by Delwyn Jr (Ojibwe) and Delwyn ‘DJ’ Holthusen III (Blood): Rebuilding and Reloading with The Red Lake Warriors Basketball Tradition
By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
A classic varsity boys’ basketball rivalry game occurred during this early season in northern Minnesota. The undefeated Cass Lake-Bena HS Panthers hosted the undefeated Red Lake HS Warriors. This early game of the season is usually a standing room only packed house upwards of 2000 fans.
Both teams have played in the Minnesota Class A State Tournament in the past decade. CLB played in 2010 and 2018 and RL in a four-peat 2014 to 2017.
The Red Lake Nation is 51 miles northwest of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe headquarters of Cass Lake.
The back-and-forth scoring game with fully intense both ends of the court cheering ended in OT with the Warriors winning 83-77. Delwyn ‘DJ’ Holthusen scored clutch free throws and had a blocked shot in the end of OT and led all players with 24 points and 26 rebounds.
Following in The Footsteps of His Dad and Family
Delwyn E. Holthusen III (DJ) is an enrolled member of the Blood Tribe of the Kainai Nation in Alberta, Canada and a descendant of the Red Lake Nation. He is a 6-5, 215 lb. junior center/power forward for the Red Lake HS Warriors basketball team in Red Lake, MN. His Indian name is Aahpinakoi Inaamaahkaa meaning Morning Coup.
DJ joined the 1000-point scoring club soon after the RL/CLB rivalry game. He is expected to join the 1000-rebound club by the end of the season. DJ is averaging 24 ppg and 23 rpg and may be in a select group averaging a double-double for the season and maybe his junior and senior seasons.
DJ addressed his core values as an athlete: “I try to implement the Seven Grandfather’s Teachings in my daily life as a basketball player such as Humility: Being modest in my actions and that I am equal as a person and develop good listening observations skills in basketball. Truth: To be honest and loyal. Courage: Sometimes life brings us difficult obstacles that we must face in the game of basketball and we must develop the strength to combat them. Honesty: To remain truthful, especially with my coach and teammates on and off the court basketball court. Respect: To be respectful to others like the saying goes ‘treat people the way you want to be treated’. Love: To be kind and have compassion for others. I’m a captain for my team and my main goal on the court is to encourage my teammates plus fellow peers that they can do whatever they can if they just have their mindset to it. Wisdom: For me as an athlete to have the knowledge of not only improving my skills but also helping others as well as an opportunity to learn from others.”
Positive influences to encourage DJ to play well come from his coaches:
Roger White, Head Coach for the Red Lake Warriors. “Roger has positively influenced me by helping me improve my basketball skills plus knowledge on and off the court,” said DJ.
Randy Holthusen, ‘Uncle’ and Head Coach for the Red Lake Lady Warriors. “Randy has influenced me by encouraging me to do my best and improving my skills by taking me under his wing,” said DJ. “He has taken the time after hours by helping me better myself as an athlete, and I’ve always looked up to him since I was young watching him and my dad play basketball together.”
Francis Crawford, Head Coach for the Team Wambdi summer traveling team. “Francis positively influenced me by giving me the chance to play for his team during the off-season at native tournaments around the US and getting experience of playing against bigger, stronger and faster competition in native country,” said DJ.
DJ also competes for Team Minnesota in the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). His 14U team won the gold medal at the 2017 NAIG. He plans to represent Team Minnesota with a few players from the Cass Lake-Bena Panthers and others at the 2020 19U NAIG in Nova Scotia.
Stirred Up Memories of 1997 Class A State Tournament Game
“There’s a lot that I’ve read and heard about my dad growing up,” said DJ. “Every now and then I walk around my high school to where pictures and articles are hung up and just to think what it would be like playing against him or even with him when he was in his prime. He’s one of the main people I look up to in life, and he’s given me a lot of motivation and inspiration to play the sport of basketball. My personal favorite is when I hear people and him talking about the Red Lake vs. Wabasso 1997 MN State Basketball tournament.”
The early season Red Lake vs. Cass Lake-Bena game stirred up memories of the 1997 Class A State Basketball game between Red Lake and Wabasso. This high-scoring game has been highlighted in the state annals by being the best game in state tournament history.
Wabasso led all three quarters and were ahead by 19 points at the start of the fourth quarter. The Warriors began a furious comeback. At the 1:36 mark and Wabasso up by seven points, sophomore Delwyn Holthusen fouled out with 30 points and 11 rebounds. “As I laid on the floor, I thought I’ve got two choices, and the best choice was to get up and support my team and get the crowd into it,” said Delwyn.
With 1:15 left in regulation the Wabasso Rabbits were ahead by 9 points. Red Lake sophomore guard Gerald Kingbird scored 13 points in 57 seconds, including a three-pointer with 0:17.7 seconds left to tie the score at 105. Wabasso ended up winning 117-113 in OT.
Delwyn, Jr. recalled: “The guys the past two seasons … Randy (Peach) Holthusen, Robert (Bob) Barrett, Derek Smith, Keveon Kingbird, had moved on. Coach Jack Desjarlait made a move two years before to pull two eighth graders up to varsity.”
“Coach Jack said he was going to build a team around Delwyn and Gerald. I can remember the papers saying we lost a lot and how we were going to have to rebuild,” added Delwyn Jr.
“Jack put us up front and center and told the team we all work together and these two will lead us as two sophomore captains. Our older counterparts took it and ran with us. After a few games the headlines read something like Red Lake just reloads.”
Delwyn, Jr. recounted the classic Red Lake/Wabasso game: “Being down by 19 points Jack reminded us, ‘This season we are a fighting team. Bemidji had us down. We came back. Cherry in the first round had us down we came back. It’s all about runs and how we use them. I don’t hear no fat lady singing yet and this game ain’t over!’”
“Before playing the game the team and I walked out to look at the crowd. It was the biggest we’d ever seen,” said Delwyn, Jr. “Natives from east coast, west coast, all over the US. Just to see Minnesota’s first all native team play.”
Red Lake Warriors at UTTC Indians Basketball
Delwyn, Jr. graduated from Red Lake HS in 1999. He was recruited to NCAA DII Minot State University (ND) in 1999-2000. Delwyn played in the pre-season showcase scrimmage in the 10,000-seat capacity arena and scored over 20 points. He soon contracted mononucleosis, took a medical redshirt and sat out the season. He went to school full time during this time.
The next year Delwyn took some classes at Bemidji State University but didn’t play basketball. He joined the work force soon after. In 2001, Peach talked Delwyn into going to United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) in Bismarck, ND and predicted they would go to the national tournament together.
“Peach is three years and a day older than me,” said Delwyn Jr. “He’s my sister Cheryl’s and brother-in-law Jeff Kingbird’s son. He is legally my nephew, but we grew up as brothers and lived next door to each other.” Peach is also referred to as an uncle to his legal uncle Delwyn Jr. and cousins.
“I recruited Delwyn hard his senior season,” said Kevin Finley, former head men’s basketball coach at UTTC and UTTC Hall of Famer. “He was an incredible athlete, born with gifts that attracted the attention of DI coaches when he led us to the college’s last of three consecutive NJCAA National Finals Men’s Basketball Tournaments.”
Delwyn would eventually enroll at United Tribes Technical College and was an immediate force with his physical and verbal leadership. “He just showed up every night and played hard, he was a team player and he could load a team on his back and carry them with his physical style of play, and double doubles were a commonplace for Delwyn,” added Coach Kevin.
The prediction of Peach ended up being true. UTTC went to the NJCAA national tournament and placed sixth during the only season they played together.
“The Red Lake players began to arrive to UTTC prior to the 1998-99 season,” Coach Kevin said. “Peach was first, played for two years and played on two National finals teams but in separate seasons. Peach told me about Bob Barrett, got to know his dad Tom and we got Bob. Bob sadly passed away and Peach sat out some time then came back, played and graduated. Peach, Delwyn and Keveon were at UTTC at the same time for one year, 2001-02, which was our last NJCAA National Finals tourney.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that those Red Lake boys helped change the course of UTTC men’s basketball, they are a big reason why we were a force in the nation in statistical categories and in the national power polls. I also know that the great run these Red Lake boys (Delwyn, Peach, Bob, and Keveon) had were such a big part of UTTC men’s basketball because they were such gifted athletes and great people,” added Coach Kevin.
Coach Kevin remembers the talented Red Lake athletes: “Peach was consistent, quick off the dribble, great shooter, and excellent in the classroom. Bob was a rugged inside post player for us. Although Keveon was a reserve player, he could shoot it, and I mean, flat-out shoot it!”
“I remember taking the team to watch the Minnesota Gophers practice and all of those Gopher players knew Delwyn and called him down to the floor, very impressive,” added Coach Kevin.
Rusty Gillette came upon the scene as the head coach of Delwyn at UTTC. “Rusty was the nuts and bolts of our team,” said Coach Kevin. “The guy was an absolute genius when it came to game and player management. I realized that early and he was given complete control of our team.”
“Rusty is a lead by example coach and he ran with us in practice,” said Delwyn. “If you didn’t understand a certain play he wanted, he’d run the play and show all the options from all positions. He was a hands-on coach. Rusty was one of the best coaches I ever had.”
“Delwyn was obviously a big talent out of high school,” said Coach Rusty. “He played on the last team I coached at Tribes. We made it to the national junior college tournament that year. Our Indian teams are good within our states but when you compare our kids on a national level, we are often undersized and it’s hard to compete on the boards. Delwyn was a talent that had that size and strength that allowed us to match up and be successful against teams at that level. He really changed the complexion of the whole game when he was in there. And he loved it. He loved to be big and physical.”
“Everyone will talk about the dunks and the high scoring points he had over his career but I will always remember him for loving to be that hard-nosed player who would put his body on the line for his team,” added Coach Rusty.
Bobby and Delwyn, Jr. in Bismarck at the Same Place at the Right Time
Bobby Davis was attending UTTC’s inner-city juco rival Bismarck State College. She was a 5-11 center/forward on the BSC Mystics basketball team. She met Delwyn in Bismarck in 2001 and eventually began a long-term relationship.
The UTTC men’s basketball team were preparing for their season schedule poster photo shoot. The players wore headdresses and were on horses. Delwyn wasn’t in the poster because he seen a horse that wasn’t friendly around strangers and he jumped on him. The horse bucked him off and he had a compound fracture of his ring finger.
“Delwyn and I met when we were in the ER together when he broke his finger and I broke my wrist at basketball practice,” recalled Bobby. “After that we had scheduled physical therapy sessions when he was seen first by the therapist and I was seen after him.”
“After the physical therapy days were the first time’s we began seeing each another,” said Bobby. “We started seeing each other at social gatherings and got together then, and we laugh about it because we were seeing one another at physical therapy when we had to go.”
Bobby Moves to Red Lake to Attend Bemidji State University and Becomes a Mom
Bobby moved to Minnesota after she finished her two years of junior college and went to Bemidji State University studying Physical Education and Indian Education. Delwyn was already in Minnesota. Bobby and Delwyn gave birth to their first child DJ in 2003. Delwyn Jr. and Bobby were married July 3, 2010.
“I’m really proud of DJ and his accomplishments that he has made in basketball and we knew that he would only get better,” said Bobby. “When DJ started playing basketball, he really wanted to play for Red Lake just like his dad did. At the time DJ was attending school in Kelliher and DJ wouldn’t stop asking us to transfer him to Red Lake. DJ really wanted to play for Red Lake because his uncle Peach, Dad, and Peach’s son Ryan played for Red Lake.”
“Delwyn and I decided to transfer DJ to Red Lake, and during that time the Red Lake Warriors were going to the state tournament. His cousin Ryan Holthusen was playing on the team and we brought DJ and our other kids to the state tournament that year. DJ told us he wanted someday to have that same experience that his dad and Ryan had. When DJ was younger, he would always look at old newspaper clippings of his dad when they went to the state tournament back in ’97. He also often watched the Warriors vs. Wabasso game on YouTube video,” added Bobby.
“Since DJ has been playing basketball, I’ve watched him grow into a great player and I see him getting better day by day,” said Bobby. “My perspective of DJ is that I want him to take things in stride and not push himself too hard. I also want him to know that his education is just as important as basketball so that he needs to keep it leveled out. He needs to be a leader and lead by example not only for himself but for his siblings and teammates because they all look up to him. DJ is also taking College Prep classes at the Red Lake Nation College and is in his second year of doing them.”
Great Teams Remember Those Who Came Before Them
Great teams remember the coaches and athletes who came before them. The words of former Red Lake Warriors Coach Jack Desjarlait are remembered today by Delwyn Jr. during the ’97 state tournament game. The words are heard everyday among the Red Lake Warriors by how they play and think: “You and we did this, and we need to play hard, they came to see you play,’ Jack once said. ‘Play hard, that’s all you can do.”
The ’97 state tournament reflection is the way Delwyn Holthusen, Jr. remembered his experiences, and this is how he leads his son DJ to play at a peak performance level. The Red Lake Warriors basketball program rebuilds and reloads each season.
By the way, Delwyn Jr. and Bobby have another son, Ty, who is in the eighth grade, is 6-2 and plays basketball. Ty’s eighth grade teammate is Gerald Kingbird, Jr. who was moved up and plays junior varsity and varsity for the Warriors. Gerald, Sr. and Kimberly Pemberton-Kingbird also have a senior daughter Gerica who plays basketball for the Red Lake Lady Warriors. They both wear #21 like dad did. This is the next storyline …
The Red Lake/Wabasso game is online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uy5BtF5XcU
Photo Credit: Delwyn Holthusen, Jr. and Rusty Gillette
