Teams stack competition with the new 22-game schedules

Hudsonville senior Mason Dykstra passes the ball during a scrimmage against Northview on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022 (Photo | Lenny Padilla)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - If you like high school basketball, you can’t never get enough games.

Starting the 2022-23 season, teams can now play up to 22 games on their schedule.

“It’s a long season over the winter,” Northview coach David Chana said. “This helps eat up some of the dead weeks over the winter.”

The MHSAA season has always been limited to 20 regular season games. The additional two games have allowed schools to improve their non-conference competition.

Northview, one of the best teams in West Michigan, will play South Christian in The Invite at Calvin University on Dec. 10. Later in the season, they will play Detroit Cass Tech, Chicago’s Hyde Park and Warren Lincoln.

“It gives us the opportunity to play in some showcase games,” Chana said. “We’re playing in the (Showcase), the Motor City Roundball Classic, the Mayweather Classic … there’s a few events that this opens up the door for. It’s exciting.”

Grand Rapids Catholic Central, one of the top programs in the state, has one of the toughest non-conferences schedules. 

The Cougars play Rockford in The Invite on Dec. 10. They also play Grand Rapids Christian, Warren DeLaSalle, Notre Dame Prep, and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. Then they drive down to Ohio to play St. Vincent/St. Mary’s, which is the high school that LeBron James graduated from. They also play South Christian twice during the conference season.

Hudsonville coach Eric Elliott loves having more games.

“With the season being as long as it is, you’d have two or three breaks during the season where you’d have a week or 10 days between games,” Elliott said. “That’s really tough for these guys to practice that long without a game.”

So who did the Eagles add to the schedule?

“We picked up the East Kentwood showcase and we’ll be playing Carman-Ainsworth and Byron Center,” he said. “The goal is to get some good teams. We think the exposure is important come tournament time.”

The Eagles also have to face Rockford and Grand Haven twice in the OK Red Conference season.