MARTY — Coaching the Marty High School boys basketball team is a family affair for Jess Heart.

In his second season as the Braves’ head coach, Heart is coaching three of his nephews — Leon Heart, Tyson Heart Jr., and Tayshaun Brewer.

Coaching his nephews, Jess Heart said, is an experience he never could have imagined.
“It’s more than special,” Jess Heart said. “It’s like a dream that you never knew you had. But whenever you see the opportunity arise you really want to teach them how to play the right way to play basketball. I would rather have them play for me and teach them the tough, rough way so they can be ready for the easy way when they get better.” 

Brewer is a junior, Leon Heart is a sophomore and Tyson Heart Jr., is a freshman. Brewer and Leon Heart are brothers, while Tyson Heart Jr., is their cousin. 

Leon Heart said it makes sharing the court with his uncle, brother and cousin all the more special.

“It’s cool because after the game it’s all laughter,” Leon Heart said. “It’s a family thing.”

At the helm of the program is Jess Heart, who coaches with the same flair and competitiveness he displayed during his high school playing days.

“He brings the energy every game,” Leon said. “He gets us hyped up before every game and during the game.”

But that doesn’t mean uncle isn’t hard on his nephews. 

“I expect more out of them than anything else,” Jess said. “It’s more like just the uncle thing, too. It’s fun to be the uncle first and then coach second.” 

Jess Heart was an all-state boys basketball player for Pine Ridge and Little Wound in high school. Heart is forever remembered for his performance at the 1999 Class A boys basketball tournament in Rapid City, when he pumped in 48 points in an overtime loss against De Smet in the semifinals. 

Heart still mixes it up in practice, turning his playing style into a hands-on coaching tool.
“Every single time they have a bad game, I am like ‘I am suiting up tonight. Practice is on,’ ” Heart said.  

The Braves (9-2) are playing in this week’s Dakota Oyate Challenge in Mitchell. Marty overcame a double-digit deficit Thursday to pull away from Tiospa Zina, 59-46.
With only one senior on the roster, Heart said guiding the young Braves is “just like teaching babies how to crawl again.”
While Marty is enjoying a successful season, Heart said his focus has been on the Braves’ improvement throughout the year.

“To me there’s still a lot of things we need,” Heart said. “The teams we are beating are all right teams. But those aren’t the teams we are looking forward to playing later on in the season. They’re teams that get us ready. But at the end of the day, it is what it is. Basketball is basketball. We have to show up and play no matter what.”