Don Ferguson was hoping this season would bring about change for the St. Cloud Tech boys basketball program.

The Tigers won only four games last season, and Ferguson, the team’s coach, was anticipating an improvement.

Winning a basketball game, though, isn’t a top priority for many of the team’s players.

Almost half the students on the school’s combined varsity and junior varsity teams come from immigrant families. The growing presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across Minnesota is affecting their daily lives.

On Monday, Jan. 19, the team traveled from St. Cloud to play in the inaugural MLK Classic basketball showcase at Johnson Senior High in St. Paul.

“Some parents were just scared to send their kids,” said Ferguson, whose son is a freshman on the team. “But our school has done a great job on continuing to try to educate and have different resources for our students. Keeping our guys together. We talked during school about how they were doing and the social aspect of it.”

It wasn’t the first time St. Cloud Tech coaches had to ease the concerns of parents.

A week before, several freshmen didn’t make the trip to Minneapolis when their teams played St. Thomas Academy in the Southside Showcase at Minnehaha Academy on Jan. 10.

“We have a heavy population of Somali students,” Ferguson said. “We have some Somali players, and a lot of their parents didn’t want them to come down [to the metro] with the stuff happening in the Cities. I understand it, but kids also need a normal day-to-day to be able to get by when they’re faced with these challenges.”

In St. Cloud, Somali residents make up about 8% of the population, the third-highest percentage in the state following Minneapolis and St. Paul. More than half the students at Tech High School are people of color, and 18% are English-learners.

Tensions in parts of St. Cloud, like elsewhere, are high. On Jan. 12, hundreds of residents and dozens of ICE agents clashed in a St. Cloud parking lot when agents detained a man coming out of a mall with several Somali-owned businesses. Earlier this month, Tech students staged a walk-out that was not supported by the district or school.

Jiech Jiech and Okilli Galo, juniors on the basketball team, know what some of their fellow students are going through. Jiech is Sudanese. Galo is Ethiopian.

“What affects my [classmates] is going to affect me in a way,” Galo said. “But the important part is coming together as a team. We acknowledge what’s going on, but our motto is controlling what we can … and doing it on the court. Playing for what’s going on and using it as motivation.”

Jiech, whose parents are immigrants, said “it’s really tough” watching the scrutiny other African and immigrant communities are experiencing in St. Cloud and elsewhere.

“But with everything going on in the world and in [Minnesota],” Jiech said, “I try to keep my focus on school and basketball. Control what I can control. That’s the best I can do.”

Most of Tech’s players continue to attend school in person, Ferguson said.

“At this time, St. Cloud Area School District is not offering a districtwide online or virtual learning option,” St. Cloud Superintendent Laurie Putnam said. “Our focus remains on in-person learning, which we know is essential to students’ academic growth, well-being and connection to school. When families are experiencing concerns or barriers that make in-person attendance challenging, we are working with them individually to understand their needs and provide support.”

Corey Yeager, a licensed therapist formerly on staff with the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, has been working with the St. Cloud School District, offering mental health services to students and Tech athletes.

“For him to be able to bring his expertise to our community and him being a sports guy, it was a great fit,” Ferguson said. “It’s been great for our kids.”

Jiech is having a breakout basketball season, averaging 22 points to lead 7-8 Tech, which has nearly doubled its win total from last season.

St. Paul Johnson coach Colin Moore, who started the MLK Classic with the Minnesota Black Basketball Coaches Association, was glad Tech and other schools accepted the invite to play.

“It is a welcomed escape for us with all that is going on,” Moore said. “With the political climate and the immediacy here of what’s going on, the message of Dr. [Martin Luther] King is so valuable right now. We can lean upon a lot of his speeches and lectures and find solace.”

At the MLK Classic, the Tigers lost 70-52 to South St. Paul, but players said the trip should help them — on and off the court — moving forward.

“[Jiech] and I are both leaders on this team,” Gallo said. “We’re going to bring back a lot of things we learned from here with toughness and things like that to try to improve.”

Jenny Berg of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.