He’s from a basketball family. Cordell Spoonhunter was a playmaker for the Chiefs last season before he suffered a knee injury and then a concussion after a single-car rollover on the Sunday morning after Wyoming Indian won the Class 2-A West Regional over Thermopolis.
“I went to get clothes at my house in Lander on my way back a car came into my lane, I had to swerve away from it. I tried to correct myself, swerved two or three times, then rolled. I hit a ditch head-on, and the car flipped over,” Spoonhunter said.
He wasn’t hurt that badly, thanks to wearing a seat belt, but he suffered from a concussion, which sidelined him for the 2025 Class 2-A state tournament the following weekend.
“It was hard, I felt like I could have played, but I had a concussion,” Spoonhunter said. “My body felt alright. It was hard for me to sit and watch.”
The Chiefs are loaded this year, favored by many to win Wyoming Indian’s 14th state boys’ championship and eighth under head coach Craig Ferris.
“I think we’re going to win,” Spoonhunter said. “We have everybody back.”
Spoonhunter’s father, Slade, was a standout at Wyoming Indian and went on to play at Eastern Wyoming in Torrington and Dickinson State University in North Dakota.
His mom is Tiara Crawford, and his grandparents are Bonnie Bell and Billy Spoonhunter and Lorenda Moss and Kenny Crawford Jr.
Spoonhunter is an honor student.
“I try to keep them all A’s, but sometimes they drop to B’s,” Spoonhunter said. “I get my work done.”
His future plans are to play basketball at the next level and to earn a degree in either business or physical therapy.
“I want to do something where I can help other athletes, strengthen their bodies and improve,” Spoonhunter said.
He is all too familiar with injuries.
“After the weekend we played Moorcroft, I woke up Sunday morning, and I couldn’t walk because of my knee,” Spoonhunter said. “I thought it was going to be alright.
He sat out all of February but returned for the regional tournament, where the Chiefs handled the eventual state champion Thermopolis Bobcats in the championship game.
He recovered from his concussion and, in May, had surgery to repair a damaged meniscus.
“I was just cleared,” Spoonhunter said.
At 6-3, with great shooting range, and outstanding ball-handling skills, Spoonhunter will be effective at the college level, but first he has some business to take care of with his teammates at Wyoming Indian.
“My friend Julius Robinson is back from Lander and can play this year,” Spoonhunter said. “I’m really excited, we have another playmaker on the team.”
Robinson played two seasons at Lander, then transferred to Wyoming Indian and had to sit out athletics for a year per Wyoming High School Activities Association transfer rules.
Joining Robinson and Spoonhunter is a talented crew that shoots well, moves well, has good all-around size, and plays tremendous defense.
LaDainian Brown, Adriano Brown, Mathew Austin, Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black, Mitchell C’Hair, and Parlayne Ferris all return for their final season in Ethete as seniors.
Spoonhunter is famous, or infamous if you’re on the other side of the Chiefs in a basketball game, for his pull-up jumper near the top of the key.
“My favorite move is the pull-up jumper, after a cross or between the legs,” Spoonhunter said. “I get a quick first step, then stop and pull up. My dad taught me that, he’s helped me become more unpredictable.”
Spoonhunter competed in cross country for the Chiefs as well and plans on going out for track this spring. He threw the discus well in eighth grade, but off-season basketball has taken him away from the ring in the spring while in high school.
While preparing for the upcoming season, he’s still contacting colleges and returning questionnaires.
“I’m trying to get film sent out right now, hopefully they’ll watch me this season,” Spoonhunter said. “I’m planning on going to play somewhere.”
The Chiefs play in the toughest region in Class 2-A this season, with a talented, defending state champion Thermopolis team bringing most of the team back, and a very young, but very tall and talented Rocky Mountain team awaiting them as well.
“Everyone, stay tuned, it’s going to be a good one, it’s gonna be a fun season,” Spoonhunter said.
The Chiefs open play on the road this weekend with games against Tongue River, Glenrock, Wright, and Kaycee.