Shocking Punch Thrown In North Dakota HS Basketball Game

***UPDATE 2-22-24***

The Red River player who threw the punch was not in uniform Tuesday night at Red River's home game.  He was also not recognized on Senior Night.

***UPDATE 2-21-24***

According to a news story on WDAY TV in Fargo, the altercation between Grand Forks Red River player who punched a Fargo Shanely basketball player is now being investigated by the Fargo Police Department.

Fargo Shanley officials filed the complaint with the Police department.  The NDHSAA is also investigating the situation in cooperation with Red River High School.  Player confidentiality will prevent the NDHSAA from commenting on the incident.

We will continue to monitor the situation.

A North Dakota high school basketball player is giving a whole new meaning to the basketball term "box out".

A video has surfaced from the North Dakota boy's varsity basketball game from this past Friday, February 16th, 2024.  Grand Forks Red River was playing at Fargo Shanley.

When you watch this video, don't blink, because it happens fast.

Follow number 2 in black and you will be shocked at what he does.

Did you catch it? A deliberate punch was thrown at the back of the head of the Fargo Shanley basketball player in white.

What's really amazing, it appears that nobody saw it, including the officials (it happened at the very end of the game). 

I've watched the video dozens of times, trying to figure out what precipitated the altercation.  It appears the Fargo Shanley defender was just trying to box out the Red River player.  The Red River player deliberately ran into him from behind hard twice.

For some reason, number 2 was so frustrated that he went on to land a right-handed haymaker to the back of the skull.  

What's ironic, you can see a display of good sportsmanship by a Red River player right before the punch.  A Red River player who was going for the rebound knocked down a Fargo Shanley player and helped him back up, something you don't see very often.

All this happened at the very end of the game on Friday night.  A game where Fargo Shanley defeated Grand Forks Red River 65-58.  This was also the 7th game in a row that Red River has lost.  It's obvious that frustrations were high that night for the team in black.  Still, no excuse ever for such behavior.

After the altercation, the players from both teams shook hands as if nothing happened.  It's unclear if the officials even saw the punch.

This video has gone viral over the weekend.  I would hope the state will appropriately discipline the player and make an example.

You can learn more about the Red River basketball team here.

The screenshot is courtesy of the Shanely Althetics Streaming YouTube.