Chartrand the real deal

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This article was published 16/06/2022 (1483 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Four and a half hours.

That’s how long it takes to drive from Pine Creek First Nation — which is about 110 km north of Dauphin — to Winnipeg.

It’s a journey Mason Chartrand and his father Clint know extremely well, as they make it twice a week so Mason can play and practise with the under-17 provincial basketball team. They make the trip in on Monday, stay in a hotel for two nights, head back to Pine Creek late Wednesday, before returning to the city again on Friday. Thankfully, Jordan’s Principle, a child-first principle that aims to help First Nations children receive the same care and opportunities as everyone else, has helped the Chartrand’s with funding.

“Prior to picking Mason on the team, I said to his dad ‘Are you sure man? That’s crazy. That’s quite the commitment.’ But he’s really excited for (Mason) and I’m really excited for their family,” said provincial team head coach Lenin Mangaron.

“… This is huge for his community as well, right? For making it to this (level), that’s something we’re proud of him for and we let him know that.”

Mason, a Grade 11 student at Winnipegosis Collegiate, has no complaints about the car rides. With the 6-8 forward playing high school basketball at the ‘A’ level, it’s a great opportunity for him to consistently play against tougher competition.

Mason and Team Manitoba will head to the Canada Basketball under-17 nationals in Edmonton in August.

“It feels pretty good to make the team knowing that I’m the only Indigenous kid on the team and to be one of the top 15 players in Manitoba for 17U,” Mason said.

Mason, 17, is the first player from Winnipegosis Collegiate to make it to the provincial team.

“Besides talent itself, it’s the dedication and work he puts in. The guy is a complete player. I’ve never had a scorer of his calibre here,” said Jeremy Gilfoy, whose been coaching and teaching at Winnipegosis for 10 years.

“He’s a big man that plays a swingman role which is sick because he’s 6-8 and he’s a ball handler who can shoot the three and drive to the rim in a traditional post body. His abilities to control the offence from the exterior or interior is unbelievable.”

If Mason keeps progressing the way he is, he could become the first player from the area to play at the university level. He’s already attracted interest from Canadian Mennonite University.

“The thing with him is he’s just going to get better and better in the coming years because he’s got the attitude for it,” Mangaron said.

“He’s like a sponge. Everything us coaches have been telling him, he just does it. In the past couple of years, I’m not sure he’s been getting elite competition so I wanted to see him with the best of the best in the province in his age group and he’s getting better every day. His ceiling is high. He’s got so much potential to work with.”

Mason started making a name for himself last August when he and his younger brother Rylan, cousin Kamdyn McKay, and friend Phillip Desmarais won the Manitoba Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Council’s Hoop It Up 3×3 tournament. By winning that event, Mason and the Pine Creek Warriors qualified for the Hoop It Up National Championships in October in Arizona. It was their first time on an airplane, but they didn’t let a brand-new experience overwhelm them as they capped off an undefeated run by winning the national final 15-13.

It’d be an incredible feat for anybody, let alone a group of boys from a place with only 1,000 residents.

“We just wanted to compete our hardest because we knew there was going to be some competition there,” Mason said.

“We were happy to come from a small reservation and go down to the states and win it.”

They were treated to a heroes’ welcome when they returned to Pine Creek.

“It was a beautiful experience all around. The community greeted the boys at the local school gym and they gifted them with eagle feathers. They also had a meal for them and a parade,” said Mason’s mother, Jennifer.

“It was very touching to see all of the community support.”

The Chartrand family almost had both of their sons make the provincial team as Rylan, who’s 6-5 and in Grade 10, made it to the final cuts despite being a year younger. If Rylan lands a spot next year, Jennifer said the family will commit to driving him to Winnipeg as well.

“The only category Mason didn’t lead our team in would be rebounding and that’s because of Rylan. Shot blocking would be close. Mason had more, but Rylan was up there,” Gilfoy said.

“Rylan is a defensive monster. His offensive game is evolving a bit, but watch out for him, too.”

Mason hopes he and his brother can open the door for more young talent in Pine Creek and surrounding communities.

“It feels pretty good to be a role model to other kids,” Mason said.

“It’s neat knowing I can inspire more kids to play basketball.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31