 | More than 30 NABI participants have earned college basketball scholarships during the event's first five years. Photo courtesy of GinaMarie Scarpa-Mabry |
By Jared Zwerling, Special to SI.com
Chances are, whether you are a college basketball fan or coach, you've never met a "rez baller." While they are best known for their run-and-gun style, Native American basketball players have remained virtually undetectable, tucked away within the desolate quarters of their reservations. But with the formation of the Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI), they now have a way to take their games beyond the boundaries of their tribal communities and onto courts where coaches can evaluate them.
Since NABI tipped off five years ago in Phoenix, the event has evolved into the most significant showcase for aspiring rez ballers. What initially began as a 24-team tournament that only opened its doors to Arizona tribes, has developed into a weeklong July hoopsfest featuring 86 teams (46 boys, 40 girls) coming from as far away as Washington and Florida.
"The first thing with NABI when we started in 2003 is we were hoping within our first maybe three years that we would get recognized as a tournament that has some incredible talent for college coaches to scout," says GinaMarie Scarpa-Mabry, tournament co-founder and director. "It happened in our first year. We had five scholarships awarded to the kids who played in NABI."
That total now stands at more than 30 basketball scholarships to date. For Scarpa-Mabry, a lifelong youth consultant, her idea to start NABI came to fruition while living in Phoenix, where there is a large contingent of Native Americans. Along with former NBA player Mark West, whom Scarpa-Mabry had met through previous work, she approached the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Nike to help fund and promote the event, and all three organizations came through.
"A lot of the coaches from colleges hit the larger cities and they can hit many high schools in one day, but it would take two to three days to get to a reservation," says Scarpa-Mabry. "We decided to create a tournament and bring the talent to them."
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