Rezball
Rezball or Rez Ball, short for 'reservation ball', also referred to as 'American Indian basketball' is a style of basketball associated with Native Americans.[1] It is particularly known at the high school level in the Southwestern United States.[2] Rezball has been criticized[by whom?] for possibly[weasel words] affecting Native American suicide rates, alcohol abuse, and assimilation into the broader American culture[clarification needed] once outside of Indian reservations.[3]
Description
[edit]Rezball is a form of transition-based basketball that forces tempo with aggressive play, quick scoring and assertive defense that looks to force turnovers through pressing or half-court traps.[1] Rezball is not fully standardized between the variety of groups that play it. Many Native Americans learned how to play basketball while they were held in boarding schools by the Bureau of Indian Affairs during early Native American assimilation.[3] They made it their own by incorporating quick passing/scoring and extra running.[1] The sport that resulted from this eventually came to be known as Rezball.[3]
Notable high schools that are known to participate in Rezball
[edit]Arizona
[edit]- Cibecue High School, Cibecue, Arizona
- Shonto Preparatory Technology High School, Shonto, Arizona
- St. Michael High School, St. Michaels, Arizona
- Salt River High School, Scottsdale, Arizona
- Rough Rock High School, Rough Rock, Arizona
- Baboquivari High School, Sells, Arizona
- Red Mesa High School, Teec Nos Pos, Arizona
- San Carlos High School, San Carlos, Arizona
- Piñon High School, Piñon, Arizona
- Valley High School, Sanders, Arizona
- Greyhills Academy High School, Tuba City, Arizona
- Hopi Junior/Senior High School, Keams Canyon, Arizona
- Many Farms High School, Many Farms, Arizona
- Alchesay High School, Whiteriver, Arizona
- Ganado High School, Ganado, Arizona
- Holbrook High School, Holbrook, Arizona
- Winslow High School, Winslow, Arizona
- Window Rock High School, Fort Defiance, Arizona
- River Valley High School, Mohave Valley, Arizona
- Tuba City High School, Tuba City, Arizona
- Monument Valley High School, Kayenta, Arizona
- Chinle High School, Chinle, Arizona
- Page High School, Page, Arizona
- Fort Thomas High School, Fort Thomas, Arizona
New Mexico
[edit]- Santa Fe Indian High School, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Tsé Yí Gai High School, Smith Lake, New Mexico
- Pine Hill High School, Pinehill, New Mexico
- Navajo Pine High School, Navajo, New Mexico
- Navajo Prep High School. Farmington, New Mexico
- Ramah High School, Ramah, New Mexico
- Newcomb High School, Newcomb, New Mexico
- Crownpoint High School, Crownpoint, New Mexico
- Zuni High School, Zuni, New Mexico
- Wingate High School, Fort Wingate, New Mexico
- Rehoboth High School, Rehoboth, New Mexico
- Tohatchi High School, Tohatchi, New Mexico
- Thoreau High School, Thoreau, New Mexico
- Bloomfield High School, Bloomfield, New Mexico
- Shiprock Northwest High School, Shiprock, New Mexico
- Shiprock High School, Shiprock, New Mexico
- Kirtland Central High School, Kirtland, New Mexico
- Miyamura High School, Gallup, New Mexico
- Gallup High School, Gallup, New Mexico
- Piedra Vista High School, Farmington, New Mexico
- Farmington High School, Farmington, New Mexico
- Aztec High School, Aztec, New Mexico
- Native American Community Academy, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Elsewhere
[edit]- Cherokee High School, Cherokee, North Carolina.
- Sherman Indian High School, Riverside, California
- Wyoming Indian High School, Ethete, Wyoming
- Whitehorse High School, Montezuma Creek, Utah
- Monument Valley High School, Monument Valley, Utah
- Navajo Mountain High School, Navajo Mountain, Utah
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Davies, Wade (2020). Native hoops: the rise of American Indian basketball, 1895-1970. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-2908-4.
- ↑ "This High-School Hoops Team Is Transforming a Remote Nebraska Community". Men's Health. 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
- 1 2 3 Powell, Michael (2019). Canyon dreams: a basketball season on the Navajo Nation. New York: Blue Rider Press. ISBN 978-0-525-53466-2.
