by By Dan Ninham
The Cass Lake-Bena Panthers recently marched through, as they often had in the past two decades, the Minnesota Class A Sub-section 8 Tournament into the Section 8 Championship game. They were vying for their second section championship in the past recent decade. In the first decade of 2000 the Panthers went to the state tournament six times placing runner-up, third twice and fourth once.
The Gators of Badger-Greenbush-Middle River were waiting on the other side of the sub-section this post-season.
The Bemidji Pioneer, in its coverage of the game on 3/26/21, stated: “Cass Lake-Bena was down 36-20 with 12 minutes left in the game. The Panthers weren’t going to go quietly, and Dominic Fairbanks made sure of that. The freshman guard poured in 16 points after halftime, willing his team back from the dead. He drained a trio of three’s to cut back within single digits, flashed his footwork with a Euro-step layup on a fast break. His free throws with 2:40 left had Cass Lake-Bena within 46-42.”
The Panthers lost the section final 55-48 and ended the COVID-shortened season with an 18-5 record. Badger-Greenbush-Middle River advanced to win their first state tournament game 58-52 versus Deer River and the 20-3 Gators play Hayfield on April 7 at the Target Center.
Star high school athletes start playing varsity at a young age. School enrollment doesn’t dictate when these young athletes will contribute to their varsity teams. Their developed and trained maturity and advanced skills dictate their varsity playing time and keeping them there.
Dominic Fairbanks is 14 years old and a tribal member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. He is Makwa Doodem, translated to bear clan. His spirit name is Giiwedin Makwa, meaning Northern Bear. He is a freshman at Cass Lake-Bena HS. His mother is Becky Fairbanks and father is LeRoy Staples Fairbanks. He and his family live in Cass Lake, MN.
“I wrestled from the age of four until the seventh grade,” said Dominic. “I went to state three times in youth wrestling. I also play football and got some varsity time in eighth grade. In the spring I play golf and I have been on the varsity team since seventh grade.”
Dominic was selected to play on the 14U Team Minnesota basketball team to compete internationally at the 2017 North American Indigenous Games. He was 11 years old and the team won the gold medal. He was also selected for the 14U team again in 2020 but it was postponed until next summer because of the pandemic.
During the past two spring and summer off-seasons, Dominic played up a grade for the Playmakers North program and this year he played for D1Minnesota, one of the top programs in the country.
“When I started Playmakers North four years ago I knew Dom was going to be a special player,” said Phil Roe, Director of Playmakers North. “His ball handling, passing, and scoring were next level stuff when he was just 12 years old. He has some amazing scoring abilities and just loves the game. He has always had a strong desire to compete and win and play at a high level.”
“Dom also happens to be an outstanding young man and role model on and off the court. I’ve had the privilege to watch him shine and grow as a player at both AAU and high school and this year I’m thrilled to be his coach and believe he will put in the work to take his game to a new level this next year. Dom is a natural playmaker who makes everyone around him better,” added Phil.
“When I saw him in fall league I knew he was going to be a player,” said Tom Kroshelle, Founder of D1Minnesota. “He has a non-stop relentless attacking of the basketball when he’s on offense. He also has excellent footwork getting into the lane and creating opportunities for him and others to score. Excellent upside.”
Lessons are learned for coaches and players alike in every season and game.
“I think one big lesson I learned during my time on varsity is preparation,” said Dominic. “Preparation is a big key in everything you do. If you don’t prepare you usually don’t perform to your potential every time.”
“You always have to prepare for the big games the days ahead. You have to hydrate, stretch, and take deep breaths before the game. Before games when I am nervous my dad always told me to do 4-7-8 breathing, it helps with calming yourself,” added Dominic.
“In the physical aspect of preparation I work out once or twice a day,” said Dominic. “I always do ball handling, Mikans, and shooting. My mental preparation includes reading basketball articles, watching basketball highlights on YouTube, and before games I prepare my mindset by listening to music.”
“A lesson I learned is you have to always be positive to your teammates,” said Dominic. “That is a big trait of being a leader, you always have to uplift your teammates and not bring them down talking down on them or at them.”
“My dad showed me a video on Steve Nash,” said Dominic. “It was about how many ‘high fives’ or how many times he touches his teammates a game. It says in the video that when you give a ‘high five’ it transfers positive energy from one to another. After that video I think I actually gave more ‘high fives’ and touches after that.”
“Another huge lesson I learned this year is about confidence,” said Dominic. “You need confidence in everything you do. When I have confidence I feel like I can hit any shot I take, get any steal I go for, and shut down anyone I am defending. If you lack confidence you aren’t going to do very good because you’re going to second guess everything you do.”
“My dad speaks to me about confidence a lot,” said Dominic. “He tells me that it is a big part of all the sports that I play but also in life. I try to build my confidence up to know that when I need to hit a putt or the game winning free throws, that I am capable. The way I emotionally prepare before games I try to clear my head, and not do a lot before a game. Spiritually I put my ‘asema’ (tobacco) out and say ‘miigwech’ (thank you) for this good life.”
“You also have to picture yourself on the big stage,” said Dominic. “Picturing yourself doing what you would do when you’re in that position, like hitting the big shot or getting the game winning steal. Preparation isn’t just days before a big game, it is the two-a-day practices all season, and all the work in the off season, like getting shots up, working on your handle, working out, and eating healthy.”
“Confidence goes back to being prepared,” said Dominic. “It’s like going up for a shot in a game and having confidence you’re going to hit it because you’ve practiced this shot 100 times before, or making a tough move and thinking you can make the move because you’ve practiced your handle and ball control every day.”
“Your confidence can go up and down throughout the game,” said Dominic. “Say you miss your first two shots, and now you might be a little hesitant to shoot the next but you then you shoot it and you make it, now your confidence rises and you are now more confident to shoot the next.”
Dominic is already thinking of the summer. Spring ball is a stepping stone to summer ball. He plans to play AAU this spring and summer for the Wisconsin Playmakers. “I also plan to work out four to five times a week, and identify and focus on my weaknesses over the summer. I plan to study high level guards and see what they do that I don’t, and just study the game in general. I also plan to play in a couple tournaments over the summer and fall, play with some of my high school teammates, and hope to get some of them in the gym to put in work over the summer.”
Core values are taught and reinforced by parents, family, coaches, teachers, and many others. Dominic talked about his core values: “Some of the values I follow are integrity, honesty, hard work, commitment, and dedication. Integrity to me means always doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Honesty is to tell the truth no matter what I was told and one of the worst things you can do is to lie. One thing my mom and dad always told me growing up is ‘whatever you do, do it great’ and that includes things all the way down to washing dishes and doing my chores. I incorporate hard work, commitment, and dedication in my everyday life, and also the value of earning everything you get. ‘Everything is earned, not given.’ I believe all of these values are going to help me reach my goals to get to the next level in life.”
“My dad pushes me in school and athletics,” said Dominic. “For him, it’s school first so he makes sure I have good grades before sports. He also pushes me to be great in all the things I do in life.”
“My brother LeRoy always checks up on me and is always there for me,” said Dominic. “He is the one I get to battle every day on the court, and those battles have surely helped me be the player I am today. Another person who influences me is my uncle Brady who pushes me hard in athletics. He always works out with me and my brother and is a great teacher. Another person is my uncle Clint who always wants to work out with us and is always there to give advice and help when needed. My other uncle Cedric helps a lot with different strength workouts and also gives advice about athletics. My mom pushes me a lot academically and always makes sure I’m happy, healthy and safe.”
“Dominic has been playing competitively since he was in first grade,” said dad LeRoy Staples Fairbanks, 38. “He was playing up two grades and has played up pretty much his whole life.”
“He was a state tournament qualifying and placing wrestler growing up and wrestled competitively through sixth grade. I feel his tenacity, physicality, and aggressive style of play comes from his style that he used on the wrestling mat,” added LeRoy.
“As a player, he has always had the talent, but players know, you have to be constantly challenged in order to consistently improve,” said LeRoy. “That is why I’ve always had him playing against competition that was better than him. When he was in sixth and seventh grade he started playing more against older players and adults in leagues and pick-up games.”
“I watched him battle and get roughed up, and he didn’t shy away from the tougher competition. That was when I knew he was capable of playing varsity at a young age, and his coach must have seen it too, because he started varsity as an eighth grader,” added LeRoy.
“He is often seen as the shooter, but I see him as a lockdown defender, a hustle player, and a vocal leader on the floor,” said LeRoy. “He understands the game at a high level and always has the coach’s trust to lead on any team he has played on.”
“Over the course of his freshman year he has had to deal with increasing amount of team’s game planning to stop him, and I believe it has helped him grow. Teams were double teaming and face guarding beyond 22 feet, and he is seeing how much harder he has to work to get open, score, and facilitate the offense,” added LeRoy.
Becky Fairbanks, 41, Dominic’s mom, was on the softball and golf teams at Cass Lake-Bena HS. She talked about her younger son playing basketball: “Since Dominic was around two years old he constantly was playing basketball inside the house. He never played much with toys and all he did was shoot on a door hoop and pretend he was playing in big games. He would go into the room and get dressed in his ball gear, change jerseys often and pretend he was in a big game. His basketball career started when he was in the first grade on the Leech Lakers third grade team. He was so tiny and cute dribbling and diving for loose balls. He never gave up and always hustling, playing good defense, stealing the ball and scoring.”
“From there on out he always played up a grade on teams, and he is always committed to working out and in the gym whenever possible. Dominic listens to instruction well and absorbs the lessons that he receives from family, friends, teachers and coaches. Dominic is very committed on and off the court, he does well in school and in other sports throughout the year,” added Becky.
The Fairbanks are a basketball family. Dad and his brothers played at the high school, college, and recreational levels. Not only basketball but many sports to live physically active lives and to model the right lifeways to their children.
Teammate and older brother LeRoy IV was featured in a story last December: http://www.ndnsports.com/leroy-staples-fairbanks-iv-bringing-solid-aau-summer-season-to-the-cass-lake-bena-panthers-mn/ LeRoy IV finished this season averaging 19.5 ppg, 57% 2fg, 39% 3fg, 82% ft, 6.3 rpg, and 4.4 apg. Dominic’s freshman season statistics included: 15.7 ppg, 62% 2fg, 39% 3fg, 76% ft, 3.5 rpg, 4 apg, and 3.2 spg.
In the Ojibwe cultural ways, the uncle is a strong guide in their nephews empowered journey. Dominic and LeRoy IV have three uncles to help lead them on and off the court, field, and out of the home and classroom. The uncles are the disciplinarian’s of their nephews. Discipline as providing direction and doing the right things right and not punishment.
“I first knew Dom was something special at basketball when he played in tournaments with his older brother LeRoy,” said Uncle Cedric, 42. “There were no teams for his age, so he played on a team that was two years older than he was. I remember a game he came off the bench and scored like eight or nine baskets in a row. The crowd was going wild for a youth basketball game. He was locked in on defense and kept stealing the ball and would either make a lay-up or shoot a jumper. It was something else because he was much smaller than everyone at the time but it didn’t affect him.”
“Being his uncle, I seen him play pretty much his whole life. Seen him play his first game to now him playing varsity. He always was a fierce competitor when it came to basketball and would never back down from the older kids. And now he’s still doing it today. He’s a good kid and a good student of the game. He always listens and wants to learn more to help him improve his game. This attribute is what also drives him to get better on and off the court,” added Cedric.
“Dom has always been challenged to compete at a higher level due to the fact most of his competitors came from his older brother’s level,” said Uncle Clinton, 34.
“His physique is very cut and lean and that makes him versatile at any sport including football, wrestling, basketball, and golf,” added Clinton.
“In first grade he played on a first generation Leech Lakers basketball team that was comprised of a few boys and girls in third grade,” said Clinton. “They always were in contention to win, and at that time you could notice his drive to always want to win. As he grew older hopping on the Team Minnesota team to take over and help win a championship was a real eye opener that he could always compete at a higher level than kids his age.”
“Dom’s commitment now is the real reason he is so great,” said Clinton. “His homework and work ethics to any sport he desires to play is a model that is trickling down to the community and his peers.”
Uncle Brady, 31, is the current head men’s basketball coach at Leech Lake Tribal College. He is one of several Panther alumni who maximized their athletic talent by playing college basketball and graduating. He was an NAIA All American at Haskell Indian Nations University.
“My nephew Dominic always loved the game of basketball ever since I could remember,” said Uncle Brady. “He always wanted to play and be around his oldest brother LeRoy IV. I think what really drove him was getting beat up early and then never stopping. Early on he was very talented and playing up levels throughout elementary and middle school. His work ethic is second to none and makes everything a competition. You love that in players.”
“I think he’s just now starting to come out of his shell and showcase what he’s always been able to do. He’s always had the shot and drive to compete at any level. With his work ethic and some time, I think he can only continue to get better!” added Brady.
Photo Credit: Tim Kolehmainen/Breakdown Sports Media
