Be the Referee: Uniform Safety

December 13, 2018

This week, MHSAA Assistant Director Brent Rice explains how player uniform rules in basketball make the game safer. 

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Basketball Uniform Safety - Listen

As the basketball season comes into full swing, we want to take a quick look at some topics that have been at the forefront for schools and officials.

Our primary focus is always the safety of our student-athletes. And while some of the uniform requirements are technical in nature, a point of emphasis this year concentrates on the potential hazards that loose strings and extensions can create.

Rolled waistbands have been interpreted as legal as long as there are no exposed drawstrings and they comply with logo restrictions. Players may wear headbands composed of a soft material. These can be tied as long as any loose extensions or tails are tucked back into the headband. Because they wrap around the entire head, headbands are distinguished from hair-control devices, which have their own requirements and restrictions.

Past editions

December 6: Coaching Box Expansion - Listen
November 29: Video Review, Part 2 - Listen
November 22: Video Review, Part 1 - Listen
November 15:
You Make the Call - Sleeper Play - Listen
November 8: 
7-Person Football Crews - Listen
November 1: Overtime Differences - Listen
October 25: Trickery & Communication - Listen
October 18: Punts & Missed Field Goals - Listen
October 11: What Officials Don't Do - Listen
October 4: Always 1st-and-Goal - Listen
September 27: Unique Kickoff Option - Listen
September 20: Uncatchable Pass - Listen
September 13: Soccer Rules Change - Listen
September 6: You Make the Call: Face Guarding - Listen
August 30: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen
August 23: Football Rules Changes - Listen

Dugener Delivering as North Muskegon Enters February Undefeated Again

By Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com

February 6, 2025

Adam Dugener has certainly emerged as “the dude” for the North Muskegon boys basketball team.

West MichiganChants of “Doog” were raining down from the rafters of North Muskegon’s intimate old gym last week when Dugener drained a school-record nine 3-pointers in a key 65-52 win over West Michigan Conference Rivers rival Mason County Central.

“Shooting is my thing, and sometimes I can get hot,” said Dugener, downplaying his 38-point night in the Norsemen’s win.

“When I’m hot, I feel like I’m going to make everything and that I should keep on shooting.”

That game wasn’t even his biggest scoring night of the season – that being a 39-point performance in a lopsided win over a good Hart team Dec. 20.

Dugener is averaging 23 points per game for the Norsemen, who are 15-0 and ranked No. 9 in the latest Michigan Sports Writers Division 3 poll heading into a pair of big games this weekend at Muskegon Western Michigan Christian on Friday and home Saturday against Grand Rapids Covenant Christian.

“Adam is a legit scorer who demands attention from the defense,” said Chuck Rypstra, who is in his 11th year as NM’s head coach. “He’s in the gym all the time, working at it and trying to get better. Then we have a lot of other pieces around him.”

Dugener is not always on fire, which was the case Wednesday night at Manistee when his shot was slightly off and he managed just 11 points.

The host Mariners made a run at the unbeaten Norse, closing to within eight points midway through the fourth quarter. Dugener, just a junior on a senior-laden team, got his teammates together for a few calming words and keyed a late run to put the game away.

Dugener, who also averages five rebounds, four assists and four steals per game, had a pair of rebounds, a steal and two big assists during that stretch – his most notable play a nifty long outlet pass to Braylen Burrell for a breakaway layup.

“When I’m not having a good shooting night, I try to contribute in other ways,” said Dugener, who is the son of Matt and Susan Dugener. “I’m always looking to get better at distributing and getting the ball to my teammates in the right place.”

Dugener (2) considers his options as he reaches midcourt. TJ Byard, a 6-foot-1 senior who recently committed to play football at Lawrence Tech as a receiver, is a versatile weapon who averages seven points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals per game. Byard scored a game-high 16 points, with three 3-pointers, in Wednesday’s win at Manistee.

Burrell is the team’s other main 3-point shooting threat, along with Landon Grimm off the bench. Burrell has 36 3-points this season, right behind Dugener’s 39 triples.

Dugener is the only one of the five starters – also including Byard, Burrell, center Chuck Meyers and forward Jaden Villalpando – who wasn’t part of NM’s football team that advanced to the Division 7 Semifinals before losing to eventual champion Millington.

“I think our best is still yet to come, because some of those football guys are still rounding into form,” said Rypstra. “We have a lot of guys that play multiple sports, which is great, because they know how to compete and they know how to win. Now they are getting the basketball reps in.”

That supporting cast is critical if the Norse want to win a fifth-straight District championship and get past their Regional roadblock in March.

North Muskegon, which finished 22-0 during last year’s regular season, has won four consecutive Districts but has not had much success in the Regional round – winning just one Regional game over the past four years, in 2021. Both of the past two years, the Norse lost three-point heartbreakers to Pewamo-Westphalia in the Regional opener.

North Muskegon has established itself as a top-tier defensive team, using their trademark 2-3 zone defense to suffocate and frustrate teams along the way.

Rypstra believes that defensive focus, which relies on taking away fast break and other easy scoring opportunities, will keep his team in every game. The key to taking the next step could be avoiding prolonged dry spells on the offensive end – which is where Dugener comes in.

He’s a self-described gym rat who said he fell in love with the game while playing in his driveway with his two older brothers, Nate and Jared.

“My two older brothers pushed me in those games out in the driveway and they would never let me have anything easy, even though I was smaller than them,” explained Dugener, who hopes to play college basketball and major in something in the science field.

“That really prepared me for tough defenses and pressure situations. I want to be ready for those pressure shots.”

Tom KendraTom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.

PHOTOS (Top) North Muskegon’s Adam Dugener splits a pair of Manistee defenders to get to the basket. (Middle) Dugener (2) considers his options as he reaches midcourt. (Photos courtesy of Susan Dugener.)