The Indian basketball team is currently playing in the Slaton tournament after bringing their record to 4-4 after a 62-48 win over Frenship on Dec. 9.

The Indians had faced the Tigers on many occasions but Tuesday was the first time Coach Paul Page came back to the gym as the Tiger head coach.

“It’s weird because Coach Page is coming home,” junior guard Luke Wimmer said. “We are going to present him with a plaque.”

Athletic Director Kent Jackson presented Page with a plaque commemorating all the work he had done for the Indian athletic program over the 10 years he served as the Indian head coach. Coach David Williams told the crowd that Page was not only a great coach, but also a great person. The upcoming Ambucs Caprock holiday tournament has posed major challenges for the Indians in the past.

“It’ll be tough as it always is,” senior post Rocky Loewen said. “I think we’ll do better than previous years though.”

The Indians went 2-2 in the Brock tournament on Dec. 4-6. “After our last tournament we came together,” senior guard Brennen Dominguez said. “We felt like we can do whatever is possible.”

Though it is still early in the season the team sees a common goal.

“I’m looking forward to going far in the playoffs,” Loewen said. “I’m hoping to go to the state tournament and win.”

Work ethic is the key for the Indians.

“We work hard in practice,” junior guard Luke Wimmer said. “We get things done in practice, so when it comes to games, it comes naturally.”

As the team begins to gel with Williams, outlooks brighten.

“Practices are going really well,” Dominguez said. “We’ve been winning, so we just do what we’ve been doing. We give 100 percent in whatever we do.”

Indian players feel that if they work on Williams’s season plan, they will go far.

“Coach gives us specific goals in a game,” senior guard Sabraun Adams said. “We come together and play hard to accomplish those goals.”