Photo by Phillip Weed Bishop Ryan Lions boys basketball team celebrate their Class B state championship win last season.

It’s been nearly nine months since the confetti reigned down on the Bishop Ryan boys basketball team at the Minot State Dome following the team’s Class B state championship victory over Westhope-Newburg last season.

The memories of that moment remain cemented in the minds of both the coaching staff and the returning players, but a lot has changed for the Lions in the last nine months and the team is focused on the here and now rather than looking back at last season’s success.

“Once the first basketball season started, it’s a new season and what happened last year was awesome, but we have to do it again this year,” Bishop Ryan coach Brody Bosch said. “So you have to put it in the back of your mind and focus on this year a little bit more.”

The Lions are tasked with trying to replicate the production value left behind from the graduation of its two all-state selections from last year’s title team. Those two are still playing sports in the Minot area, but not for the Lions. Ramsey Walz – named to the all-state first team and an all-region selection – and Jett Lundeen – a second-team all-state and all-region honoree – both play at Minot State. Walz joined the men’s basketball team, while Lundeen went the football route. Both were key factors in delivering Bishop Ryan its first boys basketball title since 1994.

Along with Walz and Lundeen, the Lions also graduated Macksen Shean and Boden Erck. Walz, Lundeen and Shean combined for 38 points in the title game. Walz recorded a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.

“It’s not really a one-person job to fill the shoes of those guys and what they left behind,” Bosch said. “They did a good job last year of teaching guys. It’s going to have to be a group effort to fill those shoes. All hands on deck and we have the guys with the right mindset to do it.”

Bishop Ryan brings back four returning senior letterwinners in Jack Passa, Hayden Seay, Treyson Christionson and Aiden Elm. Passa leads all returners with 10 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season. He also recorded 61 assists, 56 steals, 22 blocks and knocked down 30 3s. Seay averaged 9 ppg and 1.7 rpg, while dishing out 114 assists and grabbing 58 steals.

The Lions have two returning juniors in Peyton Seay and Tylan Lundeen and four returning sophomores in Izaac Strandlien, Gryphen Leier-Wangler, Cohen Schneider and Justice Lundeen. Strandlien received extended playing time as a freshman, averaging 8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, hitting 37 shots from beyond the 3-point arc..

Despite losing their top scorers, Bosch said the goals haven’t changed. They will lean on pressure defense to cause turnovers, allowing them to run a transition offense and showcase the team’s speed and quickness. Defense was the Lions’ bread and butter last season, limiting opponents to 41.3 points per game. They allowed just 115 total points in the state tournament, a record low under the three-class system. The Lions held Hankinson to 26 points in the quarterfinals and surrendered just 33 points to Westhope-Newburg in the title game.

“They really bought into how we break down film, how we guard as a team,” Bosch said. “They bought into the coaching philosophy that defense is a team game and it really paid off. When you can control the controllables and give 100 percent on defense and communicate, good things happen. And rebounding helps. When teams aren’t getting second opportunities, it gets frustrating for them, which creates more bad shots. The more you can snowball it that way, the better.”

Bishop Ryan finished last season 26-3 overall and 9-1 in District 6 play. Had the Lions played in any other region, they may have finished undefeated. All three losses came to district opponents by a combined 12 points. They fell to Westhope-Newburg in the regular season and then fell to Our Redeemer’s twice in the postseason, once in double overtime in the District 6 championship and once in overtime in the Region 3 championship. The Lions got the last laugh, knocking off the Knights in the state semifinals, again requiring overtime to determine a winner. The Lions were responsible for all three of ORCS’s losses.

District 6 has been highly competitive in recent years with Bishop Ryan, Our Redeemer’s and Westhope-Newburg all advancing to the state tournament in the first two years of the three-class system. The trio finished 1-2-3 at state last year. The previous year, Westhope-Newburg won the title, with Bishop Ryan fourth and Our Redeemer’s sixth. The three teams finished a combined 75-11 last year, with 10 of those losses coming against one another.

“Last two years it’s been an absolute gauntlet and this year it’s pretty much going to be the same,” Bosch said. “Any team at the end of the year can make it and this year is going to be the exact same. We have such good coaches that know how to coach right and instill those gritty attitudes. If everyone can stay healthy, have a good beginning of the year, at the end of the year it’s going to be another gauntlet for sure.”

Westhope-Newburg begins the post-Walker Braaten era. The all-state graduate finished his career second on the Class B all-time scoring list with 2,873 points. The Sioux also graduated second-team all-state selection Braden Bailey along with two other seniors.

The Knights bring back the most experience of the three teams, led by junior Wyatt Weekley, who was named to the all-state second team last season. Weekley averaged 133.8 points and 4.8 rebounds. Junior Nolan Schmidt put up 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and blocked 25 shots.

The Hoopster had the Lions 11th in their preseason power poll and predicted them to finish second in the district behind Our Redeemer’s and third in the region behind the Knights and Ray.

Bishop Ryan isn’t concerned with preseason rankings or predictions, instead focusing on its play on the court and adding to its rich basketball history. It’s a history that includes 11 region titles, 19 state tournament appearances, four trips to the championship game and two titles.

“We’re going to be gritty,” Bosch said. “Our main focus is to do the little things and have a lot of energy and effort and definitely be a group unit that plays as one. That will be the way we find success is if we play good motion basketball and limit turnovers and defend and rebound.”