RAPID CITY — The Pine Ridge Thorpes are coming soon to a basketball gym near you.

The Pine Ridge High School boys basketball team will rack up the miles this season, playing at games across the state with an eye toward March. Between classics and tournaments, the Thorpes will play their first 11 games on the road. 

For coach Casey Means, it’s the result of three years of organizing a schedule to help prepare Pine Ridge for another postseason run. 

“I think last year not playing the top competition in the state really bit us in the behind that first round,” Means said. “Against Dakota Valley it took us a couple quarters to get going.” 

The traveling Thorpes began the season playing three games at the Remax Invitational in Gillette, Wyoming, finishing 1-2 against teams from North Dakota and Wyoming. But Means doesn’t put much stock in the win-loss record. 

“We don’t even worry about the losses,” Means said. “It’s the lessons that we got from it. So that made us better.”

Pine Ridge returned to familiar territory this week, playing at the Lakota Nation Invitational in nearby Rapid City. The Thorpes won last season’s LNI championship. 

“Of course we want to go back-to-back,” Means said. “But our mission is in March. That left a bad taste in our mouths. It’s fueled us through the offseason. It fueled us through the preseason and people were talking like this tournament is wide open and they weren’t even talking about the defending champions. So that gave us even more motivation.”

Pine Ridge will play two games at the Hoop City Classic on Dec. 28 and 30 in Mitchell, followed by two games at the Midwest Miracle Classic on Jan. 3-4, 2025 in Hurley. 

It adds up to 11 games on the road before Pine Ridge’s home opener on Jan. 9, 2025 against St. Francis. Pine Ridge will also play at the DWU Classic in Mitchell, along with road games at Class A foes Hot Springs, Sioux Valley and Lennox. 

The time spent on the road, Means said, will prepare Pine Ridge for the postseason as players iron out roles and develop chemistry as a team. 

But as a result, Pine Ridge’s passionate fanbase will only get four home games to watch their beloved Thorpes. But Means knows the Pine Ridge fans, who he called “one of a kind,” will show out on the road. 

“They will follow us,” Means said. “We caught a lot of heat because they want to watch our guys. Some people can’t make it, but the sacrifice we had to make was four home games to play better competition and to get us ready for March.”

The Pine Ridge Thorpes will be headlined by all-state guard Marvin Richard III, who made headlines with his 49-point performance in the season-opening loss against Bismarck Century at the Remax Invitational. 

But as Means pointed out, Richard III cares more about winning games. 

“He was really frustrated we lost,” Means said. “He didn’t care about the 49-point game. He wanted to win and that’s the main thing I love about him. He’s not caring about stats. He’s just trying to make his team better and he’s trying to win, and that’s what we are all trying to do at Pine Ridge.”