NDA boys basketball will begin their season this week, but there are a lot of changes from the last time we saw them in action.

The first change: the players will be wearing masks at all times during the game.

Another change is there will be no jump ball, and the visiting team will simply possess the ball at the beginning of the game.

However, the most noticeable change is there will be no fans of any kind at the contest.

NDA senior George Kress weighed in on these crucial changes.

“The rule changes have affected me because they just add more limitations and things to remember,” said Kress. “The best part of basketball is just letting loose, and with these new changes they’re making it is harder to do. It will be weird to play without fans because often they dictate the game more than they realize, but it will definitely be less pressure and feel more like a scrimmage.”

NDA will be livestreaming their home games with an elaborate set-up by media coordinator Andrew Pekarek.  

Green Bay Blizzard commentator Joey Bonadonna, an NDA junior, along with his side-kick senior Will Drake, will be the voice of the broadcast.

Senior Seth Baeten, who has followed the Blizzard and is familiar with Bonadonna’s work, weighed in on the junior broadcaster’s passion: “Personally I find Joey to be one of the best broadcasters of our generation, and he is always up to date on the most recent sporting news.” 

Bonadonna has been the manager for both basketball and football and was planning to  broadcast the football games, but those never came to be.

The other man on the microphone does not have the resume or experience that Bonadonna has.

Nevertheless, Drake is ready for the challenge. 

“This whole broadcasting thing is a lot like surfing,” he said.  “You have to get up off the board and attack the wave.  If you come at it passively, you fall, and I am going to do the same for this and put my full effort into it.”

You can tune in on Tuesday at 7 p.m. central to watch the Tritons take on Menasha, a team Head Coach A. J. Alexander said NDA might see again in the playoffs..