BUTTE, Mont. — Montana Tech men’s basketball has built a dynasty, winning the last four Frontier Conference regular season and tournament championships.
Now they are paying it forward with a skills camp, as Orediggers of the past, present, and future are in Butte this week to teach the next generation of hoopers what it takes to make it to the next level.
“The guys had such great experience when they played here, they want to come back and give back to the community and give back, and be able to interact with the current players,” said Montana Tech head coach Adam Hiatt.
The high potential camp has been a tech tradition since 2016. Last week was for the younger campers, while this week is for high schoolers, putting prospects on a team coach by a current, former, or future Oredigger, like former All-American Asa Williams.
“Giving kids faith and showing them that even if you don’t get a scholarship from Montana Tech, there may be a school that’s out there that maybe wants you. And that’s just my main goal,” said Williams, a Montana Tech forward from 2022-24.
Williams is back in Butte after an incredible debut season overseas, earning first team All-Import honors for the Hessing Kangaroos in Germany’s ProB league.
“My team won the regular season championship, so for my first time ever going overseas, it was a bit getting used to, but I really enjoyed the success that came with it,” said Williams, who plans on playing again in a higher division in Europe next season and would like to be a coach when his playing career comes to an end.
“It just shows that with a lot of hard work, you can make your dreams come true. And nobody works harder than Asa. And I’m hopeful that Asa’s going to instill that mentality on the team that he drafted this week,” said Hiatt.
As for the prospects, they understand the incredible opportunity to spend a week as an Oredigger and are trying to absorb all they can.
“I think I’m going to get the real college experience and it’s going to be fun meeting all the players and just playing with new kids,” said Hellgate class of 2026 forward Zane Gillhouse, who is hoping to get an official offer from the Orediggers by the end of the camp.
“I just want to improve my skills, improve my post work, really work on it in the games,” said class of 2026 forward Sulay Abubakari of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Abubakari has won the last two Idaho state titles alongside Asher Williams, an incoming freshman at Tech this year who is one of the coaches at this week’s camp.
The overnight camp, which includes personalized instruction, food and boarding, is less than $400 per participant, which is why there’s well over 100 kids taking part, and dozens more on a wait list.
“Everybody who comes to our camp has an understanding that we’re going to treat our camps like it’s our team that we’re coaching. We’re going to have the same level of intensity, the same sense of urgency, the same commitment to work ethic, the same attention to detail We get to a lot of teaching and incredible competition this weekand i want every camper that comes here to feel like they were part of our program for one week. That’s kind of the sense of satisfaction that the players have,” said Hiatt.