Four years ago, Phil Homeratha discovered that an awful lot can happen in one day.

Twenty-four hours before she was supposed to report to basketball camp at a junior college in Tahlequah, Okla., Kortney Smith simply didn’t feel right.

A stressed freshman with a one-track basketball mind, Smith decided to place a call to Homeratha — a family friend and Haskell Indian Nations University’s women’s basketball coach — and ask for guidance.

It’s a good thing he picked up.

Within the next 24 hours, Homeratha had landed a person he considered “the best Native American basketball player in the country.” By the following week, the late-enroll had her high-tops laced up and was preparing to embark upon a record-breaking career, culminating in more than 1,000 points.

“You think about the Native American population and we’re about one percent of the total population in the United States,” Homeratha said. “Then you think about how many of them are female, and how many of those are ball players. I’m not making any comparisons, but she could be the best Indian basketball player in the country.”

Smith humbly denies the high praise, but it is difficult to argue with some of the numbers the No. 1 player in school history has etched into the record books.

“I don’t think I’m the best,” Smith said with a smile. “There are a lot of good girls out there. I don’t really believe it, but I’ll take the compliment, certainly.”

Smith came close to never experiencing Haskell.

Her dream goal out of high school was to attend an NCAA Division I school, but scouts told her it would be in her best interest to attend a junior college and gain a couple years of basketball experience.

Had she stuck with that route, the preseason All-America nominee and two-time All-Conference player would have been the only person in her family not to tout the purple and gold of the Fightin’ Indians.

“My whole family has gone here,” Smith said. “My grandpa coached football here, my aunt Jill played basketball, and my aunt Julie went to school here. It’s just kind of in the family.

“I think this was the best place for me. Basketball has always been fun for me. Had I gone Division I, it would have been like a job. And I’d never want it to turn into that.”

That’s not to say Smith isn’t serious about her game.

This year, the team captain is looking to lead Haskell back to its conference championship by averaging over 15 points per game.

The points — there’s somewhere around 1,300 of them now — is not what Smith wants to be remembered for, however.

“I didn’t walk into Haskell expecting any of this; it was never one of my goals or ambitions,” she said. “When coach told me I was the first to score 1,000, I told him, ‘If I don’t have to score, I don’t want to.’ I only care about winning. I would rather have 10 assists and four or five points.”

That attitude is also reflected on the stat sheet as Smith is No. 10 in the country in assists per game at 5.29.

“I’ve always been the player that wants to make the cool pass,” she said.

“I think I’ve had three behind-the-back passes this year. I like doing stuff like that because that’s what gets the crowd going and keeps people coming back.”

Smith will not be back next year.

The senior plans to attend Kansas University and obtain a sports administration degree that will hopefully propel her into her desired career path: Haskell’s next basketball coach.

“This is where I want to end up; I want to end up coaching basketball at Haskell,” she said as she contentedly gazed around one of the university’s classrooms.

“I have little sisters going through here. I have two sisters that are 13 and one that is 11.

“My plan is to recruit the two older ones, and redshirt them for a year. Then I’d play them for a year, and then my youngest sister would be here the following season.”

That dream squad — four starting Smith’s — will remain a dream at least until the end of the season. The eldest Smith still has six games remaining in her final regular season as a player.

Haskell is 10-7 overall and 3-2 in the conference.

Next game is today in Lawrence against Peru State.