows whistle.]
[Raul.]
Some kids just can't get out of that rezball mentality.
Seven, eight, nine, ten.
[blowing whistle.]
Feet gotta keep moving, come on! You got a long ways to go.
Rezball, you just shoot the ball and don't play defense, and try to outscore the other team, and that's what we have problems with this year.
Square up, square up! Don't score it that way.
You gotta square it up.
When you Cut, cut! Don't go half speed! [Josiah.]
Rezball to us is, like, get quick baskets and get up a lot of points, and play defense when we can.
But, you know, rezball is not really known for defense.
I reckon we have a lot of problems that when we run the the offense, - our guards never come to the ball.
- Yeah.
[man.]
Rezball, you know, I can see I can see as to why Mendoza flinches when he hears that.
He wants to kind of slow it down a little bit.
And one thing we have lacked in for years is killer defense, and that's where Mendoza is trying to get us into.
He wants us to have an all-around game.
[Raul.]
Josiah, let's go.
Hustle! Don't walk over there, you're not a superstar.
We wanna win a state championship.
Every year, that's our goal.
Go, go, go.
I believe they can, but we're pressed for time.
We really don't have a lot of time in the season, since we only have 16 games.
To understand that, if we're gonna succeed, we have to do the things that we don't nobody wants to do.
I guess you could say time's against us.
Okay, hold it, hold it Yeah, again.
You gotta get open, act like you mean it, like you're trying to get open.
Work it hard.
The players, you know, they tell me, "Coach talks a lot.
" [Raul.]
See where the defense is at, you can go back door.
Okay, be smart about it.
Here we go.
You know, "He doesn't let us run the ball quickly.
" [Raul.]
Turn, turn, just turn and look.
Not Not a good pass, not a good pass.
And I just remind them, you know, "Coach has a different style.
" A lot of you guys get offended 'cause I get on you.
That's just how you gotta think.
If you play defense, you're always in the game.
We just can't rely on outscoring the other team, because that's not gonna happen.
That's what you have to start realizing.
If we play defense, we always have a chance.
And again, this is something again Many Farms, because it's so close, you know, those guys are gonna get up for you.
And so, in a way, it could be a tough game.
And that's how you have to approach it.
Every game is going to be tough, so we have to be at our best, you know, each game.
Okay? We'll call it a weekend, so let's get a break real quick, - then we'll get the rest that we need.
- Wildcats on three.
[all.]
One, two, three, Wildcats.
[Raul.]
Get some rest.
Shoot the ball, Joshua.
Shoot it.
Ah! Ready? Yeah.
See? [chuckles.]
Yeah, shoot free throw, shoot free throw.
[Raul.]
I spend a lot of time away from home.
Chinle's 100 miles away.
Yeah, look at that.
My daughter lives here with her family.
We come home every weekend.
We spend time, and we go back to Chinle.
He's drinking my tea, I've got strawberry tea, he likes to drink that.
It's a hardship sometimes.
We're not able to spend time together because of the job.
You know, I try to be here as much as I can, you know, with the grandkids, and, you know, and whenever I go places, I try to They come if they can make it, we make they come, if they're not, they can't.
You know, so And that's part of it.
He keeps himself busy all year round, and, um, checks in with us and lets us know what his highlights are and what's coming up with the new season and everything.
And it's a big part of our home.
[Raul.]
I feel bad about it sometimes, but at the same time, I have to do what I do, you know.
Shoot it.
[woman.]
The majority of his time is spent with the youth.
- Yeah! - They'll write back to him, call him He's been like a father to whomever that played ball for him.
He's instilled a lot of character building into the boys' lives.
Gonna make a basket! [Raul.]
I think Chinle's a great place to be.
I really don't wanna go anywhere else.
Yeah! My wife will be working again next year.
She's an elementary school teacher, she works there.
If she retires, I'll probably have to decide whether I can afford to stay there, because my wife mentioned something that it costs us more to do what I'm doing than what they pay.
[laughs.]
So I don't know how long it'll last.
I've got another year coming up, and I have to go year-to-year, I think.
[PA system chimes.]
[woman.]
Varsity boys and girls, please report to the Wildcats Den at this time.
Hey, can you give this one to Mr.
Martin? Student comes before athlete, so you're a student first, foremost, your athlete comes second.
The kids have to maintain a C average in order to be eligible for sports.
It does kind of get hectic every now and then, but other than that, it's okay.
I would like the kids to enjoy what they're doing, playing sports, so I just like to be there for them all the time.
Coop, how much did you score last game? 29? - Yeah.
- Triple double.
- [laughing.]
- Like how he just Notice how he said yeah like it was nothin'? It's gonna be his average.
Okay, let's load up.
[Raul.]
As we progress with the season, from what I see, - I think we need to find out who we are, we need to find an identity as to what what our strengths are, and how we can play.
And we need better communication.
Okay, now we're trying to be a basketball team and, you know, we want to do well.
But as a team, we're a family, Yes, we are.
We should know each other.
It's a big difference if you know who you're playing with.
I guess what I would like for you to do is when you talk to your teammate, tell them a bit about yourself, so that they kind of get an idea who you are as, uh other than a teammate, you know.
Eh, I guess the biggest thing I'm concerned about I like for you guys to is the person that you are.
Okay, now, first, for myself, some of you guys know that I'm not from I'm not Navajo.
Okay? I'm a half-breed, I'm a mutt, I'm part Mexican, I'm part Native.
None of my family members ever went to school.
They didn't know how to speak English.
I was raised in Mexico.
So we would come over here and work on the farms to make money so we could have food.
So, my whole thing's been survival.
Okay? Who's next? My name is Josiah Tsosie.
I want to go to college.
Um I wanna go to college and get my degree for my major, and my major is in electrical engineering.
I wanna get a good paying job and, you know, support myself and support my family, because, you know, they've done a lot for me.
You know, I didn't grow up with a lot of money, you know, my family is not not very rich, but, you know, we we get by.
And, you know, I just want to be able to give back to them, take care of them, so they don't have to worry about anything.
Thank you.
Good job.
[all applauding.]
Okay, now, also Who's next? My name is Cael Gannon Denetdeel.
Right now, I'm currently a freshman, so I'm still trying to get get my life together.
So I'm still trying to decide on what I wanna do after high school.
Uh, my parents, um they said, um, that I would have to have a good education to get far in life, because life's very hard.
Um I I've seen, first-hand experience of what they mean, because there's a bunch of people around who probably weren't that educated, and you just see them around around the rez.
So, my parents don't want that for me, that's why they want me to go to school, get a good education and things like that.
Thank you.
[all applauding.]
Uh, my name's Angelo Lewis.
Um and what I wanna be after high school is, um Um go to work, build power plants with my older brother.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Anything else you want to tell us about yourself? Mm No.
I think everybody knows already.
[Raul.]
Okay.
I'm done.
[man.]
The Chinle and Many Farms matchup is unique because they're our closest neighboring town, they're only 15 minutes away.
You know, it's kind of like, you know, a lot of the kids are family.
And in some instances a lot of kids are family.
It's brother on brother in some instance.
I always make the analogy it's you're playing your little brother.
It's having that intimate knowledge about each other.
Where's my shirt? It's one of the biggest games where you see everybody from the surrounding communities come.
Everybody on route 191 is gonna be there.
Chinle, we don't lose to Many Farms.
[commentator.]
Good evening and welcome to Northland basketball, and a packed gymnasium at Many Farms, Arizona, home of the one and 0 Lobos.
Tonight it's a battle of unbeatens as Many Farms gets set to face their neighboring rivals, the Chinle Wildcats.
The new state rankings came out yesterday.
And after beating Snowflake in their opener, the Wildcats have moved up a spot to number eight in the state of Arizona.
[Raul.]
Put a little pressure on them, okay? Stay in front of your man.
Make sure we contest everything.
Every shot.
- [buzzer sounds.]
- Let's go.
[whistle blows.]
[man.]
Go, Chinle! [commentator.]
And Chinle controls the opening tip.
Senior Josiah Tsosie takes it up the court and Oh, he loses the ball, and it's picked up by Many Farms.
[Raul.]
Get back! Get back! - D-up, D-up.
- The Lobos will set it up and strike first with the jumper.
- Maybe a little nerves for Josiah.
- Get it back, let's go! Another Chinle turnover, and a drive to the basket.
[cheering.]
Touch pass by Cooper Burbank to Angelo Lewis, who lays it in.
Angelo and Cooper, one of the best one-two punches around.
And luckily for Chinle, they are both underclassmen.
Make them stop here, let's go! Gotta work.
Turn around.
Defense! [cheering.]
Hey, we can't let 21 get looks, he's wide open.
Whoever's guarding him, you gotta put your hand up on him.
[cheering.]
[commentator.]
The dish to Cooper Burbank, the three is up And good, as the Wildcats keep pace.
[buzzer sounds.]
And the buzzer sounds, and that will do it for the half.
Hey, we're all tied up here at Many Farms.
Hey, listen, guys.
They're just out hustling, that's what they're doing.
Defensively, we wanna run back as quickly as we can and turn and find the ball.
Can't leave 'em open.
Offensively, don't try to force it, relax on your shot, don't rush your shots.
You can't play that way.
We wanna be quick but not in a hurry.
Let's go.
Hey, don't try to force it! Be patient, be patient! He's out of the game.
Now get back, get back, turn around.
We gotta play defense, okay? They're killin' us on defense.
Yeah! Be patient, be patient.
Josiah! What are you doing? My bad, Coach, I got a little tired.
Hey.
You gotta be smarter than that.
Take care of the ball.
Everybody out, let's go.
[cheering.]
[cheering.]
Many Farms up one, 15 seconds left.
- Chinle's basketball, Lewis drives.
- [whistle blows.]
And he's fouled! The big man will go to the line for the chance to give Chinle the lead.
Gotta make D.
Let's go.
[cheering.]
The second free throw is up and good! - [cheering.]
- Chinle takes a one point lead.
[Raul.]
Josiah, get back, get back! On the man, now! Many Farms back the other way, and the Lobos grab the lead with three seconds, two seconds - [whistle blows.]
- Time out called by the Wildcats.
Sit down, sit down, sit down! Sit down! Run the out of bounds here when we run it here.
Cooper, he's going to run through.
Got to set a pick here.
Get him free.
Just turn around and catch and shoot.
Got to go get it.
We don't have a whole lot of time.
Everybody, let's go! [man.]
Bring them right here, jump on it right here! Bring them here, right here! [commentator.]
Two seconds left.
Hey! You gotta get a good shot! Angelo Lewis to inbound it.
Looking, looking, looking.
He gets it in and it's Curtis Begay, He'll take it all the way, and the shot to win it.
[buzzer sounds.]
Many Farms has done it, they have pulled off the stunning upset.
This is a bitter pill to swallow for Raul Mendoza and the Wildcats, as Chinle now drops to a one and one on the young season.
[man.]
First time ever! [woman.]
Yeah! [Raul.]
The game's not over until the buzzer goes off.
Seemed like we quit at a minute and a half.
I mean, they outplayed us.
They I mean, they deserved to win.
I told you from the beginning that Many Farms was gonna be ready.
They live for this game.
Were we ready to play? As a team, are we ready to play? - No.
- Angelo says no.
You can answer that for yourself.
The way we played, you know, anybody could have beat us tonight.
Put your head up and let's get out of here.
Ready, Wildcats on three, family on six.
[all.]
One, two, three, Wildcats, four, five, six, family.
[Shaun.]
When it comes to the goal for this team, yeah, we we want a title, we always want a title.
But is it the sole goal, is it the sole focus? No.
You know, yeah, we may have lost this game, however, our students have this crazy amount of responsibilities that they have to deal with as well.
Right here.
[Beau.]
Grab it at the Yeah, the third one from the top.
[woman.]
Ready, set, go.
[laughing.]
- [Cael.]
There? - [woman.]
Rest it right here, son.
- Whoops.
- [Cael.]
Pick it up there.
- [groans.]
- [woman.]
And we have failure.
Okay, okay.
Okay, ready to roll.
[Cael.]
Most people, they have their water through faucets, but out here, a lot of people have to go to the local wells and get water, for their animals, the livestock they have, or for themselves in the household.
Oh, shoot.
[yawns.]
[woman.]
I'm sure Cael does wanna sleep in, but the livestock still need water because they need to drink water, and we need water to cook, shower, clean.
Doing these things outside of him going to school, being a student athlete, it kind of teaches him the responsibility, in my eyes, as well as my other children's eyes, that they have to work for what they want in this world, and nothing's gonna come easy, nothing's gonna come free.
If they want something best for themselves, they have to go out there to get it.
And, like the elderly say, "It happens in the great morning of dawn.
" [Raul.]
Life is such that there's a lot of things you do that you don't wanna do, but you have no choice, if you're gonna get to where you wanna be.
We always try to use basketball as a means of learning how to accomplish things in life.
Not everybody likes to do the hard things that require a a team to be successful.
It takes work.
It's something you have to do even though sometimes, you don't feel like it.
But once you realize that, you know, "This is tough, but hey, I can I can still manage it" And that that's what life is all about.
In all the years I've coached, I never lost to a team from Many Farms.
And I don't know if Chinle Never lost to them either, it's the first time.
And guess what? They're gonna remember you as the team that lost to Many Farms.
Many Farms smacked us in the mouth.
[Beau.]
People talk.
"It's the coach Oh, it's the it's the players.
" I just had people coming to me left and right, "What happened? What happened?" One of the things I've been trying to get you guys to understand the importance of defense.
You know, stopping the other team.
Were we able to stop 'em? Chance? Were you able to stop 'em? [Chance.]
A little.
A little.
But see see what I'm saying.
He just said "A little.
" He Is he content with that? If you're gonna beat somebody, you gotta go with the idea, "I'm gonna shut you down.
" And if we can come to the point where we understand that, that's what's gonna make us a good team.
You know, this team can be very good, but we need to understand that it starts with defense.
[Beau.]
We're only two games into the season, and I just remind the players no matter how bad things may seem, stay positive, because the negativity's gonna go away.
It's not gonna stay and stick to us forever.
[Raul.]
Good work! [Beau.]
Here's the thing you guys have to understand too.
You guys are setting the screen, you guys need to make sure that you set the screen nice and tight.
All right, next group.
[Josiah.]
We're close with the assistant coaches like Beau, because, you know, we've known them for a while and they they get us.
They're younger and Mendoza is old school.
[Beau.]
Coach Mendoza, he's serious, he's stern.
Yougotta go up and be set the screen.
Because of my age and my experience, you know, the guys feel a little bit more comfortable, more at ease.
And part of the reason why they have a real strong connection with me is because they grew up watching me play.
[commentator.]
The Chinle Wildcats, making their first championship game appearance, unable to complete the mission.
[Beau.]
We made history, being the first team to a state championship, and we ended up falling short.
Quickly, set it up now.
Get it in quick, get through this quick.
I really don't ever wanna feel that feeling again.
It hurt.
You know, we were just We were right there, that close.
I definitely want these guys to finish what I could have done.
I keep telling each team, "I want you guys to be the ones to push my state runner-up banner aside, and hang one that says 'Champions'.
" [Raul.]
We're playing home, first game home.
Page is probably the best defensive team you're gonna play all year.
They beat us three times last year.
So, basically we have to be ready to go, okay? Let's get out of here.
Everybody ready to go, I hope, grade-wise.
[Beau.]
This main road that we're about to go on is Navajo Route 7.
It's the second out of two streets that run through Chinle.
So you can you can never really say that you got lost in Chinle.
The big thing out here is there's not a whole lot going on.
And this is why basketball is king on the reservation.
And when there's not basketball going on, one of two things can happen.
They can either be doing something constructive, something positive, or they could be doing something negative, something harmful, getting themselves into trouble.
For those, you know, that fall onto the wrong side of the law, they get into drugs, alcohol they're most likely hanging out in the wash.
Everyone drives over it, every day, probably.
We have the wash.
This is where, you know, people will go to do drugs.
A lot of what goes on out here on the rez, a lot of the crimes is because of drugs and alcohol.
And, over the years, over the past few years, the drug use has gotten incredibly worse.
We have kids in high school that are dealing, kids in junior high and kids in elementary that are dealing.
You know, those that pretty much just kinda give up on life, this is where they end up.
You know? Probably the worst drug that is in Chinle is meth.
It's bad.
And it's my job to keep them away from this.
I encourage them to stay in school, go to college and not end up here.
Academics, I would say that I strive really hard for.
So right now I'm sitting at a 4.
1667 for my GPA.
[Josiah.]
I'm assuming that most of the colleges would rather choose grades over another athlete who has a lower grade point average.
Try to stay above the 3.
0.
Trying to.
Yeah.
I'm trying to get higher though, to maybe about 3.
4, 3.
5, so I can get better colleges offering me a scholarship.
Homework Um I don't really get that much homework for my classes, but when I do, I finish it when I get home.
If not, then it's, uh turned in a day late.
Yeah.
I have to wake up, like, 5:30 to 5:40 to get ready.
Traveling to and from school will probably take me about an hour to an hour and 30 minutes.
I live about less than a mile from here.
[laughs.]
And uh, I don't have to wake up early, so that's a good thing.
But I still come late.
[laughs.]
[Beau.]
Angelo right now, it's really hard to say which path he's gonna go.
[school bell rings.]
The kid has potential.
He steps foot on the floor here you can tell he's in another world.
[man.]
Two minutes Hustle it up! Angelo, get to class! I've seen him play ball, he's got skills.
Play basketball D1, maybe, even.
But it takes a commitment, and I don't know how you make people make that commitment.
So, here's kind of what I want your cards to look like.
[Angelo.]
Mm School, I never liked school.
Hm.
I think they wanna see me make it I guess, make it out of the rez.
Go to the college No, that's that's not what I want to do, no.
I just wanna go to work help my family.
[Donald.]
I don't think he values himself as much as we see the value in him.
[Beau.]
We look at him and say, "He can go somewhere.
He can take an opportunity and create his own advantages for himself in life, and not fall into the wrong hands of people on the other side of the law.
Which we all see here on the rez.
[Angelo.]
Drugs, I see every day.
I see people losin' their lives over it, losin' their family, friends and yeah, it scares me a little bit, but just gotta go through it.
I've seen it so many times, so many star athletes out here doin' nothin'.
[Angelo.]
I don't wanna really talk about, like, my problems and stuff.
[announcer.]
Testing, one-two.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, hey, hey, hey! - First home game here this evening.
- [buzzer sounds.]
Welcome, basketball fans! [cheering.]
[singing "The Star Spangled Banner" in Navajo.]
[commentator.]
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Wildcat Den.
The Wildcats tonight take on the Page Sand Devils.
After the loss to Many Farms, Chinle has dropped out of the top ten in the state rankings, currently ranked number 13 in Arizona.
The top 24 teams will make the play-offs.
So the Wildcats, they don't wanna drop too far down the list.
[singing high note.]
[cheering.]
[cheering.]
[horn blares.]
[Raul.]
Sit down, let's go.
Everybody sit down.
Everything that you do, you have to work at it.
When you take the challenge of being a player, you do everything that you can.
Who was the last successful team that was here? - '09.
- '09.
Did you talk to any of the coaches? Like you, you played on that team.
Did you ask him, "How did you guys do it?" or, "What was some of the things that you did that made you successful?" Here's what I'm saying, he's a resource.
He mentioned that some of you guys have the talent to play at the next level.
And you'll probably say, "Oh, he's just He doesn't know what he's talking about.
" Probably.
Because you don't take yourselves seriously.
[chanting.]
Ooh, aah [Raul.]
Chinle's never won a state championship.
- Ooh, aah, ooh, aah! - We have the opportunity.
- Let's go! - Go! [announcer.]
Chinle, Wildcats fans, are you here? [cheering.]
[announcer.]
Yeah! Okay! [Raul.]
There's rules that we have.
It's called the golden rule.
If I'm gonna coach the game, this is how it's gotta be done.
[all.]
One, two, three, Wildcats.
[whistle blows.]
[Raul.]
In order to play the game, - you have to play defense.
- Go, go, go! [commentator.]
Drive inside and Boy, what a shot! Boy, that was beautiful as he went in between the defenders.
[Raul.]
There's no way he should have had a lay-up.
Every time, we gotta turn around, protect the basket.
Nice block by Chinle, - and they'll go the other way.
- There you go.
[Raul.]
At this level, having to endure, persevere or survive is having to do the things that may not be easy.
Cooper Burbank is going to have to come to the bench.
It's possible that he's got maybe a contact lens situation.
Nope, no, that's a finger.
Some blood out there.
- Are you cut? Bleeding? - Yeah.
[whistle blows.]
[Raul.]
Help him out.
If you love the game, you're gonna do what is required.
Cooper, you all right? Okay, go.
Go get it, Cooper.
[cheering.]
- [announcer.]
Chinle for another point! - [Raul.]
There you go.
All right, get back, get back! Find a man, now! [Raul.]
Of course you've got the talent.
Some of you guys got away with it because you you're able to shoot the ball.
- [announcer.]
Three! - Nice job! D-up, D-up! Maybe you're faster than somebody else.
Maybe you can jump higher than anybody else.
Maybe you're bigger than anybody else.
- There you go.
- [announcer.]
Three for Angelo Lewis! [Raul.]
But in reality, if you actually know the game, it's not about you, it's about the team.
[commentator.]
Page with the in pass, and it's stolen by Chinle, the outlet pass to Josiah Tsosie.
And he lays it in! All these things have to be done for for the team to be successful.
[whistle blows.]
Nine seconds, again, the score is tied.
All we got to do is get the ball back, okay? Stay in front of your man.
Get it back, let's go! Watch the baseline.
[cheerleaders.]
Let's go, Wildcats! [commentator.]
Tie ball game.
Page looking to inbound.
And the pass is stolen by Chinle Wildcat freshman Cael Denetdeel.
- [whistle blows.]
- And the Wildcats take over! [announcer.]
We have time out.
Okay, now, what we're gonna do is run in a circle.
Wheel, okay? That means we're gonna go this way.
Try to throw it as they come in here.
Yeah, what you need to do, try to get Cooper open.
If nothing else, set a pick here and come this way, we'll get it here.
We got time, we've got to get a shot off, okay? - [organ plays.]
- [cheerleaders.]
Let's go, Wildcats! [drumming.]
Let's go, Wildcats! Let's go, Wildcats! [whistle blows.]
Let's go, Wildcats! [commentator.]
Four seconds left of the game.
Chinle to inbound and it's Chance Harvey.
He gets it ahead to Angelo Lewis.
You gotta get it to a shot! - Three seconds left.
- Go get it! Go get it, Cooper.
Angelo finds Cooper Burbank.
Two seconds, one second, Cooper, for the win!
Last night, defensively, I thought, as a team, we gave up how many points? Too many.
We're not We're not in sync here.
I mean, we were running around like we don't know what we're doing.
To me, that's sad.
Playing no defense, trying to reach all the time.
I always hear people say, "Why don't you just leave 'em alone? Let 'em play.
" In other words, "Don't try to coach 'em, don't try to change 'em, just let 'em play.
" And I say, "Well, we can't do that, you know.
" Now, again, see where the defense is, see where the offense is, see where we're at, then he's gonna make the pass.
That should have been his Go ahead and move it.
Watch.
It should have been our steal right there.
See? Yeah, we're not anticipating that one.
[Cooper.]
I know he has experience and he knows what he's doing, so he he knows more than us.
To have a coach like that is pretty awesome.
[Raul.]
If it's not there, don't don't force it.
We turned it over again.
We can't do that.
[laughing.]
It's not funny.
The harder I push 'em, the better they're gonna be.
I want them to be able to play up to their full potential.
And without that, I then I'm not doing my job.
I don't know what we're running here, we're just running around.
As far as I'm concerned, if I'm not gonna control what's happening out there, then I don't need to be here.
That was a terrible quarter for us, there.
[woman singing in Navajo.]
[chorus singing in Navajo.]
[Raul.]
Ready? - On the whistle.
- [blows whistle.]
[Raul.]
Some kids just can't get out of that rezball mentality.
Seven, eight, nine, ten.
[blowing whistle.]
Feet gotta keep moving, come on! You got a long ways to go.
Rezball, you just shoot the ball and don't play defense, and try to outscore the other team, and that's what we have problems with this year.
Square up, square up! Don't score it that way.
You gotta square it up.
When you Cut, cut! Don't go half speed! [Josiah.]
Rezball to us is, like, get quick baskets and get up a lot of points, and play defense when we can.
But, you know, rezball is not really known for defense.
I reckon we have a lot of problems that when we run the the offense, - our guards never come to the ball.
- Yeah.
[man.]
Rezball, you know, I can see I can see as to why Mendoza flinches when he hears that.
He wants to kind of slow it down a little bit.
And one thing we have lacked in for years is killer defense, and that's where Mendoza is trying to get us into.
He wants us to have an all-around game.
[Raul.]
Josiah, let's go.
Hustle! Don't walk over there, you're not a superstar.
We wanna win a state championship.
Every year, that's our goal.
Go, go, go.
I believe they can, but we're pressed for time.
We really don't have a lot of time in the season, since we only have 16 games.
To understand that, if we're gonna succeed, we have to do the things that we don't nobody wants to do.
I guess you could say time's against us.
Okay, hold it, hold it Yeah, again.
You gotta get open, act like you mean it, like you're trying to get open.
Work it hard.
The players, you know, they tell me, "Coach talks a lot.
" [Raul.]
See where the defense is at, you can go back door.
Okay, be smart about it.
Here we go.
You know, "He doesn't let us run the ball quickly.
" [Raul.]
Turn, turn, just turn and look.
Not Not a good pass, not a good pass.
And I just remind them, you know, "Coach has a different style.
" A lot of you guys get offended 'cause I get on you.
That's just how you gotta think.
If you play defense, you're always in the game.
We just can't rely on outscoring the other team, because that's not gonna happen.
That's what you have to start realizing.
If we play defense, we always have a chance.
And again, this is something again Many Farms, because it's so close, you know, those guys are gonna get up for you.
And so, in a way, it could be a tough game.
And that's how you have to approach it.
Every game is going to be tough, so we have to be at our best, you know, each game.
Okay? We'll call it a weekend, so let's get a break real quick, - then we'll get the rest that we need.
- Wildcats on three.
[all.]
One, two, three, Wildcats.
[Raul.]
Get some rest.
Shoot the ball, Joshua.
Shoot it.
Ah! Ready? Yeah.
See? [chuckles.]
Yeah, shoot free throw, shoot free throw.
[Raul.]
I spend a lot of time away from home.
Chinle's 100 miles away.
Yeah, look at that.
My daughter lives here with her family.
We come home every weekend.
We spend time, and we go back to Chinle.
He's drinking my tea, I've got strawberry tea, he likes to drink that.
It's a hardship sometimes.
We're not able to spend time together because of the job.
You know, I try to be here as much as I can, you know, with the grandkids, and, you know, and whenever I go places, I try to They come if they can make it, we make they come, if they're not, they can't.
You know, so And that's part of it.
He keeps himself busy all year round, and, um, checks in with us and lets us know what his highlights are and what's coming up with the new season and everything.
And it's a big part of our home.
[Raul.]
I feel bad about it sometimes, but at the same time, I have to do what I do, you know.
Shoot it.
[woman.]
The majority of his time is spent with the youth.
- Yeah! - They'll write back to him, call him He's been like a father to whomever that played ball for him.
He's instilled a lot of character building into the boys' lives.
Gonna make a basket! [Raul.]
I think Chinle's a great place to be.
I really don't wanna go anywhere else.
Yeah! My wife will be working again next year.
She's an elementary school teacher, she works there.
If she retires, I'll probably have to decide whether I can afford to stay there, because my wife mentioned something that it costs us more to do what I'm doing than what they pay.
[laughs.]
So I don't know how long it'll last.
I've got another year coming up, and I have to go year-to-year, I think.
[PA system chimes.]
[woman.]
Varsity boys and girls, please report to the Wildcats Den at this time.
Hey, can you give this one to Mr.
Martin? Student comes before athlete, so you're a student first, foremost, your athlete comes second.
The kids have to maintain a C average in order to be eligible for sports.
It does kind of get hectic every now and then, but other than that, it's okay.
I would like the kids to enjoy what they're doing, playing sports, so I just like to be there for them all the time.
Coop, how much did you score last game? 29? - Yeah.
- Triple double.
- [laughing.]
- Like how he just Notice how he said yeah like it was nothin'? It's gonna be his average.
Okay, let's load up.
[Raul.]
As we progress with the season, from what I see, - I think we need to find out who we are, we need to find an identity as to what what our strengths are, and how we can play.
And we need better communication.
Okay, now we're trying to be a basketball team and, you know, we want to do well.
But as a team, we're a family, Yes, we are.
We should know each other.
It's a big difference if you know who you're playing with.
I guess what I would like for you to do is when you talk to your teammate, tell them a bit about yourself, so that they kind of get an idea who you are as, uh other than a teammate, you know.
Eh, I guess the biggest thing I'm concerned about I like for you guys to is the person that you are.
Okay, now, first, for myself, some of you guys know that I'm not from I'm not Navajo.
Okay? I'm a half-breed, I'm a mutt, I'm part Mexican, I'm part Native.
None of my family members ever went to school.
They didn't know how to speak English.
I was raised in Mexico.
So we would come over here and work on the farms to make money so we could have food.
So, my whole thing's been survival.
Okay? Who's next? My name is Josiah Tsosie.
I want to go to college.
Um I wanna go to college and get my degree for my major, and my major is in electrical engineering.
I wanna get a good paying job and, you know, support myself and support my family, because, you know, they've done a lot for me.
You know, I didn't grow up with a lot of money, you know, my family is not not very rich, but, you know, we we get by.
And, you know, I just want to be able to give back to them, take care of them, so they don't have to worry about anything.
Thank you.
Good job.
[all applauding.]
Okay, now, also Who's next? My name is Cael Gannon Denetdeel.
Right now, I'm currently a freshman, so I'm still trying to get get my life together.
So I'm still trying to decide on what I wanna do after high school.
Uh, my parents, um they said, um, that I would have to have a good education to get far in life, because life's very hard.
Um I I've seen, first-hand experience of what they mean, because there's a bunch of people around who probably weren't that educated, and you just see them around around the rez.
So, my parents don't want that for me, that's why they want me to go to school, get a good education and things like that.
Thank you.
[all applauding.]
Uh, my name's Angelo Lewis.
Um and what I wanna be after high school is, um Um go to work, build power plants with my older brother.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Anything else you want to tell us about yourself? Mm No.
I think everybody knows already.
[Raul.]
Okay.
I'm done.
[man.]
The Chinle and Many Farms matchup is unique because they're our closest neighboring town, they're only 15 minutes away.
You know, it's kind of like, you know, a lot of the kids are family.
And in some instances a lot of kids are family.
It's brother on brother in some instance.
I always make the analogy it's you're playing your little brother.
It's having that intimate knowledge about each other.
Where's my shirt? It's one of the biggest games where you see everybody from the surrounding communities come.
Everybody on route 191 is gonna be there.
Chinle, we don't lose to Many Farms.
[commentator.]
Good evening and welcome to Northland basketball, and a packed gymnasium at Many Farms, Arizona, home of the one and 0 Lobos.
Tonight it's a battle of unbeatens as Many Farms gets set to face their neighboring rivals, the Chinle Wildcats.
The new state rankings came out yesterday.
And after beating Snowflake in their opener, the Wildcats have moved up a spot to number eight in the state of Arizona.
[Raul.]
Put a little pressure on them, okay? Stay in front of your man.
Make sure we contest everything.
Every shot.
- [buzzer sounds.]
- Let's go.
[whistle blows.]
[man.]
Go, Chinle! [commentator.]
And Chinle controls the opening tip.
Senior Josiah Tsosie takes it up the court and Oh, he loses the ball, and it's picked up by Many Farms.
[Raul.]
Get back! Get back! - D-up, D-up.
- The Lobos will set it up and strike first with the jumper.
- Maybe a little nerves for Josiah.
- Get it back, let's go! Another Chinle turnover, and a drive to the basket.
[cheering.]
Touch pass by Cooper Burbank to Angelo Lewis, who lays it in.
Angelo and Cooper, one of the best one-two punches around.
And luckily for Chinle, they are both underclassmen.
Make them stop here, let's go! Gotta work.
Turn around.
Defense! [cheering.]
Hey, we can't let 21 get looks, he's wide open.
Whoever's guarding him, you gotta put your hand up on him.
[cheering.]
[commentator.]
The dish to Cooper Burbank, the three is up And good, as the Wildcats keep pace.
[buzzer sounds.]
And the buzzer sounds, and that will do it for the half.
Hey, we're all tied up here at Many Farms.
Hey, listen, guys.
They're just out hustling, that's what they're doing.
Defensively, we wanna run back as quickly as we can and turn and find the ball.
Can't leave 'em open.
Offensively, don't try to force it, relax on your shot, don't rush your shots.
You can't play that way.
We wanna be quick but not in a hurry.
Let's go.
Hey, don't try to force it! Be patient, be patient! He's out of the game.
Now get back, get back, turn around.
We gotta play defense, okay? They're killin' us on defense.
Yeah! Be patient, be patient.
Josiah! What are you doing? My bad, Coach, I got a little tired.
Hey.
You gotta be smarter than that.
Take care of the ball.
Everybody out, let's go.
[cheering.]
[cheering.]
Many Farms up one, 15 seconds left.
- Chinle's basketball, Lewis drives.
- [whistle blows.]
And he's fouled! The big man will go to the line for the chance to give Chinle the lead.
Gotta make D.
Let's go.
[cheering.]
The second free throw is up and good! - [cheering.]
- Chinle takes a one point lead.
[Raul.]
Josiah, get back, get back! On the man, now! Many Farms back the other way, and the Lobos grab the lead with three seconds, two seconds - [whistle blows.]
- Time out called by the Wildcats.
Sit down, sit down, sit down! Sit down! Run the out of bounds here when we run it here.
Cooper, he's going to run through.
Got to set a pick here.
Get him free.
Just turn around and catch and shoot.
Got to go get it.
We don't have a whole lot of time.
Everybody, let's go! [man.]
Bring them right here, jump on it right here! Bring them here, right here! [commentator.]
Two seconds left.
Hey! You gotta get a good shot! Angelo Lewis to inbound it.
Looking, looking, looking.
He gets it in and it's Curtis Begay, He'll take it all the way, and the shot to win it.
[buzzer sounds.]
Many Farms has done it, they have pulled off the stunning upset.
This is a bitter pill to swallow for Raul Mendoza and the Wildcats, as Chinle now drops to a one and one on the young season.
[man.]
First time ever! [woman.]
Yeah! [Raul.]
The game's not over until the buzzer goes off.
Seemed like we quit at a minute and a half.
I mean, they outplayed us.
They I mean, they deserved to win.
I told you from the beginning that Many Farms was gonna be ready.
They live for this game.
Were we ready to play? As a team, are we ready to play? - No.
- Angelo says no.
You can answer that for yourself.
The way we played, you know, anybody could have beat us tonight.
Put your head up and let's get out of here.
Ready, Wildcats on three, family on six.
[all.]
One, two, three, Wildcats, four, five, six, family.
[Shaun.]
When it comes to the goal for this team, yeah, we we want a title, we always want a title.
But is it the sole goal, is it the sole focus? No.
You know, yeah, we may have lost this game, however, our students have this crazy amount of responsibilities that they have to deal with as well.
Right here.
[Beau.]
Grab it at the Yeah, the third one from the top.
[woman.]
Ready, set, go.
[laughing.]
- [Cael.]
There? - [woman.]
Rest it right here, son.
- Whoops.
- [Cael.]
Pick it up there.
- [groans.]
- [woman.]
And we have failure.
Okay, okay.
Okay, ready to roll.
[Cael.]
Most people, they have their water through faucets, but out here, a lot of people have to go to the local wells and get water, for their animals, the livestock they have, or for themselves in the household.
Oh, shoot.
[yawns.]
[woman.]
I'm sure Cael does wanna sleep in, but the livestock still need water because they need to drink water, and we need water to cook, shower, clean.
Doing these things outside of him going to school, being a student athlete, it kind of teaches him the responsibility, in my eyes, as well as my other children's eyes, that they have to work for what they want in this world, and nothing's gonna come easy, nothing's gonna come free.
If they want something best for themselves, they have to go out there to get it.
And, like the elderly say, "It happens in the great morning of dawn.
" [Raul.]
Life is such that there's a lot of things you do that you don't wanna do, but you have no choice, if you're gonna get to where you wanna be.
We always try to use basketball as a means of learning how to accomplish things in life.
Not everybody likes to do the hard things that require a a team to be successful.
It takes work.
It's something you have to do even though sometimes, you don't feel like it.
But once you realize that, you know, "This is tough, but hey, I can I can still manage it" And that that's what life is all about.
In all the years I've coached, I never lost to a team from Many Farms.
And I don't know if Chinle Never lost to them either, it's the first time.
And guess what? They're gonna remember you as the team that lost to Many Farms.
Many Farms smacked us in the mouth.
[Beau.]
People talk.
"It's the coach Oh, it's the it's the players.
" I just had people coming to me left and right, "What happened? What happened?" One of the things I've been trying to get you guys to understand the importance of defense.
You know, stopping the other team.
Were we able to stop 'em? Chance? Were you able to stop 'em? [Chance.]
A little.
A little.
But see see what I'm saying.
He just said "A little.
" He Is he content with that? If you're gonna beat somebody, you gotta go with the idea, "I'm gonna shut you down.
" And if we can come to the point where we understand that, that's what's gonna make us a good team.
You know, this team can be very good, but we need to understand that it starts with defense.
[Beau.]
We're only two games into the season, and I just remind the players no matter how bad things may seem, stay positive, because the negativity's gonna go away.
It's not gonna stay and stick to us forever.
[Raul.]
Good work! [Beau.]
Here's the thing you guys have to understand too.
You guys are setting the screen, you guys need to make sure that you set the screen nice and tight.
All right, next group.
[Josiah.]
We're close with the assistant coaches like Beau, because, you know, we've known them for a while and they they get us.
They're younger and Mendoza is old school.
[Beau.]
Coach Mendoza, he's serious, he's stern.
Yougotta go up and be set the screen.
Because of my age and my experience, you know, the guys feel a little bit more comfortable, more at ease.
And part of the reason why they have a real strong connection with me is because they grew up watching me play.
[commentator.]
The Chinle Wildcats, making their first championship game appearance, unable to complete the mission.
[Beau.]
We made history, being the first team to a state championship, and we ended up falling short.
Quickly, set it up now.
Get it in quick, get through this quick.
I really don't ever wanna feel that feeling again.
It hurt.
You know, we were just We were right there, that close.
I definitely want these guys to finish what I could have done.
I keep telling each team, "I want you guys to be the ones to push my state runner-up banner aside, and hang one that says 'Champions'.
" [Raul.]
We're playing home, first game home.
Page is probably the best defensive team you're gonna play all year.
They beat us three times last year.
So, basically we have to be ready to go, okay? Let's get out of here.
Everybody ready to go, I hope, grade-wise.
[Beau.]
This main road that we're about to go on is Navajo Route 7.
It's the second out of two streets that run through Chinle.
So you can you can never really say that you got lost in Chinle.
The big thing out here is there's not a whole lot going on.
And this is why basketball is king on the reservation.
And when there's not basketball going on, one of two things can happen.
They can either be doing something constructive, something positive, or they could be doing something negative, something harmful, getting themselves into trouble.
For those, you know, that fall onto the wrong side of the law, they get into drugs, alcohol they're most likely hanging out in the wash.
Everyone drives over it, every day, probably.
We have the wash.
This is where, you know, people will go to do drugs.
A lot of what goes on out here on the rez, a lot of the crimes is because of drugs and alcohol.
And, over the years, over the past few years, the drug use has gotten incredibly worse.
We have kids in high school that are dealing, kids in junior high and kids in elementary that are dealing.
You know, those that pretty much just kinda give up on life, this is where they end up.
You know? Probably the worst drug that is in Chinle is meth.
It's bad.
And it's my job to keep them away from this.
I encourage them to stay in school, go to college and not end up here.
Academics, I would say that I strive really hard for.
So right now I'm sitting at a 4.
1667 for my GPA.
[Josiah.]
I'm assuming that most of the colleges would rather choose grades over another athlete who has a lower grade point average.
Try to stay above the 3.
0.
Trying to.
Yeah.
I'm trying to get higher though, to maybe about 3.
4, 3.
5, so I can get better colleges offering me a scholarship.
Homework Um I don't really get that much homework for my classes, but when I do, I finish it when I get home.
If not, then it's, uh turned in a day late.
Yeah.
I have to wake up, like, 5:30 to 5:40 to get ready.
Traveling to and from school will probably take me about an hour to an hour and 30 minutes.
I live about less than a mile from here.
[laughs.]
And uh, I don't have to wake up early, so that's a good thing.
But I still come late.
[laughs.]
[Beau.]
Angelo right now, it's really hard to say which path he's gonna go.
[school bell rings.]
The kid has potential.
He steps foot on the floor here you can tell he's in another world.
[man.]
Two minutes Hustle it up! Angelo, get to class! I've seen him play ball, he's got skills.
Play basketball D1, maybe, even.
But it takes a commitment, and I don't know how you make people make that commitment.
So, here's kind of what I want your cards to look like.
[Angelo.]
Mm School, I never liked school.
Hm.
I think they wanna see me make it I guess, make it out of the rez.
Go to the college No, that's that's not what I want to do, no.
I just wanna go to work help my family.
[Donald.]
I don't think he values himself as much as we see the value in him.
[Beau.]
We look at him and say, "He can go somewhere.
He can take an opportunity and create his own advantages for himself in life, and not fall into the wrong hands of people on the other side of the law.
Which we all see here on the rez.
[Angelo.]
Drugs, I see every day.
I see people losin' their lives over it, losin' their family, friends and yeah, it scares me a little bit, but just gotta go through it.
I've seen it so many times, so many star athletes out here doin' nothin'.
[Angelo.]
I don't wanna really talk about, like, my problems and stuff.
[announcer.]
Testing, one-two.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, hey, hey, hey! - First home game here this evening.
- [buzzer sounds.]
Welcome, basketball fans! [cheering.]
[singing "The Star Spangled Banner" in Navajo.]
[commentator.]
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Wildcat Den.
The Wildcats tonight take on the Page Sand Devils.
After the loss to Many Farms, Chinle has dropped out of the top ten in the state rankings, currently ranked number 13 in Arizona.
The top 24 teams will make the play-offs.
So the Wildcats, they don't wanna drop too far down the list.
[singing high note.]
[cheering.]
[cheering.]
[horn blares.]
[Raul.]
Sit down, let's go.
Everybody sit down.
Everything that you do, you have to work at it.
When you take the challenge of being a player, you do everything that you can.
Who was the last successful team that was here? - '09.
- '09.
Did you talk to any of the coaches? Like you, you played on that team.
Did you ask him, "How did you guys do it?" or, "What was some of the things that you did that made you successful?" Here's what I'm saying, he's a resource.
He mentioned that some of you guys have the talent to play at the next level.
And you'll probably say, "Oh, he's just He doesn't know what he's talking about.
" Probably.
Because you don't take yourselves seriously.
[chanting.]
Ooh, aah [Raul.]
Chinle's never won a state championship.
- Ooh, aah, ooh, aah! - We have the opportunity.
- Let's go! - Go! [announcer.]
Chinle, Wildcats fans, are you here? [cheering.]
[announcer.]
Yeah! Okay! [Raul.]
There's rules that we have.
It's called the golden rule.
If I'm gonna coach the game, this is how it's gotta be done.
[all.]
One, two, three, Wildcats.
[whistle blows.]
[Raul.]
In order to play the game, - you have to play defense.
- Go, go, go! [commentator.]
Drive inside and Boy, what a shot! Boy, that was beautiful as he went in between the defenders.
[Raul.]
There's no way he should have had a lay-up.
Every time, we gotta turn around, protect the basket.
Nice block by Chinle, - and they'll go the other way.
- There you go.
[Raul.]
At this level, having to endure, persevere or survive is having to do the things that may not be easy.
Cooper Burbank is going to have to come to the bench.
It's possible that he's got maybe a contact lens situation.
Nope, no, that's a finger.
Some blood out there.
- Are you cut? Bleeding? - Yeah.
[whistle blows.]
[Raul.]
Help him out.
If you love the game, you're gonna do what is required.
Cooper, you all right? Okay, go.
Go get it, Cooper.
[cheering.]
- [announcer.]
Chinle for another point! - [Raul.]
There you go.
All right, get back, get back! Find a man, now! [Raul.]
Of course you've got the talent.
Some of you guys got away with it because you you're able to shoot the ball.
- [announcer.]
Three! - Nice job! D-up, D-up! Maybe you're faster than somebody else.
Maybe you can jump higher than anybody else.
Maybe you're bigger than anybody else.
- There you go.
- [announcer.]
Three for Angelo Lewis! [Raul.]
But in reality, if you actually know the game, it's not about you, it's about the team.
[commentator.]
Page with the in pass, and it's stolen by Chinle, the outlet pass to Josiah Tsosie.
And he lays it in! All these things have to be done for for the team to be successful.
[whistle blows.]
Nine seconds, again, the score is tied.
All we got to do is get the ball back, okay? Stay in front of your man.
Get it back, let's go! Watch the baseline.
[cheerleaders.]
Let's go, Wildcats! [commentator.]
Tie ball game.
Page looking to inbound.
And the pass is stolen by Chinle Wildcat freshman Cael Denetdeel.
- [whistle blows.]
- And the Wildcats take over! [announcer.]
We have time out.
Okay, now, what we're gonna do is run in a circle.
Wheel, okay? That means we're gonna go this way.
Try to throw it as they come in here.
Yeah, what you need to do, try to get Cooper open.
If nothing else, set a pick here and come this way, we'll get it here.
We got time, we've got to get a shot off, okay? - [organ plays.]
- [cheerleaders.]
Let's go, Wildcats! [drumming.]
Let's go, Wildcats! Let's go, Wildcats! [whistle blows.]
Let's go, Wildcats! [commentator.]
Four seconds left of the game.
Chinle to inbound and it's Chance Harvey.
He gets it ahead to Angelo Lewis.
You gotta get it to a shot! - Three seconds left.
- Go get it! Go get it, Cooper.
Angelo finds Cooper Burbank.
Two seconds, one second, Cooper, for the win!