Intramural basketball is one of the most anticipated events hosted by the school, according to Ryan Reynolds, director of intramural sports. It is a tradition that has spanned over a decade. It has brought about many lively memories and competitive fun for students campuswide.
Sign-ups came pouring beginning Feb.18.. There were 10 teams total, each team has a minimum of 5 players. The majority of the teams have 8-10 players and a “team-captain” that submits the team and takes care of logistics, like a team name.
“I enjoy being the captain of a team. If it wasn’t for me my team would never get anything done,” said Naz Habte, a senior.
The intramural basketball league is ran by Ryan Reynolds, the tennis coach. This is the 9th year he has been in charge of the event. Reynolds plans the schedule and helps make sure everything runs smoothly.
“Basketball is the most popular intramural event. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of it! We have made some small changes to the event and I’m really excited to start the season,” said Ryan Reynolds.
Reynolds is being helped by Logan Mink, a Milligan senior, who has the job of intramural official.
“As the intramural official it is my job to work with coach’s Reynolds to plan intramurals for the fall and spring. This year we hope to have our best intramural basketball season yet as we have a full slate of ten teams,” said Mink. This position of a intramural official allows for some of the responsibilities to be delegated.
There have been a lot of changes to the rules and way games will be conducted. “This year we are playing two 15 minute halves. The scoring will be in 2s and 3s. We will have officials for every game,” said Reynolds. This is a change from past years when the games were played to a point amount of 21, with the scoring being 1s and 2s.
“I like the new rules, the “call your own fouls” style of playing causes a lot of problems. There were always arguments and people that were getting upset with each other over the fouls,” said Jordan Fisher, a former Milligan student. The change to the rules is something that will likely increase the fairness of games and encourage good sportsmanship.
The intramural season consists of a regular season, followed by a single-elimination tournament at the end. The winning team in the tournament at the end of the Intramural season wins a orange Nike Milligan College T-shirt.
The games are played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights starting at 8:00 p.m. Each of these games are played back to back, with a brief warm-up period in between games. The players then compete against each other for the 30 total minutes.
Many students across campus really enjoy the intramural basketball league. Some teams enlist the help of other students by having coaches.
“It’s such an honor coaching a bunch of my friends. The problem is, they’re a bunch of English guys who know nothing about basketball, and don’t show up for practice,” said Cory Fancher, sophomore. The coaches host practices and shoot arounds to help improve their teams.
There are some students who really enjoy the game of basketball, and some students who played basketball in high school.
“I enjoy intramural basketball because it allows those of us who grew up playing ball to continue to play at a competitive level. It also allows for some friendly competition among friends and classmates and a chance to play a sport we love,” said Luke Dove, a senior. There are several other students who also enjoy the chance to play competitive basketball again.