by Dan Ninham, Contributing Writer
The Lindy Waters III Foundation welcomed high school basketball players from all backgrounds to the Elevated Native Basketball Tournament, held July 5–6, 2025 at The HIVE Sports Complex in Edmond, OK. This is a story of one of the participating athletes.
DN: What is your name, tribe/s, next year grade, next year’s school and location, position, and name of summer teams?
EA: My name is Easton Allen. I am a proud member of the Choctaw Nation. I will be a senior at Binger-Oney High School in Binger, Oklahoma next year playing point guard for my high school team. I play AAU in the off season for the Oklahoma Runners Organization.
DN: What are your major athletic accomplishments so far?
EA: Basketball has provided me the avenue to accomplish many things both athletically and personally. My athletic accomplishments include being named to the Binger-Oney All-Tournament team (2 years), Black Diamond All-Tournament Team, Caddo County All-Tournament team (2 years), and Washita Valley All Conference Team as well as earning Tournament, District and Regional Championships. Personally, basketball has been an avenue for me to develop my leadership skills both on and off the court, and has tested and proven my integrity.
DN: How do your indigenous core values come out in how you practice and compete?
EA: Being a Native has always come with great perks as well as societal hurdles. Navigating the hurdles of being a Native has taught me perseverance. That perseverance translates to practice and competition by providing me the intestinal fortitude to never give up, hustle until the final buzzer, and be all in every day, every game. Tapping into the Native basketball circuit with the Oklahoma Runners has helped me find those athletes with my same heritage, values, beliefs, and love of basketball and has improved my game tremendously. I am grateful to individuals like Reggie Island, Derek Tofpi, and Tevyn Mack for volunteering their personal time to tirelessly invest in Native youths through basketball, but especially for taking a chance on a skinny, small-school boy, and helping me become the confident player I am today.
DN: Which athlete do you admire most and why?
EA: The athlete I admire most is Russell Westbrook because of his passion for the game of basketball. When I was just two years old, I intently watched Oklahoma City Thunder games in person and on TV and recognized in Russell the same passion for basketball that I felt in my soul and developed the deep love for the game that I still have today.
DN: What are your goals going to be for the school year and how are you working on them this summer?
EA: My ultimate goal is to win a State Championship. I know in order to accomplish this I need to grow as a leader, increase size and strength, and hone my basketball skills. I am working on all three of these things this summer by stepping out of my comfort zone and speaking at my church youth group, lifting weights, eating a high protein diet, practicing skills and agility, and playing in high level tournaments with the Oklahoma Runners.
DN: Share another storyline that you would like readers to know about you.
EA: I was born into a family with a deep-rooted love for basketball and a Native basketball legacy starting with my great-grandfather, James Edelen, an all-state basketball player in 1952 at Achille, Oklahom. He played at the collegiate level on scholarship at Tyler Junior College and Centenary College where he was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 2012; and my Papa, Jimmy Edelen, who was an all-state athlete, the recipient of the Jim Thorpe Outstanding Athlete of the Year in Oklahoma in 1972 and played at the collegiate level on scholarship at Tulsa University. I started playing basketball as soon as I could walk, at the YMCA when I was only three years old. I played against my sister when she was able to stand and “play defense” and have always aspired to play at the highest level possible.
My family, high school coach, Taylor Rains, and the Oklahoma Runners coaches have played an instrumental role in my development and success as a player and as an individual. I am fortunate to be surrounded by a multitude of supportive people who love me and encourage me to be the best version of myself and are helping me fulfill my dream of playing basketball at a higher level. These people have shaped my priorities – God, family, teammates/friends, basketball.
