by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Paige Primeaux is a 5’10 center and a sophomore basketball player at El Reno High School in El Reno, Oklahoma. The team’s record is 8-6 and are in Class 5A.
“I live in El Reno, OK and I am a member of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes,” said Paige. “I live with my mother Kerrin who is also Cheyenne Arapaho and Chickasaw and my step dad Randy. My father Patrick also lives in El Reno. He is Cheyenne, Ponca, Prairie Band Pottawatomi and Osage.”
“Growing up I learned from my elders that education is key to be successful in today’s world,” said Paige. “Hopefully using basketball as a way out. If that doesn’t work out, I will still attend using grants and applying for financial scholarships. My current GPA is 3.67. One thing my mother and stepdad stress to us is to keep our grades up. That will always be our way to a better life and more opportunities. So even after our long practices and games I am usually in my room finishing my homework while listening to music. My family is very important to me. If I’m not at school or basketball, I am at home or at my aunt’s house. I have my life goals and have always put them first in my life.”
“I have always tried to not be selfish and be thankful,” said Paige. “If I see a person in need I can feel that in my heart and that makes me want to help that person even if it’s in a small way. I know my parents work hard to give us a life they didn’t have growing up so if I see one of my friends needing help I will.”
“Someone who influenced me as an athlete would be my big brother Logan, my coaches Parry Romannose and Jennifer Douglas,” said Paige. “With my brother I’ve learned almost everything from him. He would always make me play against him and I always hated it because he would never go easy on me. But now I understand why.”
“Coach Parry has also influenced me,” said Paige. “He was always there for me. Last year I lost my grandfather and I was having a tough time dealing with it all. I felt alone. That week or the week after he passed there was the Best in the West Indian Tournament in Lawrence, Kansas. My mother asked me if I wanted to go but obviously I didn’t. I believe my mother could see that I didn’t want to play basketball anymore so she talked to Coach Parry. Later that day I got a call from Coach Parry. That call really meant a lot to me. It is also one of the main reasons I still play. If it wasn’t for him being there for me, I probably wouldn’t even be playing basketball right now.”
“Coach Douglas helped me transition from playing with just Indians my whole life to playing with other races,” said Paige. “She encouraged me last year to play on an AAU team in Oklahoma City called Swarm. Because of her and that encouragement it has given me a lot of confidence now in myself and my abilities.”
Coach Jennifer Douglas addressed the roles of her starting center: “This is year number two for Paige in my program. She has made great strides and improved so much in the last year. This year, as a sophomore, I just expected her to come off the bench and give us good minutes along with post defense and a few rebounds. But she has given us so much more. You can tell Paige wanted a bigger role on the team by the way she practices.”
“Paige is one of our hardest workers in practice. She has improved on her footwork, speed, passing, dribbling, and soft touch around the rim. When we go through drills she is going 110% all the time. When we condition she tries her best to keep up with the guards. With this work ethic she became more confident in games and her minutes continued to increase,” said Coach Jennifer.
“Now we are in the 2nd half of our season, she is starter and one of our most consistent players,” said Coach Jennifer. “We know what we are going to get from Paige every game. Paige knows what her role is for our team to be successful. Defend the opponents best post player, get rebounds, and finish in the paint. Paige is shooting 49% from the floor, and averages 6.9 points per game, along with 5.8 rebounds.”
“As of recently, Paige has been taking on a leadership role. I constantly see her uplifting her teammates, cheering them on, and communicating more on the floor. She is such a competitor and willing to do whatever it takes to help her team win. Not only has Paige been working hard on the floor but she is a leader inside the classroom, as well. Paige is ranked 66 out of 237 students in her sophomore class and her current GPA is a 3.7,” added Coach Jennifer.
“Paige has so much potential. I am excited to see her growth over the next few years, as a basketball player and a young lady,” said Coach Jennifer.
“Our team this year is something special which includes nine Cheyenne-Arapaho girls,” said Paige. “We play school ball and native tournaments (NABI, DENVER) and AAU in Oklahoma City together during summers. We all came from Darlington Public School, a K-8 grade school. We have been playing together since I was in the 3rd grade.”
“My greatest accomplishment was becoming a varsity starter this year,” said Paige. “Last year I barely had any playing time on varsity. Coming from Darlington I was always a starter, but transitioning to high school it was a whole different story. At Darlington I was always the tallest girl on the team but when I got here I seen we had two 6’0 senior girls that were more aggressive and stronger than me. They are the first and only girls to ever intimidate me. Playing under them was very hard at first but I adjusted and played my role on the bench, cheering them on. I knew I would get my time in the future.”
“My advice would be to stay in school and get an education,” said Paige. “Keep going no matter how hard it gets because it will all be worth it in the end. Be confident and don’t doubt yourself.”
Photo Credit: Glen Miller/El Reno Tribune
Thank you for recognizing our local talent. Paige also played softball when she was younger.
Great story! Small schools (PK-8th grade) like Darlington produce many good Native American players who can play at the high school level.