T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING - Meskwaki Settlement School graduate Taurice Grant, seated center, signed his National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Bacone College, an NAIA institution in Muskogee, Okla. With Grant for his signing ceremony were (clockwise from Taurice) brother Traycen Grant, father Garner Grant, Bacone head coach Ruben Little Head Sr., cousins Desmond Kapayou and Tori Lasley, sister Tariah Grant, grandfather Roy Kapayou, cousin Geanna Bear, and mother Christina Alamo.

MESKWAKI SETTLEMENT — There was a celebration going on at Meskwaki Settlement School Thursday afternoon, and with friends and family celebrating with him, there was a quiet, calm smile on Taurice Grant’s face.

It was the end of a process that had weighed on him for months, but left him thrilled and relieved with the results.

“It took a lot to get here,” Grant said. “I just know my inner self is going to be a lot happier if I took this route than if I went the other way. Feel a lot of relief, I finally found a place, and finally found a new home for myself.”

Grant held a signing ceremony to celebrate his commitment to Bacone College, a liberal arts College that has been around since 1880, is chartered by five Oklahoma tribes — the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma, Osage Nation, Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes, and Kiowa Tribe — and is based in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The Warriors play basketball at the NAIA level and are members of the Association of Independent Institutions.

The new head coach of the Warriors men’s basketball team, Ruben Little Head Sr., said previous connections to Grant’s father, Garner, helped him find out Grant was looking for a basketball opportunity.

“I’ve watched him play even before I was coach and I knew he could play,” Little Head Sr. said. “I went to school with Garner at Haskell Indian Nations University. I’ve been up here in Meskwaki for tournaments, I’ve been up here for pow-wows, so I have been familiar with some of the people in the family.

“We were at a tournament in Oklahoma and visiting with his dad, and his dad said he de-committed and was looking to play basketball now, which made me excited because I need a player like him.”

Originally, this would not have been the case. In early January, Grant committed to play football at Iowa Western Community College. At the time, he was excited about the opportunity.

But in recent months, Grant said he began to second-guess his decision and began to reckon with the possibility of de-committing while watching back film of himself playing both sports.

On May 21, he did just that — announcing his commitment was open. His process started again, and Grant said he took things slowly because he wanted to find the perfect fit.

After talking to Little Head Sr., visiting the campus and working out on campus, he took a couple of weeks to decide. But it was a chance at a new chapter, and at a place where Grant said he feels like he can make a difference.

“Basketball is my thing, it’s what I grew up doing, I just can’t let go of something I love that much,” Grant said. “Got a couple of friends already on the team, and talking to them and it’s like, ‘Let’s start something. Let’s put them on the map again.’ So that’s kind of the whole movement we’re trying to get going is that we’re gonna put Bacone on the map again.”

At Bacone, Grant will still be studying to become a physical therapist. But instead of football, he’ll be immersed in his true favorite sport.

“I got big plans for myself and what I want to do after my four years or however long it takes,” Grant said.