Rocket basketball underway

As the weather outside becomes frightful, our favorite sports move inside – and that means the start of basketball season is upon us.

However, this years’ basketball season is set to look quite a bit different than years past, as a number of rule changes were made and a three-class system returns for the 2023-24 season for the first time in nearly 60 years.

For starters, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has approved several rule changes this season regarding fouls and free-throws.

This season, there will be no more one-and-one free throws, meaning players will all shoot two free throws when teams enter the bonus.

Additionally, this season the bonus will begin at five team fouls per quarter, with team fouls resetting at the end of quarters. Previously, teams were awarded the one-and-one bonus when their opponents committed seven fouls in a half and two foul shots when 10 fouls were committed each half.

“The rules committee studied data that showed higher injury rates on rebounding situations and saw this as an opportunity to reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounds,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS Director of Sports and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee.

“Additionally, resetting the fouls each quarter will improve game flow and allow teams to adjust their play by not carrying foul totals to quarters two and four.”

Meanwhile, the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) Board of Directors, on a unanimous 10-0 vote, agreed to implement the plan that would create Divisions AA, A and B for basketball in the state.

Division AA will consist of schools with enrollments above 650 students, and includes several schools below the threshold who have chosen to opt up into the higher class.

The new Division A comprises schools with enrollments from 162 to 649 students, along with several schools in Division AA-sized school districts with enrollments from 100 to 399 students.

Division B, meanwhile, will consist of all schools under 162 students that do not qualify for Division A under the aforementioned exception.

Both Divisions A and B will have four regions, with Division B subdividing each region into two districts. Last year NR-S was in a super region, meaning there were no districts.

Under the new system, the Rockets move to Division B - Region 2, District 4, and have been placed with Benson County, Griggs-Midkota, Hatton-Northwood, Larimore, MayPort-C-G, Nelson County and Warwick.

Missing from the Rockets' schedule this year will be the Four Winds/Minnewaukan Indians, as they've moved up to Class A. Also making the move up to Class A is Carrington, though NR-S is still slated to play the Cardinals this season for a game that won't count towards region or district standings.

The Rockets girls, meanwhile, will still have to compete with the Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich Cardinals for a region title this year.

Last season LA/E/M was the only Region 4 team to finish the season with a better region record than the Rockets.

However, another new rule change for both boys' and girls' basketball means that two teams from the Rockets' region could advance to the state championship this year.

The new system incorporates "post-regional challenge games" pitting runner-up teams from Regions 1-2 (eastern) and 3-4 (western) against the third place team in the opposite region. The winners of those four games will also earn state tournament berths.

Last season, the NR-S girls’ basketball team finished their regular season with a 15-6 overall record, and went on to place third in the Super Region 4 girls’ basketball standings.

Between then and now, just one senior – Madisen Myhre – has graduated, meaning the starting roster will be almost entirely the same, and they’ll be hoping to have another good year with a shot at qualifying for the state tournament.

The first coaches poll of the girls' basketball season has the Rockets receiving votes to be ranked among the state’s top 10 teams.

The Rocket girls opened their season with a narrow 39-41 to Carrington – who have moved up to Division A – on Monday, Nov. 27, and began their first tournament of the season at the CNDC in Rugby on Thursday.

Their next matchup will be against North Star in Cando on Tuesday, Dec. 5.

The Rocket boys, meanwhile, will look to improve on what was a disappointing season last year, which saw them finish with a 4-16 overall record in the regular season.

However, they ended last year’s season with a near-victory over the Warwick Warriors, the eventual region champions. The Rockets’ starting roster in that game didn’t include a single senior or even a junior.

In other words, the Rockets have a young team that’s only expected to improve as they continue to grow and gain experience.

In particular, Easton Simon, Kailar Jacobson and Bennett Meier emerged as strong players for the Rockets this time a year ago, and the Rockets are likely to continue relying on them and a handful of others this season.

The Rocket boys open their 2023-24 season on Monday, Dec. 11 when they host the North Star Bearcats.