The "B"

Class B Boys
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The "B"

Postby winner-within » Wed Mar 02, 2016 3:54 pm

read this and post your best memories!


"There’s nothing like The B."

By Josh Haugen

There is one time of year in North Dakota when small towns shut down. The lights are turned out, and school is let out for a strategically placed spring break. It’s North Dakota’s own version of March Madness.

It’s “The B.”

The North Dakota State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament is the biggest event in the state every year. It is unrivaled on the high school level and arguably even on the college level. There is nothing else that brings the entire state together like The B does year in and year out.

Whether it’s Divide County or Fairmount-C-T, Cavalier or Bowman County, Westhope/Newburg or Standing Rock, the cities each school hails from will be empty if their team runs the gauntlet of the region tournaments and makes it to the big dance.

(The 2015 State Class B Boys Tournament set an attendance record with over 10,800.)

And it really is a gauntlet. After a regular season of around 19 games for each team, district tournaments start for those that still have districts. The atmosphere of the double elimination district tournaments is one of the best around. Most of the time they are held in a gym too small for the crowd and the fans show up to cheer for their guys fighting to continue their seasons.

If you’re one of the four teams that make it through the first leg of the gauntlet then you advance on to the regional tournament on a larger neutral court. For most regions this means a Class A gym, but over the three days of the tournament that gym will be the fullest it will be all year. These games are the only atmosphere that I think rivals The B. People will line up outside the venue waiting for the doors to open. To have a good seat for the championship game you need to be there before the third place game begins.

The regional tournament begins with eight teams, but in the end only one from each region will be advancing to the state tournament. The teams are narrowed down from 107, to 64, to eight.

Now the players and coaches are local celebrities. They’re doing something that may not have happened in their communities for decades. They have the chance to put their homes on the map and make their names known statewide. During the week leading up to The B they will be on radio shows, have pep rallies held for them, and every business on Main Street will display signage in support of the team. They’ll be escorted out of town by both the fire and police departments.

It’s not just the small towns that feel the effects of The B. Wherever the tournament is being held hotels are fully booked, restaurants are packed, and the mall sees an influx of customers that makes it look like Black Friday all over again.

The first day of The B might be the most exciting. It’s the first time most of these teams are playing each other. It’s also the first time most of the teams will experience a media timeout as the entire first day of games is televised statewide. Fans of the game in general are excited to see the teams from the other side of the state that they have heard so much about, but have never seen in person.

The second day of games brings just as much excitement as the stakes are raised. Teams are playing for a chance to play on the biggest stage there is in North Dakota. The day a majority of televisions and computer screens in the state are watching, and when the attendance at the game is more than the combined population of the towns involved. What day?

Championship day. The day the best of the best close-out the basketball season. The day one team will be crowned as state champions.

To win the state championship you have to win six games in a row against some of the best teams in the state. You have to win three games in four days at the regional tournament and three games in three straight days at The B. It’s a gauntlet that only one team will survive. It’s The B.

I had the privilege to play in three state tournaments. I was able to play with and against some of the best players in North Dakota history. Class B fans will recognize the names of Hagler, Lindahl, Komrosky, Lovejoy, Langstaff, Klug, Beck, Yale, Hanson, Robbins, Three Irons, Kueber, Malzer and countless others.

Those names are written into Class B history. Each state champion has their name written into Class B history. That’s the biggest prize. Teams like Linton in 2009 and North Star in 2011 that go undefeated and teams like Bisbee-Egeland in 1989 who wasn’t expected to win a thing are remembered forever because they ran the gauntlet and won. Whether they got there by beating everybody they played or by winning every game they were supposed to lose they are a part of history.

The B creates legends. Those teams are legends. Many of the players in the tournament, win or lose, become legends. Even the media covering the tournament become legends. Jon Cole is known statewide because of how passionate he was for the tournament. His interviews may have been a little awkward at times, but that was Jon Cole and Jon Cole was The B.


North Dakota is a small town state and nothing exemplifies that like the Class B Tournament. Whether the tournament is in Bismarck, Minot, Fargo, or Grand Forks The B has an atmosphere that is impossible to replicate.

There’s nothing like The B.
If you can’t excel with talent, triumph with effort.
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Re: The "B"

Postby Sportsrube » Thu Mar 03, 2016 10:56 am

My best memories of "The B" is simply going almost every year from the mid 70's to the early 80's with my Dad. We went to every game even though our team was never in it. It was usually in the Bismarck Civic Center and the atmosphere was outstanding! A lot of times the best games were in the consolation round, kids who knew they were playing their last games and the pressure of winning the championship was gone, you saw some great individual performances in a lot of those games. (Putting the tournaments in football venues has ruined it for me, I will never attend another state tournament in the Alerus Center or the Fargo Dome - both are horrible places for basketball.)
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Re: The "B"

Postby Sticks11 » Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:46 am

I have a lot of family ties to Leeds, but grew up in Minot. I first got introduced to the B in 1993 when Leeds-Wolford went and it was held in the dome. I remember going and being absolutely blown away by it. I'd never experienced anything like it. We had to sit up in the top bleachers and the place was packed. To an 8 or 9 year old kid, it was amazing. I was hooked. Since then, whether I watched live or on TV, it's been one of my favorite times of the year!
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Re: The "B"

Postby winner-within » Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:24 pm

That was actually the part I thought was farce in reference to the article....The Alerus and Fargo Dome dont coincide with the legacy and tradition of the B when it comes to the atmosphere of the game during the regular season and tourns to get to State....even some of the venues on the way to state are taking away from the true Class B atmosphere....
If you can’t excel with talent, triumph with effort.
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Re: The "B"

Postby Kwoods » Mon Mar 07, 2016 12:59 pm

I attended my first "B" at the age of a week old and continued this tradition until the age of 18 this is when I missed my first tournament and I cried like a baby. Since then I have only missed 2 total in my 29 years of life. This tradition started with my grandfather who has attended 55 plus state tournaments. We attend every session no matter who is playing. I have met a lot of life long friends throughout the years either by sitting next to them at the games, or meeting them at breakfast in the motel.
Throughout the years I had the privileged of watching my cousin take 2nd in the tournament after making the tournament 3 years. I also was able to watch my home town take 7th and the next year win the Championship with my little brother being a member of these teams.
Its a great tradition for many families and such a great time overall. I hope to continue the tradition with my own children.
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Re: The "B"

Postby washed_up » Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:55 am

This tournament is also not the same as in the past when you have Fargo, Minot, Bismarck, and Dickinson fielding teams instead of the traditional small towns who used to board up the town to root their teams on. The "B" used to be an amazing event. Fan bases are totally different from small towns to these larger metropolitan areas.
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Re: The "B"

Postby Bigbrew22 » Wed Mar 09, 2016 1:33 pm

washed_up wrote:This tournament is also not the same as in the past when you have Fargo, Minot, Bismarck, and Dickinson fielding teams instead of the traditional small towns who used to board up the town to root their teams on. The "B" used to be an amazing event. Fan bases are totally different from small towns to these larger metropolitan areas.


Sorry I guess I did miss your sarcasm on a girls post. I agree with you it's not the same I used to enjoy watching even if my team didn't make it because you got a chance to see different teams representing their regions and you might root for an underdog or a team that has never made it before but now it been highjacked. So the memories are really not good anymore.
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