by By Dan Ninham
The Oneida Warriors were one of the elite men’s Indian ball teams in their day. The team was organized by the late Edwin King Sr. and his legacy continues to shine with his grandson leading the Oneida Nation HS boys’ basketball team.
Jamison King, 37, is Oneida and a member of the Bear Clan. His Oneida name is La’kvhlakwas and means “he picks up ashes.”
“My wife is Nasbah Hill and we have two children including our son, Naalzheehii, and our daughter, Dezbah,” said Jamison.
“I coach the varsity boys’ basketball team at Oneida Nation High School,” said Jamison.
“I began coaching for Team WI in the 2014 North American Indigenous Games,” added Jamison.
Jamison played basketball and golf in high school for the Oneida Nation HS Thunderhawks and in college at Haskell Indian Nations University and UW-Marathon County.
“As a coach and first time high school coach, winning the gold medal for U16 at 2014 NAIG is up there as one of my main accomplishments,” said Jamison. “Being able to go back and coach at my alma mater ONHS has been a very rewarding experience for me as well.”
“Athletically, playing four years of collegiate basketball was always a goal of mine,” said Jamison. “I was able to do that and was named captain and Defensive Player of the Year my senior year of college. Playing at ONHS, I was named All Area Honorable Mention in my senior year by the Green Bay Press Gazette.”
Tribal core values often define who coaches are and how they lead their teams and programs.
“I try my best to give back to my community and my tribe through the experiences I’ve had so far,” said Jamison. “This comes from one of our core values in Kunolukwatsla: Love. The love for my community, tribe, the youth that I work with, the relationships that are developed through the game of basketball.”
“I also do my best to use Kahletysalutsla: Encouragement,” said Jamison. “I encourage the players not just in basketball but in life. There’s so much more to just X’s and O’s. Playing the game, we have to work together as people to accomplish our goals.”
“Another is Ukwatsiste: Our fire,” said Jamison. “That spirit of competition brings out that fire in us, to compete. I consider myself to be more of a laid-back type of person but when I compete the fire is there, and if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be doing this. I enjoy that spirit of competition within the game of basketball or any sport that I play. I also enjoy that fire within our youth when they compete and bring that joy to our community and their families.”
“Through these values, I do my best to continue living an alcohol-free life and I promote that to our youth not just in basketball but in all areas of my work,” added Jamison.
Nasbah Hill talked about her husband as the dad and basketball coach: “Jamison often takes our son to the games and has him sit on the bench as part of the team in hopes to inspire him to want to play one day. I’m very proud of the dedication my husband has for the team.”
“Jamison puts his whole heart into coaching the ONHS varsity team. From the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep he is thinking of all his team members. He cares tremendously for each player and their well-being and is always figuring out ways to help them improve on and off the court. He is on them about their grades, mannerisms and concerned about their future after high school. Jamison treats each player as extended family and has a positive relationship with each player and their families,” added Nasbah.
Artley Skenandore, ONHS Athletic Director, talked about one of his head coaches: “Coach King emphasizes to his players the importance of being a leader on and off the court. He sets expectations for the team and his players during the season. He remains connected to the players in the off-season, as coach King is visible in the community as an Oneida Language Instructor.”
“He works to integrate our language and culture in his interactions with his players, always encouraging them to have goals for their future. This was especially important during the pandemic as the school was on a virtual schedule and he made sure he was communicating with the player’s through their social media team page. He was always encouraging them to complete assignments and remain hopeful that the team would return to the court at some point this season,” added Artley.
“Coach King is vested in contributing support and encouragement 365 days a year to each student that plays for him,” said Artley. “Coach King is more than a basketball coach, he is a mentor for our student athletes encouraging them to learn more of their cultural identity while learning how to contribute to the success of working as a team.”
Coaches are influenced by mentors along their journey leading others. Borrowing philosophies and strategies are important and oftentimes determines success in more areas than just on the court or field.
“There are so many who had a positive influence on me through the game,” said Jamison. “The late Scott Murray is the one who gave me the push to start coaching with 2014 NAIG. He also asked me to be his assistant for ONHS after that NAIG trip to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. I wasn’t able to do that because I moved to Arizona. Murray, along with my brother Mike King, Jr., is how I got into coaching.”
Scott Murray attended Grafton HS (WI) and lettered in five varsity sports. He played collegiately at Milton College, earned all-WIC and all-district in basketball, and later named to the Milton College athletic hall of fame. Scott also played professional basketball in Costa Rica. He started working for the Oneida Nation in 1995 as the Area Manager of Fitness and Recreation. Scott was proud to be the basketball coach of the Oneida Nation HS and Team WI earning two gold medals in the North American Indigenous Games. He was a mentor to many young people on and off the court. Scott died at age 60 of natural causes on December 18, 2015.
“Scott Murray helped us, coached us, and he fit right in,” said Ernie Stevens Jr.
“Scott was a mentor to all of us. He was a good teacher, a beautiful man and he left too young,” added Ernie Jr.
”Jamison’s a very humble and genuine person,” said Mike King, Jr. “He wants nothing but the best for the young men he’s coaching. He has lots of experience and plenty of knowledge when it comes to the game of basketball. He is a former student of the Oneida Nation HS and has lot of pride in representing the school and the community.”
“My mother, Diana King, always coaches me either if I’m playing or coaching the game,” said Jamison. “She has always used ‘moments’ to teach me to be better or have a stronger mentality while playing or coaching the game.”
“There were many mentors that I had and have through basketball,” said Jamison. “My dad Edwin King Jr. and my uncles who played together with the Oneida Warriors. I got to grow up around them and looking back at how they played the game was great from being able to see them play together. They all had roles on the team and they knew how to fill that role. The teams included my dad Edwin, Uncles Albert King, Sr., and Mike King, Sr., and the late Scott Murray and Danny Danforth, who both coached me at ONHS, as well as Roy Redhail, Ernie Stevens Jr., Paul Danforth, and Kevin Cottrell.”
Roy Redhail talked about one of the many young men he mentored: “Jamison has been a pillar of integrity for our young men in the community. I remember when he was a little boy, he always listened and kept himself away from that dark road of alcohol and drugs. Jamison has grown into a great father, uncle and coach. The young men really like Jamison because he cares about others and the kids feel that love he gives out to them.”
The Oneida Warriors were one of the top Indian ball teams in the region and country in the ‘70’s and 80’s. Ernie Stevens Jr. played for the Oneida Warriors under Edwin King Sr. The legacy of Edwin King Sr. continued with the leadership of Ernie Jr. taking over the Warriors.
“Jamison grew up with my kids,” said Ernie Stevens Jr. “I grew up with his Grandpa and his uncles.”
Ernie Jr. continued to talk about the coach and the man who is leading the Oneida student-athletes” “He is equally a great coach and a person. The combination doesn’t start and end there. He is one of the top players to come out of area. I watched him build his character. He followed in the footsteps of the legacy of his Grandpa Ed King Sr.”
“I’ve known him since grade school,” said Paul Danforth, former Oneida Warrior basketball player and Oneida community youth athletics coach. “I took him to a tournament and he was younger than the rest of the boys. I told him to toughen up. If he wanted to be a good player like his family and how I seen him in high school then he needed to be serious about his game. He was respectful to his coach’s and he brought that positive attitude to the tribal school as a coach. He is a very nice and respectful young man and seems that’s what he’s teaching our young athletes and I’m very proud of him.”
Former Oneida Warrior Kevin Cottrell said: “Back when our Oneida Warriors men’s team was playing for Ed King Sr., when we would travel to play in other states, I would bring my son Travis, Eddie Jr. would bring Jamison and Mike Sr. would bring Mike Jr. The three of them were about 10-12 years old and between our games, those three would play the local kids 3-on-3, and I swear they never lost. At that age you could see his skill, and love for the game.”
“Being around that group of guys, being able to go on a lot of trips with them, being in their huddles, hanging out with them all weekend at tourneys, taught me a lot about being on a team and they won a lot. I also seen and heard what it took to win. Playing together, and making sacrifices is all a part of being on a team and they did that,” added Jamison.
“Jamie Morrison was my college coach at HINU,” said Jamison. “Since I’ve known him and he coached me there for three years, we have always kept in touch and he’s always been a positive influence in my life.”
“It wasn’t obvious to me when he was playing that he would coach someday,” said Jamison’s former coach at HINU Jamie Morrison. “What was unique and stood out were a couple of things. Jamison was always kind of quiet but his dedication and passion for the game was obvious. He was a deep thinker and a great teammate. The other thing that stood out was his dedication to his family, his people, his community and his traditions. His parents and siblings and nephews were always around and even as a young person you could tell he enjoyed helping out and being involved with his nieces and nephews.”
“As a player I had Jamison play everywhere. He played some 4 position for us, spent a lot of time on the wing. His senior year we had some injuries at the point guard position so we moved him to there where he didn’t have a ton of experience. We wanted to try to take advantage of his length on both ends of the court. I’m sure it wasn’t ideal for him but it was best for the team and I think he started to embrace it. What I think it also did was force him to look at the game differently, more from a coach’s perspective,” said Jamie.
“I had a lot of guys that played for me who are now very successful coaches throughout Indian Country and like Jamison they all have a passion for basketball and their communities,” said Jamie. “Jamison and I have remained pretty close over the years and I’m thrilled for his success with the Oneida basketball program and couldn’t be more proud. More importantly is who he is as a man. I know he’s doing a great job teaching those young players the game. He’s a great role model for them as a former college basketball player, who has been where they are now and a great example of what a father, a son and a community leader should be.”
“To make a long story short, Jamison’s passion for basketball started back when he was just a youngster,” said Daniel Danforth. “I remember him being at all the open gyms in Oneida at the Civic Center and Norbert Hill Center on Sunday nights with his dad Eddie shooting around shadowing all the elders. It carried over to him traveling with us to the men’s native tournaments in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. He was our ball boy and sometimes even carried our gym bags.”
“As we know, time flies by and before you knew it, he was a gifted athlete playing high school basketball at Oneida Nation HS,” said Daniel. “I had the privilege of being one of his coaches as an assistant. He always took the initiative to put in the extra work. He wanted to be coached and wanted to be better than just an average player. I truly think he was motivated by the success of his father and his uncles, Albert and Mike King on the basketball court. That inspired him to want to be the best player on the high school team. He never was content with being mediocre.”
“As a matter of fact, I think his basketball skill set and IQ even flourished more after high school, into his playing days at Haskell,” said Daniel. “I recall him taking what he learned on the court and leaving a lasting impression on his peers, especially at the Ho-Chunk All Indian Tournament.”
“Knowing Jamison all these years, I just think basketball has and always will be his passion,” said Daniel.
“His knowledge of the game and the respect he has for his culture is his way of giving back to the community. Jamison definitely leads by example and is a true team player, always has been. I think that is what makes him so special, win or lose, he wants to make a lasting impact on the youth he comes in contact with. That’s what a coach’s responsibility is, to be a positive role model. Basketball has given Jammers that road map.”
“My son has been drug- and alcohol-free his entire life,” said mom Diana King. “Jamison coaches through the spirit of his heart first and applies rules and the athletic code of conduct second.”
“As a coach, he mentors the student from all aspects as being a team player, having the right attitude, and athletic ability, but most of all I see him reach his players spirit to encourage self-respect, overall respect and discipline,” added Diana.
“I’ve not ever talked directly to Jamison about how I see it, it is just my observation and opinion,” said Diana.
Jamison shares cultural and spiritual advice to his team,” said Diana. “He was a great inspiration by taking an autistic Oneida student from another school onto the Oneida team to record stats and do team videotaping of games. This student went to another specialized school and one night Jamison took the Oneida team to watch this students basketball game, the student was in awe that nearly the whole team came to support him. The student’s mother was incredibly impressed with the team’s show of support.”
“Jamison had life-long support of his parents during elementary, high school and collegiate level sports,” said Diana.
“Jamison encouraged some grandparents to come watch their grandson as the parents of the student were not supportive of their son. Grandparents became regular fans,” added Diana.
“Jamison ideally would love to see the Oneida gymnasium filled with Oneida fans for home games to give honor and support to the youth,” said Diana.
Since the pandemic arrived, coaches were forced to adjust their training and competition strategies.
The COVID-19 made the world stop last year and the pandemic continues to change the lives of everyone near and far.
“During the pandemic, there wasn’t a whole lot we could do with our tribe still having a safe-at-home order in place,” said Jamison. “Our season was shortened to about a month. During a normal season, I always tried to have a team sweat lodge at the beginning of the season. I also incorporate yoga and meditation into our practice schedules.”
“Coming full circle is who I am,” said Jamison. “I went to Oneida K-12, graduated from there and being able to give back and be the head coach is a blessing that I really enjoy.”
Photo Credits: Alva Fiddler and Amanda Perrote
