Basketball: Big weekend of hoops at Bureau Valley

It’s a good time to be a Bureau Valley Storm basketball fan.

There will be eight games in three days of Storm basketball, all in the comforts of the Storm Cellar.

The hoopla starts with three games on Thursday. The JV boys will play at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity girls at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity boys at 7 p.m., all against Newman.

On Friday, the boys will play Hall in a Three Rivers East battle with the F/S and JV at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity at 7 p.m.

The boys will come back Saturday to face Eastland with the F/S at 3 p.m. and the varsity at 4:30 p.m.

Also Saturday, BV will host a Brad Bickett Appreciation Night to honor the former Storm coach, who is retiring as athletic director at the end of the school year. Cookies and conversation after the game will follow to honor Bickett’s 34-year career in education and sports.

Bickett coached at Bureau Valley from 1995 to 2010, leading the Storm to an unprecedented three straight third-place finishes (2000-02) in the Class A state tournament. He also won eight straight regionals (1996-03), 10 overall, posting a 15-year mark of 287-150 (.657).

Bickett began his coaching career at Western High School (1990-95) prior to the BV consolidation and finished at Rock Falls (2012-20). He won 15 regionals over a 28-year career with a 491-303 record.

He was an all-state player for Ohio’s 1986 state runner-up.