Basketball put on back burner for degree

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Whatever the future holds for Alan Spoonhunter, he knows it will be brighter than his past.

"Everyone told me that I couldn't do what I did, but five years later I'm almost finished my degree. It wasn't until I was almost counted out that I decided to change and prove that it is possible."

Spoonhunter recently completed his basketball career as a player at the University of Lethbridge. He is a young man whose path in life has led him on a very challenging journey.

Today's success, athletically and academically, is a far cry from the despair Spoonhunter found himself facing a decade ago. Hard partying for several years after finishing high school left him without direction. Now he's juggling a full course load with a family and, for the last two years, a competitive athletic schedule.

Spoonhunter, 27, is from Browning, Montana. He decided to forego the opportunities to play college basketball in the United States, passing on National Collegiate Athletic Association offers, for a school more accommodating to his family's needs. Spoonhunter has four children to look after while studying for his bachelor of arts, with a major in management, and pursuing his basketball passion.

After completing a two-year diploma in Information Technology at the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he was an athletic all-American, Spoonhunter could have pursued hoops at smaller colleges in South Dakota or even North Carolina, but he was looking to stay in the game longer than the U.S. eligibility would allow.

"I could've walked on for a year, but I came to Canada because the rules aren't as strict," Spoonhunter said about Canadian Interuniversity Sport where athletes can play for five years.

Spoonhunter made the most of his playing time for the Pronghorns, who finished this year with a 10-13 record. Compiling more minutes than his teammates, Spoonhunter averaged more than 20 points, fourth in the Canada West division, and four assists per game, good for a second-team all-star selection.

The team meanwhile was supportive that, as an older student with family needs, some leeway needed to be given, and Pronghorn's coach Mike Connolly knew his guard had different circumstances than the majority of other players.

"The odd time, if the kids were sick, he'd have to babysit them when his girlfriend was working, instead of coming to practice," the coach said about giving Spoonhunter an occasional day off.

Without question, the trick to Spoonhunter's successful balancing act is to know what task or duty has to come first.

"You're trying to prioritize your responsibilities, but they're all high priority. It's made me a better person," he said.

With basketball over, Spoonhunter has one more year towards finishing his degree.

"It's time to be a college student instead of a basketball player. For the last couple of years I went to school to be eligible for ball, but now I can concentrate on my studies."

However, he intends to slowly wean himself off the sport. Spoonhunter is considering taking a minor coaching and administrative role with the Pronghorns for next season.

"That will help with the addiction . . . to basketball," he laughed.

He understands that any bench responsibilities will be limited and he may start off assisting with some of the practices. Connolly said that's not a knock on Spoonhunter's coaching abilities, but a natural trend within sports of preventing a former athlete from making too rapid a transition from playing to deciding the Xs and Os.

"It's difficult to come from a position of playing to coaching when last year he was playing with these guys and now he could be yelling at them," Connolly said.

One of Spoonhunter's roles, the coach envisions, could be in the recruitment of other American students where Lethbridge can provide a geographical fit.