‘He’s a really special man’: Rick Smith wins 500th game as Four Winds head basketball coach

THOMPSON — When Rick Smith filled out his information for the latest Hoopster edition last summer, he noticed he was at 490 career wins.

“You keep forgetting what your record is because you just want to go on to the next team and try to win the game,” Smith said. “And you’re not worried about what your record is.”

Four Winds/Minnewaukan — ranked No. 1 in Division A — completed a gutsy comeback over No. 3 Kindred last weekend to win its eighth straight and ninth of the season. Coach Smith was now at 499 wins.

“Well,” Smith said. “Let’s get it over with.”

The Indians kept rolling into region play this past Friday. They hit the road to Thompson, where they played their first of six consecutive region games. FW/M won 70-43 — its ninth straight, 10th of the season and 500th of Smith’s 29-year career coaching the Indians.

“I don’t know if it’s just a sign of you’re getting older,” Smith said of his achievement. “But it’s been fun. I’ve had a lot of good teams. I’ve had a lot of good players. I’ve had a lot of good coaches beside me. So it was pretty neat to do it with this team. And it would have been nice to do it at home, of course. But it was nice to do it here tonight, get it over with and move on and try to get to 501 [Saturday].”

Thompson honored Smith’s achievement, announcing his milestone to the crowd and presenting Smith with the game ball. Smith and first-year Thompson coach Seth Kuchar shared a hug in the handshake line.

The next day, in Fort Totten, assistant coach Travis Mertens presented Smith with a banner and a decorative ball.

“I didn’t even know he was that close to 500,” FW/M senior guard Jonte Delorme said. “And to see that and experience it, and be playing for him when he got his 500th win, that was something special. Something I’ll always remember, and, obviously, he will always remember.”

The early years

While the Indians are the highest-ranked team in Division A right now, Smith has spent most of his life in Class B.

As a player, he never made a state tournament.

“That was kind of always your goal, is to try and get there somehow,” Smith said.

Smith became Four Winds’ head coach in 1993 after some years coaching and teaching elementary kids.

During Smith’s first decade-plus on the job, Four Winds never made a state tournament.

“As a young coach, you’re going up against wily veterans all the time, and they’re picking you apart,” Smith said. “As any job, you want to continue to learn and continue to get better, and continue to get people to help you, and pick each other’s brains and things like that.

“And there was times I stepped away. I stepped away from the game. I don’t know if burnout was part of it when I was younger, or frustration. And I was happy to get back into it.”

The first year Four Winds made it to a state tournament was 2006. That same year, Mertens won Mr. Basketball in his senior year at Devils Lake High School.

Back then, Four Winds and Devils Lake competed in separate classifications.

“They tried to set up games [between us],” Mertens said. “And as a player, as a competitor, I always wanted to play them, too. My dad had been out there teaching for 27 years, so I knew the school, and I knew the athletes and everything like that. And I think it would have been a heck of a game, especially that 2006 year, with both teams being as good as they were.”

Mertens did, though, cross paths with Smith’s Indians in travel tournaments.

“His brother was the traveling team coach,” Mertens said. “And taking them around, it would always seem like we would always battle with them in a bunch of the local tournaments, or the area tournaments.”

Since Mertens’ father, Joe, taught at Four Winds, he would sometimes bring young Travis to the school.

“I can remember sitting on the sidelines, when they used to actually broadcast the games, and listening to the radio that would do it, and being on the sideline when my dad would help coach,” Mertens said. “So yeah, I’ve known Rick since I was kind of a little guy, to be honest with you.”

Mertens added to the coaching staff during mid-2010s success

In 2015, Mertens joined Smith’s staff as an assistant basketball coach. He’s now in his 12th season of that role, to go along with 11 years as co-head football coach.

“As I got older, the relationship kind of developed even more and more,” Mertens said. “Being around him every day, and now working out there for 12 years — he’s a really special man. And there’s not a better guy and more willing guy to deserve what he’s accomplished. I’ve got a lot of thanks to give to him. He’s kind of inspired or helped my coaching career, as well.”

Mertens has blossomed as a coach in both sports. He’s helped take the football program to new heights, including making the nine-man playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time ever. Not to mention being part of six Class B state basketball tournament runs.

“Being around Rick every day, and just seeing the type of person he really is, and his values, and what he teaches and what he preaches and everything like that, it’s tough not to rub off,” Mertens said. “He’s probably a big reason why the football program is where it is, as well. He’s not a coach, but the support that he’s given and the push that he’s given for the athletes to come out and play sports and not just specialize in one thing, it means that he wants what’s best for the kids. It’s not just what’s best for Rick, it’s what’s best for the kids and the community and the school.”

Four Winds, now co-opping with Minnewaukan, made the Class B state tournament in each of Mertens’ first three years coaching next to Smith.

The Indians won their first state championship in 2016 and have only continued to grow from there.

“We’ve had a good program,” Smith said. “My brother [Dennis] by my side, with Travis by my side, with Jeff [Fuchs] by my side for the last how many years — it makes it a lot easier. There’s times where, if I can’t be at practice because of illness or meetings or something like that, I don’t have any problem with these guys handling practice.”

But the No. 1 factor that keeps him coming back, Smith said, is the kids.

“The kids have bought into our system that we put out there for them,” Smith said. “Our junior high coaches have been there for a long, long time, so it’s a total program. And so it’s fun to come back year after year, because the kids know what to expect. They know who the coaches are every year. Our philosophy hasn’t changed, and the kids have bought into it. And we’ve had some good ones.”

The Indians won the state tournament again in 2022. They made it to seven state tournaments under the FW/M co-op, and 10 Class B state tournaments, total, when including the three that Four Winds made as a standalone team.

Outside of the on-court success, people around the program constantly praise the effort Smith puts in for the kids.

“Seeing the ins and outs of how he not only coaches, but teaches and guides these young men into becoming the type of people that they are, is a special part,” Mertens said. “With Rick, it’s not just like, ‘You play basketball for me.’ There’s relationships there. … I think it’s kind of telling to see how many kids that he’s coached, their kids are now playing, and stuff like that. And it’s the same way; when they see him, it’s ‘Coach Smith.’ It’s the respect level that he’s earned and he deserves. That’s really special. And because of it, he’s able to build a program to the level it is nowadays.”

A new era in Division A

The NDHSAA expanded basketball to three classifications for the 2023-24 season. FW/M got placed in Division A, Region 2, alongside Devils Lake. The Indians have a 2-4 record in the young rivalry’s history thus far.

FW/M’s tenure in Division A has been ripe with success — from Deng Deng winning the second Mr. Basketball in program history, to achieving a unanimous No. 1 ranking right now.

But each of the Indians’ last two seasons has ended in heartbreak.

“We’ve had a little stalemate on the state tournament the last few years, and not had all the luck that you need to have,” Smith said. “I thought we’ve had the teams to get there, but you’ve got to have a little bit of luck. And your coaching skills have to be up to par, too, because you’re going against good teams each and every night once you get close to the end. And it ain’t gonna be any different this year.”

The Indians have five seniors this season, including Delorme and Marial Deng. That crew has played for teams coached by Smith at both the Class B and Division A levels.

“He’s there whenever you need it, on and off the court,” Delorme said. “Just a very good coach.”

With the milestone behind him, Smith has all the tools in his bag to go for another state title. It would be the first at the Division A level for the Four Winds program.

Smith will try to add as many more as he can to those 500 wins.

“I don’t know how many more years I’ve got underneath my belt to coach,” Smith said. “But it’s been a fun ride for me.”