To local sports fans, it’s a right of passage as much as the change of seasons.

The last of the oblong balls, AKA pigskins, have been for the most part put in storage for the rest of the year.

Now it’s time to breakout the roundballs.

For basketball fans across the region and the country, November is a time of transition.

There are still football games to be played, but in the distance you can hear the ever louder sound of bouncing balls, sneakers squeaking on hardwood and the impending arrival of “hoops” action.

That inevitability becomes reality this week for the six high schools in Sanders and Mineral County. The games will now all be indoors, with small town gyms full of basketball fans stomping and cheering for their boys and girls on the courts.

All six schools will be participating in season-opening, or “tip-off” tournaments that give practice weary players a chance to show what they have and what they need in the season ahead.

It is also a time to break out the vinyl mats and do some wrestling, for which three of the local schools are preparing.

After a year without it due to Covid-19 concerns, basketball action focuses on Ronan where the annual Ronan Tip-off Tournament gets underway this Friday. Local team from Plains, Noxon, Hot Springs, St. Regis and Superior will all field boys and girls squads.

The annual tournament, held at the impressive Ronan Civic Center, brings together Class B and C teams from throughout the area and has become a popular indicator of which teams will be on the “teams to watch” list.

As most fans know, high school sports are highly cyclical. Graduation and families relocating can often make or break a season, even in a sport such as basketball, which requires fewer players.

A standout who moves out of the area, or who transfers to another school in the area, can often mean the difference between a successful season and a less-than-expected year.

A classic example of that is the move last year that brought all-regional player Kade Pardee to Thompson Falls from Plains. Pardee’s presence gave the BlueHawks a solid go-to player who helped propel them to a winning season.

Pardee graduated along with several other senior standouts, but Thompson Falls remains a solid contender due to the depth of its underclass.

Another area team who will be missing a key player is St. Regis. The Tigers enter the season without the services of Andrew Sanford, the 6-4 post player who delighted fans with rim-rattling dunks in most games.

Fortunately for St. Regis, they too return a solid core of underclassmen, led by now seniors Adam Ball and Tanner Day.

The girls squads for both Thompson Falls and St. Regis will also field solid teams this year, with all of the Lady Tigers back for St. Regis and a talented group of young Thompson Falls players, including standout Avery Burgess, who transferred from Noxon earlier this year, leading the way.

Thompson Falls will open the season this Saturday at Troy.

Among the other area schools looking to see their first live action of the year are Hot Springs, Plains, Noxon, Superior and St. Regis, all of whom will take part in the Ronan tourney.

At Hot Springs, hopes run high that one of the region’s best girls basketball players, Katelyn Christensen will return to form following nearly a year off due to a knee injury which required surgical repair. Christensen said she is ready to go after being held out of the volleyball season as a precautionary move.

The Hot Springs boys will have two main players back, senior Jack McAllister and Kyle Lawson, a pair of gritty and talented players who create match-up problems for opposing teams in large part due to their non-stop hustle.

Superior will field another pair of interesting basketball teams. The Lady Bobcats return their entire lineup from last year as they look to reach the playoffs this year. And the boys team will look to overcome the loss through graduation of seniors including point guard Bryan Mask, burly forward Aaron Waddle and Carson Callison.

The boys returning include Orion Plakke, the talented junior who stepped in to replace Mask at quarterback on the Bobcat football team.

The overall theme continues with Noxon and Plains.

The Noxon Lady Red Devils will look to senior Riley Richter to lead the way and hopefully fill the void due to the loss of Burgess. Noxon features a promising group of now seniors and a juniors to improve on their 2020 season, which was ravaged by Co-vid concerns.

The Red Devil boys lost four seniors to graduation, including leading scorers Brody Hill and Jeriko Smith-Roach. Their loss will hopefully be countered by a promising group of new seniors including Cade VanVleet and Nathan Cano.

Plains boys will be looking to overcome perhaps the biggest losses via graduation.

Gone are starters Tucker Foster, Parker Flock, Nathan Feliksa, Gabe Gamboa and Gavin Regaldo. The Horsemen will be counting on a strong group of young players, including 6-2 Garth Parker and Jayden Weeks, both juniors heading into the 2021-22 season.

The Plains Trotters appear to be in good shape, having lost only two players to graduation and featuring a talented and promising junior class, now in their senior season.

Top returnees for the Trotters are Kaylah Standeford, Carlie Wagoner, Grace Horton and Genevieve Deschamps.

Action at the Ronan tournament gets underway at 9:30 Friday. Check with your school to determine when and against whom your team kicks off the new basketball season.

Meanwhile the wrestlers will also be taking to the mats this weekend, with Plain/Hot Springs heading to the Cascade Invitational. Fans will no doubt be eager to see the progress made by the Horsemen/Savage Heat girls wrestlers, who helped establish the ladies as legitimate participants in the taxing sports of wrestling.

Thompson Falls and Superior grapplers will head for Polson and the popular Bob Owen Invitational.

All eyes will be on the BlueHawks’ senior star Trae Thilmony, who will be in quest of a third straight state championship this year.

And no doubt Superior coach Charlie Crabb will field a strong squad as usual, paced by strength in the lighter weights, as well as solid point scorers throughout the line-up.

Hoops and wrestling, coming to an arena near you!