Intramural basketball at Prior Lake High School has become one of the most popular extracurricular activities for the student body. It allows students to play basketball with and against friends without the added pressure of varsity competition.

Last year was a record year with the number of participants, and this season is predicted to exceed that amount with more players and teams enrolling.

“[It] was way more fun and competitive than I thought it would be,” said Ryan Casey, a player for the 13 Academy team last season and a senior at Prior Lake. “The energy was way higher than I thought it could be.” 

Students who don’t play competitive basketball for Prior Lake get the opportunity to play competitive basketball against other players who love to play basketball as well. More importantly, it gives students somewhere else to be than their houses on weeknights. 

These 11th and 12th-grade games occur every Wednesday at Prior Lake High School in the blue and gold gyms. 

Every game is kept track of for each team’s record, and there is a referee for each game. Beth Fuller, Associate Activities Director, says, “We hire one referee per court to mostly help keep the game going and to call the ‘blatant’ fouls (since we play with a running clock) . . . we want everyone to play hard and have fun.  That’s what intramurals should be all about!” 

“[It’s] cool that they take it seriously and it is very organized,” said Tyler Legg, a senior on the varsity basketball team for Prior Lake and coach of his friend’s intramural team.

The season’s format consists of all of the upper-class teams playing each other and then there is a seeded bracket-style tournament to determine the champion. The top two teams play for the championship on the varsity court.

Overall, the students and players seem to believe 13 Academy is the favorite to win it this year. “We’re the defending champs, so I feel like we are for sure the favorite,” Casey said. 

Last season, 13 Academy went 13-0 and won the championship, but they will have a little bit of a different-looking roster this coming season.

Legg, who was a former player for 13 Academy, egged on the competition saying, “Without me, I think they will struggle and won’t win as many games.”

It also sounds like the runner-up team from last year, Jingle Ball Prep, wants to come back for revenge after the tough loss they suffered in last year’s championship. 

“We aren’t worried about any of the other teams; no matter who is on the roster, almost all of us used to play competitively. I predict we go undefeated again and win back-to-back years,” Casey said. 

All this happens because Mrs. Fuller and Mr. Olsen put in lots of work scheduling and finding referees to put on a very successful intramural basketball season. The teams are grateful for their work.