- This is a production of SDPB - Basketball.

It's a sport that carries a little more stick.

In South Dakota, the word basketball may seem normal, but here it represents so much more.

From victories to defeat and celebrations to heartbreak.

With basketball comes records winning streaks, legendary players and iconic coaches.

And to a lot of South Dakotans, it's a family sport.

And tonight we're gonna share some of these stories with you.

Families can be related, they can be represented in an extended sense, or it can be bigger like a community that comes together to support one another in good times and bad.

Thank you for joining us tonight.

Welcome to the Huron Arena.

This is our 2025 edition of Tales From the Hardwood - Donors to the Explore South Dakota Fund support the production of local documentaries and other programs of local interest presented by SDPB.

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- Built in the early 1950s.

The Huron Arena is one of the staple basketball venues in South Dakota, along with being home of the Huron Tigers.

It's been a college venue as well and it's played host to numerous state tournaments, including this year in 2025 for the B Girls State Tournament.

Think of the thousands of South Dakotans who have flock to this building throughout the years to watch the game of basketball.

Our first story tonight takes place in the hub city of Aberdeen, another basketball town in South Dakota, where we'll meet a pair of sisters who are embarking on a rare journey together this season.

- Being an eagle just it, to me it kind of just encompasses, you know, south Dakota's support for sports.

I mean, it's a really special feeling here.

We get a lot of support, but I also think, you know, there's a standard here we want to make it to state every year and you know, it's kind of gotten off that track a little lately, but we have that talent here across all sports.

So I just think that standard of being successful, you know, trying to win in the SESD, making it to state there's been success at Aberdeen Central.

And I think a lot of people don't forget that - Peyton Berkhart, a standout high school player at Aberdeen, central and collegiate player at South Dakota State University began a new journey as the head coach in the hub city where it all began for her.

- I have never once, like in my life really thought, you know, coaching is the route for me.

That's my end all be all.

That wasn't ever, it was never like a no, I would never do it.

But I wasn't thinking, you know, straight out of getting my master's that I was wanting to be a coach, a head coach right away.

And then it had popped up and I was driving down to state basketball actually this past March and I was with my mom and I was like, you know, I have this weird feeling and I feel like I just need to ask Seiler about it.

She's honest with me.

We're really close.

So I texted Seiler, I said, Hey, I know you'll be honest with me.

What do you think about me - Potentially coaching?

I think it, it's really interesting as you watch kids come through your programs, you kind of identify, you know, this person has the characteristics of a coach.

And that was certainly the case with Peyton.

You know, we are very, very excited when, when she, you know, said she was interested in coming back.

You know, the coaching world's a tough world and it's hard to find good candidates and you know, she went through the process, she, she came through with flying colors like we expect Peyton to do and we, that's what we expect out of her coaching as well because of, of who she is.

And so, you know, we're happy to have her - Here defense in this guard spot when they throw it in the post, you're collapsing.

Okay.

- Along with being a first year head coach, this journey has a bit of an extra wrinkle in it.

Not only is Peyton getting the chance to be a head coach at her alma mater, but she's also getting the opportunity to coach her younger sister Lauren.

- I think it's pretty fun.

You know, we argue some of the times, but we just kinda get past it and being together more is more fun I guess that's what I would say.

- Yeah.

And we are eight years apart so I mean the growing up at different stages of our lives has been a journey and it's been fun and we've always been super, super close despite that age difference.

So supporting each other, whether I was playing, she got to come to everything growing up and now I'm supporting her and I was cheering around and now I get to coach her.

So I just think it's a pretty unique experience and we're really close so we have a lot of fun together.

Yeah.

If we start bickering, one of us can call the safe word, it's rufuss and if we call it then we just gotta end it because we sometimes tend to let you know that sister part and bickering stuff go a little far.

But we've been good.

We haven't had any issues.

- We, they come from a competitive family, so everything has always been about winning but the right way.

You know, you don't want it to run your life or dictate your life.

But no, they've always been competitive growing up, but yet they are the bestest of friends.

They have their moments just like sisters do, just like best friends do.

But yet they're, they have each other's backs through everything.

I - Do think Lauren's entirely different.

She has got a lot more spunk, she's a little bit longer, but they definitely are different when you think about how they play.

And it's, it's been fun and it's been rewarding and you know, she's in her sophomore year and I just am excited for what's to come in the next few years just from a development standpoint as she grows and matures as a person and as a player.

- Lauren is following her sister's path.

She too is committed to playing basketball at SDSU, but for now she's also concentrating on creating her own legacy as a golden eagle.

- Obviously doing well in school, keeping that always top of the priority.

And then I, obviously I'm committed for basketball but I still love the sport volleyball.

Like I still am gonna play those with all out all the time and just being a good teammate and try to be a good leader even though I'm young and just still want to help lead and try to be the best I can - As a pair.

Peyton and Lauren are different but together and as sisters they share the bond of creating something special together.

- When it's go time, it's go time, you know, and we both are super, super competitive people.

That's how we grew up.

That's how our parents are.

And so we both want to win really bad and I think you can see that and I definitely feel it, the intensity in both of us wanting to win, which I also think brings us a lot closer too.

'cause sometimes just like we give each other that look and like she doesn't even have to ask me what I'm gonna say and she's like, yeah, I know.

You know, it's one of those things where I think that part is special too because we kind of just already are on the same page with things.

So yeah, that's, that's a pretty special part too.

Yeah, - The Hamlin Chargers boys basketball team won the state championship last year in a thriller against Sioux Falls Christian, the Neuendorfs who have their DNA on.

Both the boys and girls teams in Haiti are a true representation of a basketball family in South Dakota.

- In South Dakota.

Basketball is a family affair.

And for the Neuendorf siblings, Easton, Addison and Paxton, they grew up on the hardwood.

- It's always been what I go to.

I mean, growing up in the gym, like having my siblings play, it's definitely something I won't forget.

Like it's just always been an outlet for me.

- Basketball has just kind of been like everything to me ever since I was little.

I've been in a gym watching my like, 'cause my dad coaches so I've just been in a gym watching certain players as I was little.

- I mean I think it means everything to me and to my family.

Of course growing up, having both my mom and my dad in the gym, we were constantly there with them while practice was going on and it kind of just became something that I was obsessed with and it's kind of just taken over my life a lot.

- They were raised in a gym, so after school when kids got done with school and they went to a babysitter or they went home, our kids didn't, didn't have that opportunity 'cause mom and dad were both in a gym practicing.

So our kids would come to the gym and the gym was the babysitter.

- I mean it's an awesome experience for one.

Can it be hard at times?

Yes, especially more so I think on the girls side, just 'cause girls are wired a bit differently than boys and I feel like myself and, and my daughters are kind of the same person.

So we can clash at times, but at the end of the day I think they know that I just want what's best for them and I'm trying to help them succeed and get better and to be the best that they can be on the court.

- In fact, it's safe to say without the game of basketball, there might not even be - A new indoor family.

She was my assistant, I was coaching girls and I had not coached girls before.

I was a little nervous about doing that and I wanted to make sure that I had a female with me.

- I kept him in line - With all three of the new indoor siblings spending time on the Hamlin Chargers, varsity squads and Todd, the head coach of the boys team, Jamie an assistant on the girls team.

Game nights can be quite busy for the new indoors.

- I like to just be there to support my sisters as much as I can.

It's important to watch them 'cause they have to watch me after too, so watch them as much as I can.

- My dad's kind of a calming sense for me.

Like I have my mom on the bench, but I hear it from her all the time.

So hearing it from my dad or my dad being able to like tell me that like what I'm doing wrong or what I, what I need to do better.

Like it's kind of calming and it like, for him to be there, it's super important for me.

- Definitely having my brother and my dad at my games cheering for me, like rooting for me and just telling me like what I can do better and like always trying to help me and pick me up.

It's definitely something that I think is great.

- While all three siblings share the love of the game, they've also shared the same number.

The number three, - Honestly it was when I was little, it was the first Jersey I picked.

And then ever since I was little, I've just been three.

- I mean, when I was in middle school playing junior high, I was three.

- I mean, I kind of try to resemble my game like his, I love the style that he plays.

So kind of, I think it is because of him.

- I honestly, my heart tells me that they wear it because he wears it and they look up to him so much.

- The number three isn't the only thing the siblings share.

They also share - The taste for gold to have your son out on the floor and and win a state title.

And last year when, when we did that and he came running off the floor and he just cried in my arms, you know, 'cause we had, we had won and, and Addison won one the year before with, with Jamie as a, as an assistant coach.

And Paxton was a, was a ball girl on that team.

- So whether you see the collection of basketball celebrating the achievements of the Neuendorfs on the court, or you just see the family grinding away year round in the Hamlin gym.

There's no question this family loves the game of basketball - For us.

That's who we are.

You know, I don't, I don't, you don't want people say you get defined by something like that's just who we are.

- It's always been an obsession of ours.

Like we've been, like I said, we've been playing basketball for ever since.

We could probably walk - Every day.

We talk about basketball every night we come home, there's a basketball game on the tv, just, it just runs through the family and it's probably the best thing for our family is just basketball.

- I mean, it defines who we are as a family, but it's, it's what brings us together and it's what gives us our bond.

- We've mentioned the big tournaments that the Huron Arena has housed throughout the years, but a lot of venues in the state are known for hosting basketball events.

Especially when we peel back the layers and look at some of the classics that take place.

Some of the classics like the Hansen Classic have been going on for decades.

But a new one saw its inception this year in the small town of Hurley.

As you'll notice this one means a whole lot more than who wins or loses - High school basketball.

Classics have become a staple in South Dakota.

And this year a new one took place in Hurley called the Midwest Miracles Classic.

- So I started a foundation called the Midwest Miracles Foundation and I've always thought it was kind of cool to start a basketball classic.

So we got a 16 team high school basketball classic on January 4th, 2025.

And it's to raise money for pediatric cancer families so we can help out with anything that they need.

And I kind of did it just 'cause I felt great support from everybody around me.

And I want to give other people going through such horrible battles.

The same feeling - After his junior basketball season at Viborg-Hurley Kobe Sherman was diagnosed with bone cancer.

It's been a battle these past couple years, but you'd never know it from his attitude and internal drive to make a difference.

The support he's received has also been incredible.

- Oh, it means a bunch.

It's obviously vibrant currently communities are, you know, the closest to my heart 'cause I live here and I don't ever wanna leave and I want to, you know, come back here and support the community as they did to me.

And I, I really love this community, you know, just a bunch of great people.

And it wasn't just our community as a bunch of communities that came together and you know, we got a lot of basketball rivals or you think you don't like a school, but when something goes like this, everybody's one team and everybody's battling it together.

You go to a state tournament and every single person's wearing yellow in the stands.

And that's just the support that they have for me.

And I, I'm so grateful for the amount of people that you know, are on the journey with me.

- Kobee has always had a love for basketball, which made it easy to combine his foundation with an event surrounding the game.

- Basketball is super important to me.

It's, I mean, I used to spend hundreds of hours sitting in this gym shooting around.

It's just, it's kind of a happy place for me and it kind of got taken away from me, unfortunately.

But I want to give kids the, you know, the atmosphere and the fun atmosphere of playing in the classic.

That is a great cause.

- Well, my first impression was it's not gonna, it's not happening.

But he's put so much work in and we are so proud of him.

The whole family's proud of him for what he's done.

And on behalf of Kobee and everybody else here, we'd like to thank everybody for volunteering today.

There's been a lot of volunteers and you know, their names aren't put out there anywhere, so we just thank everybody, volunteer, all the donors that have been willing to donate their time, money items for the silent auction.

It's just been amazing.

Again, the support's been crazy - Knowing Kobee for probably 10 years just through basketball, knowing the Sherman family, being a coach.

Oh, he's one of the most humbling human beings I've ever been around.

And when he asked me to be a part of this and help out, I mean, there's no way I could ever say no.

And he, he has inspired so many - More people and he's inspired me.

He's a great role model.

I mean, he is outgoing, he is willing to talk to anybody, wants to talk to anybody.

You know, whether it was on the football field, the basketball court, whatever.

I mean he was more than happy to talk to people on the, that he just played against, you know.

And sometimes you don't see that amongst kids.

And I mean just he, he thinks of others before himself.

So I mean it, it's great that we're able to host this for him this year.

You know, the positive outlook in his faith.

I think in his family, he has tremendous family support.

Obviously he has tremendous faith in God - This fall.

Kobee had to have his left leg amputated and while his battle still continues, his heart and passion lead the charge forward.

- You know, it's just kinda cool to see how much opportunities that you have as a person.

You can make the opportunity to get up and be happy or you can get up and be mad.

And I'm the type of person where even if I'm feeling sick or even if I'm not doing very good, I'm gonna be, have a smile on my face and be happy for everything else.

And I just want people to take advantage of all their opportunities because there's so many opportunities that you have out in the real world.

And if you take advantage of 'em, you can be a really great person.

And you know, that's just part of seeing the glass half full instead of half empty.

This journey really made me feel that.

And how important friendships and family and, 'cause you don't know when it's gonna end, unfortunately.

And you just gotta take every moment and be happy with what you got.

Sit and complain about the things that you don't have.

- Okay guys, let's go take it.

You could see at the end there, Kobee Sherman was presented with a star quilt from the Pine Ridge squad.

The star quilt amongst our native brothers and sisters is given to someone who represents the qualities of a warrior.

We see a similar quilt given out each year on championship night as part of the spirit of Sue Award.

Thorpe's coach Casey means who presented the star quilt during the Midwest Miracles Classic has his own unique story.

Yes, he runs his team with discipline, but if you dive deeper, you'll see that he mixes discipline with love and encouragement.

- Basketball and Pine Ridge is just something different, you know, for all ages, for all schools.

But with the history and the culture here at Pine Ridge, just the way the fans and the the town treats you when you're being author, especially when you're winning, like it's, there's no other feeling than that - For those who coach.

It's easy to understand that there's more to it than practicing games in Pine Ridge.

Thorpe's head coach Casey means has made it his mission to not just teach his players about basketball.

- I try to give every kid an opportunity of every day to get better.

You know what I mean?

And like for me, what I tell them, we worked 362 days to play them three games in March for them three days.

You know, everything's a buildup to that.

You know, we're trying to level up every day.

We don't want to go back down.

We don't want to zigzag, you know, we want to get better as a person, as a ball player, as a coach, you know, - As a human being.

Coach Means demands hard work from his players, but he also shows them compassion and love for those who play for him.

There's a high level of respect.

- Casey's just here to do a good thing.

He wants better for all his players.

He tries to help you in life.

So after basketball, if you don't go to college for basketball, he has plans for you for something else.

It's all discipline for life.

He's tough once he has to be, but most of the time he's fun.

He's a good coach.

- I grew up playing for him actually since I was younger, since I started playing basketball.

Since I was like two, he's always been my coach.

So honestly, I never had any other coach other than him.

It's a fun time playing for him.

Definitely just 'cause how energized he gets and kind of gets us going.

Hyped sports number - One.

Casey has strong roots in all sports, not just basketball, but his passion for coaching was ignited as an assistant coach for his uncle and one of the best coaches in state history.

Dusty leBeaux, - You know, he taught me, taught me be a man, how to be a sun dancer and things I were like forgetting about, I guess as a coach.

So being under him six years, like really molded me to where I'm at now as a head coach.

You know?

So I still go by what his, he's taught me, you know, just my child are pretty much same as his still team rules, you know, the culture that he's taught me.

I've passed down to my teams now and you know, he's always in my corners.

My, it's my guy, you know, my, that's my goat.

You always think, I always say he's the best coach in South Dakota history.

So if I'm struggling, I can make a phone call.

You know, what am I doing wrong?

What, what do you think?

What do you see?

You know?

So, you know, we chop it up every other day.

He's a little bit older now.

He's, I don't he wanna bug him.

He's crappy guy now he's not, but you know, but he's just, you know, I - Love him as like a father.

He's my nephew.

So I call him my nephew.

And I see some, some of me in there.

'cause you know, when I talk to his kids, they, they say some of the words that I used to to give before the game.

The pre-talk to all the kids and, and you know, and I told him, you learned, wow kid.

When I used to go in the locker room before the games and talk to the kids, my role was nobody got to speak while I was speaking.

And when Casey came in talk and then pretty soon in the corner, let's go on.

And I got to case settle down.

You know, he was all, he amped up and ready to go hisself, let's go.

He cares for the kids a lot.

You could see that by the emotions.

And, and he's tough on them.

Like I was, everybody wants to beat the door, you gotta - Stand up and fight him - Back.

Now let's go.

- Coach means also credits.

His assistant coaches Ryan Carlo and Sean Keith, his third assistant coach, holds a special place in his heart.

However, it's his cousin, Charles Schrader Jr. - I mean, Charles is an over like, between 70 and 80 of them wins as a player and as a coach with Charles, I probably would never even been back my second time.

He is the one that, you know, asked and pushed for me to be the coach in 2019.

You know, I just love him.

He's my little brother.

You know, I really delegated a lot more this year to him.

You know, I let him do the development part, you know, he, you know, I let him do the subs, you know, but it helps me be a better coach where I can focus on other things for the team, you know.

But he's really, he's grown as much as I've grown and he's matured and there's no coach.

See, without Charles, - We've been together for seven years.

So we know what we want to do in this program.

And we really set the foundation years ago.

So it's kind of, we're kind of bearing into what we have now.

So I say the transition is pretty easy.

Go.

He loves them.

You know, I think it's just love, you know, whatever, whatever you go through in case he'll be there for you.

If you don't have no one to talk to, he's there for you.

And if you ever need a ride to the gym or after practice or anything, like he's there for you.

So I think that's the main thing is just love.

Hey, hey, now we're rolling.

Now we're rolling.

He's a good mentor to everyone because you know, he holds his players accountable.

And I think that's the kind of coach we need here on this reservation.

Because honestly, like if you look back at it, we probably had a lot of the most talented teams, but we weren't the most disciplined.

And I think that's why we haven't won it.

And I think that's what he's installing into his program now, is discipline.

- Do it all baby.

- You know, I, what I teach through my program is not only gonna help him for basketball season, but it's gonna help him for life to be a good father, to be a good worker, to be a good college student.

If you're trying to go play college ball, then you know, you really need to lock in, you know?

So, I mean, I take pride in it all, but when it gets to this season, it's like, you know, there's nothing ahead of me.

There's tunnel vision to March.

Wayne makes Pineridge great to me is the, the, the, the fighting spirit and the strength of our community from what everything we've been through now, you know, we're still here.

Hey, - One question.

Who runs it now?

Okay, north family on 3, 2, 3.

- As you saw tonight, family is such a bigger term than who is sitting on the other side of the dinner table from you.

Yes.

Sometimes family is that, but in other instances it's about a community that bonds together or the brotherhood and sisterhood of the team.

As we take a look around the Huron Arena, eight communities will be filling these seats for the Class B Girls State basketball tournament in March.

Community support and family will be at the forefront of another historic state tournament.

We'd like to thank you for joining us tonight for Tales from the Hardwood.

I'm Nate Weck and goodnight from Huron.