Intramural basketball is in its second week of the regular season. Teams are excited to grow together as the season progresses and players are excited to create new memories and relive some old ones with the great sport of basketball.

“I played [basketball] all four years in high school,” said Ethan Burritt, a criminal justice major. “I’ve always been a big basketball guy.”

Burritt has been playing basketball for years now and saw no reason not to give the sport up in college.

“It’s just the way the game flows,” Burritt said. “Throughout my childhood, I played football and baseball. And those games are very standstill sports, but basketball is just a flowing game back and forth.”

Another student, Dominic Natoli, a mobile and web app development major, found a similar love of basketball in high school that transferred to intramural basketball in college.

“I played three years of high school varsity [basketball] back in my high school, so I just want to get back in the game and have some fun,” Natoli said.

Natoli had the same thought process for joining as Burritt.

“Basketball was something that I just did better in and was able to kind of shine in that and that’s how I grew in that sport,” Natoli said. “But ever since then, I’ve been loving and learning about the game.”

Natoli enjoys the fact that he can continue his game of basketball and learn more intricacies within the sport and even decided to start his own team within the intramural sports league.

“I was going to try to get as many free agents as possible, but it was quite obvious that I wasn’t going to be able to have enough players by the end of the deadline,” Natoli said. “I emailed the captain of another team who also was accepting free agents and he let me and the players I had on my team join together.”

Natoli had an attempt at being a general manager and co-created the team “Boys That Play Basketball” with his stock of free agents. His main goal for the season is to see how his team can grow and knock the rust off together.

“I didn’t really know a lot of people that play here because I’m a freshman,” Burritt said.

He is also a member of the team, “Boys That Play Basketball,” and is excited to have the opportunity of making new friends this season.

“You just meet people that you see at school, and you form a team,” said Cameron Ballard, a biology major. “It’s just me and my friends, we just formed a team.”

Ballard created the team, “The Gym Bros” and enjoys the benefits of playing a team sport with the ability to nonchalantly create a team.

Ballard’s favorite aspect of intramural basketball is how competitive it can get. His main goal for the rest of the season is to come out with a winning record.

“I really like the growth throughout the season rather than something really specific,” Ballard said. “You start rusty, but then by the end of the season, you and your team get to build chemistry together. That’s just great to see.”

Students who are interested in signing up for intramural basketball or any other sport can visit the Northern Michigan University Rec Sports site to sign up for a team and get active.