By Rich Winter

605 Sports

LOWER BRULE —- On Feb. 27, 2024, during a first-round Region 6B game, Lower Brule’s Lane Gray stepped awkwardly and heard a loud pop. 

While laying on the floor Gray wasn’t thinking about his knee, or the possibility of missing his senior season, instead he was thinking about his team. 

“I wasn’t worried about my future, I was worried about my team and how they would respond without me,” Gray said. 

Gray, who has been a fixture on the Lower Brule basketball team since his eighth-grade season, said he got a steal and had a one-on-one opportunity. He stepped, did a behind the back dribble, then stepped left and heard the knee give. 

Several days later the diagnosis of a torn ACL came down and by the end of March, Gray had surgery to repair the damaged ligament. While Gray said he never worried about not getting to play basketball his senior season, his high school coach, Brian LaRoche was plenty worried his all-state caliber guard might not make it back. 

“I called him a lot last spring and summer and made sure he was going to his rehab appointments,” LaRoche said. “We had a kid a few years back, (Quentin) McBride, that went through something similar and he didn’t get fully intact until the season was over. I figured Lane might be back by the end of the season.” 

Better known for his exploits in basketball, Gray was the starting quarterback for a Lower Brule football team that went undefeated in 2023. Gray helped lead the Sioux to an All-Nations Football Conference championship while being named the most valuable offensive player of the championship game. 

The torn ACL cut short what had been a spectacular high school football career in which Gray was part of back-to-back All-Nations titles. 

“Once I got out of surgery I just made a plan to not play football,” Gray said. “That hurt because I kind of liked that sport but I knew the only way I could play basketball this year was to not come back too fast.” 

The Sioux football team went undefeated last fall, winning a third consecutive All-Nations championship. Gray spent last fall religiously going to rehab, and working as a cook in a local store, but did make some time to work with incumbent quarterback Ethan Thigh on his footwork.

“The rehab was a long process but I knew I needed to do it and take it slow,” Gray said.

The 6-foot senior who has played in two state championship games in basketball got the clearance to play basketball about two weeks before the start of this season. The news of Gray’s return for an entire season both shocked and pleasantly surprised his coach.

“He’s an all-state player and has done incredible things for this team for the last four years,” LaRoche said. “He’s been an athlete since he could walk and being around a good group of older kids helped him a lot. When he was younger he lost his father and he had to step up for his siblings and I think that’s kind of helped him become the unselfish player that he is.” 

Gray said he approached the start of the 2024-25 season with cautious optimism. He reminded himself to take it slow and not to do any stupid turns. 

Following a season-opening 72-42 win over Marty, Gray and his teammates turned their attention to the Lakota Nation Invitational with designs of winning a title. During a tight game against Little Wound on the first day of the tournament, Gray felt a twinge in his knee and was forced to the bench. 

In a moment the game, the tournament and his season rushed through the teenager's mind. 

“I ain’t gonna lie, I thought my season was over,” Gray said. “We had it checked out and the doctor said it was good and that was a big relief.”

Lower Brule's Lane Gray directs a teammate while on the bench during the Sioux' game against Little Wound in the first round of the Lakota Nation Invitational on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at Summit Arena at The Monument - (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)

Gray didn’t play on Thursday at the Lakota Nation Invitational, a loss to Santee, Nebraska and played just spot minutes in wins over McLaughlin and Omaha Nation. Once again the feeling of not being there for his team crept into Gray’s mind.

“That hurt because I couldn’t be out there to help them,” he said.

Following a loss to St. George’s of Tennessee at the Hoop City Classic, the Sioux beat Faulkton Area. In its most recent outing, Lower Brule defeated De Smet (49-46), the team that beat them for Class B state championships in 2022 and ‘23. In that game Gray surpassed 1,000 career points. 

“It felt really good to get over that hump," Gray said. “We were up by 15 and had a fourth quarter where we just didn’t hit shots or free throws.” 

The knee is getting better with every practice and every game but Gray said he’s still limited.

“I haven’t really been using my jumping abilities,” he said. “I’m just using my basketball IQ and trying to find the open man and such.”

Finding the open man is just fine for LaRoche who called Gray an extension of the coaching staff on the floor. 

“Over the summer I talked to him about an understanding of how to start coaching and being a leader,” LaRoche said. “When he’s tweaked his knee this season his mindset changes to what he can do to step in and be a leader. I told him to use that voice to help out and that he has to use his mind until the knee is fully healed.”