MISSOULA — On the old second-story Schreiber Gym at the University of Montana, in the back left corner, a crowd of coaches gazed onto the basketball court Saturday.

Butte High head coach Matt Luedtke was guiding five athletes through drills around the paint: layups from under the basket, navigating the paint for pull-up jumpers and catch-and-shoot jumpers from around the arc. The drills were a part of the inaugural Native American Basketball Coaching Association (NABCA) coaching clinic that took place over two days at UM.

Featuring 30 sign-ups, the event allowed coaches from across the Treasure State from indigenous backgrounds to come together to both exchange ideas and strategies, foster community and highlight upcoming coaches from Native American communities.

"This is bigger than ba

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