Operating as a young team filled with very few players having varsity experience coming into last season, the Bishop Ryan Lions put together a stellar 19-9 run through their schedule to make it to the North Dakota Class B Boys’ Basketball State Tournament and generate a massive amount of momentum heading into the 2022-2023 campaign.

Eager to see how the Lions’ off-season improvements translate over into regular season competition, head coach Brody Bosch’s goal remains for Bishop Ryan to be the last team standing at the end of the day and as a result capture a Class B state title.

Motivating his squad to improve some aspect of their game every day while focusing hard on doing the little things that are key to basketball success, Coach Bosch expects every player on the Bishop Ryan team to have an impact this year, regardless of the role they play for the program.

He explained, “Whether pushing one another in practice, bringing energy off the bench, or playing 20-32 minutes a game, they are all important. We have a few seniors and underclassmen who I expect to take on the role of coming into games and bringing a spark on defense, and we are absolutely excited for that as well.”

Helmed by perennial leading scorer Brady Feller, the Bishop Ryan team will also rely on heavy contributions from Ian Johnson, Carson Merck, Ramsey Walz, Jett Lundeen, and Conner Thompson, who rejoins the Lions after being sidelined his junior year due to injury.

When asked about his team’s strengths, Coach Bosch didn’t hesitate when stating, “I think we are a deep and well-rounded team, one where our opponents cannot just focus on one or two players because we have many capable players.”

He continued, “I am hoping our defense will be our biggest strength and if that is the case, the rest will fall into place.”

Locked in on making their way back to the state tournament and performing even better this year, Coach Bosch noted, “I think our team realized last season that they deserved to be in the playoffs. That drove them this off-season to really get stronger in areas they needed to improve in, and in the process, they became a tighter group that are all set on accomplishing the same mission.”

The Bishop Ryan Lions will open their 2022-2023 season at home against Hazen on Dec. 10 at 2:30 p.m.