1 Bloomfield Hills, 1 Win from Title
March 21, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Armand Cartwright and Yante Maten were more rivals than friends during middle school.
But that relationship clearly has grown for the better over the last four years. After all, Cartwright allows Maten to raid his refrigerator, things like that – and together, they’ve led first-year Bloomfield Hills High to a basketball level the school’s predecessors never approached.
Bloomfield Hills – created when Lahser and Andover high schools combined last summer – reached the Class A championship game Friday with an 85-75 Semifinal win over Detroit U-D Jesuit at the Breslin Center.
Neither of the former schools made even the Quarterfinal round during their histories. But with the 6-foot-8 Yaten dominating the post, Cartwright running the show up top and a host of helpers filling in the rest of the lineup, the No. 8 Black Hawks upset a Cubs team ranked No. 3 at the end of the regular season.
“It feels like magic,” Cartwright said. “It feels great for us to get all together in one year, to work as a team, to get together to win the state championship.”
Bloomfield Hills (24-3) will face top-ranked Muskegon in the title game at noon Saturday.
Although the Black Hawks’ roster definitely is Lahser heavy with 12 former Knights and five Andover players, four of the former Andover players were among the 10 who saw the floor during the Semifinal.
Together, a “team from top to bottom,” in the words of coach Duane Graves held off another also having its best season of a much longer history – and despite missing one of its top scorers, who was unable to play Friday.
“It’s been an honor to coach my boys. … They make me look good,” Graves said. “When you coach you’re a coach, but it’s the players who play hard and make you look like a good coach. If you don’t have the players who buy in to what you want, it’s makes you just another coach.”
Jesuit won its first Regional title on the way to Breslin and carried a 22-2 record into East Lansing. The Cubs didn’t show it in falling 22 points down into the final minute of the third quarter – but showed plenty in cutting the deficit back to four with 1:32 to play.
Junior Jamarie Collins scored 10 points during the 33-15 run that pulled Jesuit within 77-73.
“It’s just that we got caught in the moment at the Breslin,” said senior guard Noah King, who led the Cubs with 24 points and 13 rebounds. “We had a little bit of the butterflies and we didn’t concentrate on how we play ball. We were able to do that in the second half.”
But they weren’t able to stop Yaten.
He finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots and had five points and five rebounds as Bloomfield Hills went on an 8-2 run to finish that final 1:32 of the game.
Cartwright added 16 points and seven rebounds, with senior guard Xzavier Reynolds scoring 15 points with seven rebounds and four assists and junior guard Cameron Dalton adding 18 points off the bench.
Sophomore guards Billy Thomas and Cassius Winston added 21 and 16 points, respectively, for Jesuit, with Winston also dishing seven assists and grabbing six steals. Junior guard Gary Collins added 10 points off the bench.
The Cubs took the next step this winter after falling to Detroit Pershing on a buzzer beater in their 2013 Regional Final. Jesuit coach Pat Donnelly said the emotion in the locker room Friday was the same as a year ago – which is a good thing, because he knows that will bring his many returnees back to offseason work looking to avoid heartbreak next season.
“It’s definitely a different mindset,” Jesuit senior forward Nick Mutebi said. “In years past when we’d lose to a much tougher opponent, we’d just say it’s OK, at least we tried. Now, in the years to come, we’ll give each opponent our very best. And if we lose, it’ll hurt. We don’t take losses lightly anymore.”
Click for the full box score and video from the press conference.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bloomfield Hills’ Armand Cartwright brings the ball upcourt with U-D Jesuit’s Gary Collins defending. (Middle) Bloomfield Hills’ Cameron Dalton and Jesuit’s Spencer Sanders work to corral a loose ball Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Yante Maten had 25 points and 14 rebounds to lead Bloomfield Hills to an 85-75 win over Detroit U-D Jesuit in a Class A Semifinal on Friday. Here's a highlights package of plays Maten made during the game. (2) U-D Jesuit mounted a rally in the fourth quarter and got as close as four points from the lead on this Cassius Winston layup off the midcourt turnover by Bloomfield Hills.
Vander Klay's Dedication to Wyoming Schools Netted 400+ Wins, Trip to Breslin
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
April 6, 2026
WYOMING – Over the past 31 years, it was relatively easy to notice a boys basketball team coached by Thom Vander Klay.
Athletic and tough-nosed players who competed hard while playing an up-tempo offense and in-your-face defense were trademarks of his teams at Wyoming Park and Wyoming High School.
“In some ways, at Wyoming Park, and then Wyoming, our athletes have been very similar through those 31 years of varsity,” Vander Klay said.
“Some teams were more skilled and more athletic than others, but they were the same. We never had big kids. We’ve always had kind of gritty kids that would compete hard and play fast, and we had quite a few of them on every team. That bled into what we did.”
Vander Klay will retire from teaching after 40 years at the end of May, and his time as the longtime basketball coach will end as well.
“It’s been a struggle, and it’s hard because it’s my home,” Vander Klay said. “I live in Wyoming, my kids went to Wyoming and I went to Wyoming (Park). I’m the youngest of three and my older brother and sister were Vikings and that’s who I was. I was Wyoming, and I still am, so it was really difficult to say I was going to step away from things I really enjoyed doing.”
Vander Klay has been coaching for 41 years. He was the junior varsity coach at Wyoming Park before replacing Kelly McEwen in 1995.
When Wyoming Park and Wyoming Rogers merged in 2012, he became the head coach at the new Wyoming High School.
During his tenure, he went 424-274 as a varsity coach and won nine conference championships, six District titles and one Regional title. He also helped coach football and track & field.
“So many memories and so many kids, and you love those kids,” said Vander Klay, who coached his two sons, Brock and Chase. “When I think back to when I started, guys like Jack VerDuin, Ron Engels, Dick Locke, Frank Grimm and Kelly McEwen were great mentors that I had. I go back to those days and blink, and here we are 40 years later and I'm the old guy.”
Vander Klay’s best season came in 2004 at Wyoming Park, led by eventual Michigan State standout Drew Neitzel. The Vikings advanced to the Class B Semifinals, losing to Detroit Renaissance.
Vander Klay was named Class B Coach of the Year and enjoyed his time coaching Neitzel, the Mr. Basketball Award winner who is widely considered one of the best players in program history.
“Drew was so well-rounded,” Vander Klay said. “A great leader, great student, great attitude and just mentally tough and so skilled.
“Coaching him was more about trying to get all five guys on the same page, but those teams that Drew played on, we had good players other than him, too. It wasn't just him because we had other guys who stepped up – but he was the best player in the state.”
Jacob Underhill, Vander Klay’s longtime assistant and junior varsity coach, said Vander Klay has been more than just a mentor.
“He has been the blueprint for the teacher and coach I strive to be,” Underhill said. “He has always been incredibly gracious in sharing his knowledge of the game and his wisdom on how to lead young men. Every decision he makes is filtered through a single focus: doing what is best for the students and athletes of Wyoming.
“While his retirement marks the end of an era, his legacy is undeniable. Since the merger of Wyoming Park and Wyoming Rogers, he has been the heartbeat of the basketball program. He has had a profound impact on my professional career, and I cherish the time we’ve spent serving the community together.”
Underhill has witnessed firsthand the influence Vander Klay has had on former players with whom he has reconnected.
“It’s a true testament to his character,” Underhill said. “He is an exceptional human being who makes everyone around him better and ensures they recognize their own value.”
The 62-year-old Vander Klay is keeping his options open in terms of a return to coaching elsewhere.
“I’ll take some time off and maybe there is something else out there,” he said. “I'm wide open to anything, and maybe I’ll coach again and maybe not. We will see what the future holds.”
Two other longtime Grand Rapids-area coaches also stepped down after longstanding careers on the hardwood.
Unity Christian coach Scott Soodsma retired after 43 years on the sidelines. He won more than 800 games and three MHSAA Finals championships as a boys and girls coach. Soodsma coached his last game in the Division 2 Boys Basketball Final at Breslin Center. The Crusaders lost to Freeland, 42-32.
Sparta boys basketball coach Scott Berry also retired after 34 seasons. He won 245 games at Comstock Park and Sparta.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Coach Thom Vander Klay (kneeling) talks to his Wyoming Park team during a break in its 2004 Class B Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Vander Klay (kneeling) coaches his Wyoming High team. (Top photo from MHSAA archives; middle photo submitted by Thom Vander Klay.)