RAPID CITY — Tragedy struck Fred and Marilyn Paulsen in 1999. 

The Paulsen's oldest son, Derek, was a rising basketball star destined for college basketball greatness. A 6-foot-4 point guard, Derek Paulsen was the 1997 Lakota Nation Invitational MVP and lifted Custer to the 1998 Class A boys basketball state championship. In the 1998 state championship, Paulsen, who was then a sophomore, hit the game-winning shot as Custer edged Lennox by two points. 

Paulsen had the likes of Miami, Marquette, Syracuse, Northwestern, Michigan State and others recruiting him. He was the total package on the court, and the next big thing in South Dakota hoops. 

But Paulsen and his girlfriend Eva Wahlstrom died in a car accident on July 30, 1999, sending shockwaves across the state. That included the Native American community. 

Custer, a non-Native American school, has been a regular at the LNI tournament for decades. At the 1999 Lakota Nation Invitational, Paulsen’s death inspired the tourney directors to start a ceremonial Wiping of the Tears tradition to honor former participants who had died during the year.

The gesture left a lasting impression on the Paulsen family.

“Nothing is easy obviously but with the Natives, they were so good to us and I learned so much,” Fred Paulsen said. “My wife never wanted to leave South Dakota because Derek is buried over in Hermosa. So I was asking one of the elders and she said the spirit follows you wherever you go, and that kind of opened the door for us to get back to Michigan.”

Fred Paulsen, a long-time high school and college basketball coach, was an assistant on the 1979 Michigan State national championship men’s basketball team. He later was the head coach at Huron University, which he turned into an NAIA powerhouse. 

Paulsen’s next coaching stint was at Custer, where he served as an assistant under legendary coach Larry Luijtens. That’s when Paulsen first experienced the Lakota Nation Invitational, a four-day basketball and cultural event every December. 

“It is so unique,” Paulsen said. “You can’t even tell somebody about it. It’s so unique. It’s a lot of games in four days, and it takes up a lot of your season. But you have to experience it. That’s all I can say, you have to experience it.” 

The Paulsens eventually moved back to Michigan, where Fred continued to coach and was a high school principal. The Paulsens are now retired, and back in South Dakota for the winter. 

Fred is an assistant coach for the St. Thomas More High School boys basketball team, where his grandson Ashton is a junior guard. St. Thomas More is coached by Dave Hollenbeck, who used to coach against Custer when Paulsen was an assistant coach. 

“He’s asked me to do some things that he knows we did at Custer,” Fred, 71, said. “So I have been able to put some things in for us, too.”

The Paulsens will be in Rapid City through the basketball season, allowing Fred an opportunity to be involved with the sport. 

“I really believe it’s my duty to give back to the game,” Fred said. “I don’t think kids learn how to play correctly all the time. So I just try to throw in some of the old-school stuff.”

The Cavaliers have a pair of games on Dec. 20-21, and Paulsen took the opportunity to attend the Lakota Nation Invitational on Dec. 18-19. 

That allowed Paulsen to reconnect with many former coaches and players, including former Pine Ridge and Little Wound star Jesse Heart. The two chatted on Thursday, and Paulsen said the current Marty boys basketball coach spoke highly of Derek. 

“He said ‘Coach, I just talked to my team yesterday, and your son Derek came up,’ ” Paulsen said. “He was trying to tell his kids no matter how hard you think you are playing, or how good you are, there’s always somebody better. He said ‘That one somebody for me was Derek Paulsen from Custer.’”

The compliment, Fred said, meant a great deal coming from a player of Heart’s caliber. 

“Jess was one of my all-time favorites,” Paulsen said. “I think he might have been the best high school player I have seen in South Dakota.” 

Paulsen added it was special once again attending the event, which he continues to marvel at and he praised LNI director Bryan Brewer for leading its evolution. 

“What Bryan has done with this thing is probably more than he could have even imagined,” Fred said. “It’s a cultural event. It used to be a basketball event, but I think it’s more of a cultural event.”