Ball Joins Dad, Uncle Among Elk Rapids Scoring Elite
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2021
Riddle 1: How can a ball get passed from another to another and go through the bottom of the net resulting in three points and three of them appearing on a list on a school banner?
Riddle 2: How can three Balls from Riddle 1 represent one-third of the list?
Answer: Only one ball is a basketball. The other four Balls are all related to each other. They are Kevin Ball, Jeremy Ball, Preston Ball and Spencer Ball.
Kevin and Jeremy are brothers who played basketball during the 1990s for Elk Rapids High School. Kevin is also currently coaching the Elks. Preston and Spencer are also brothers playing today for the Elks. And, Kevin is the father of Preston and Spencer.
As a result of the basketball being passed by Spencer to Preston in a win over Boyne City last week and Preston subsequently burying a 3-pointer, Preston became the Elks’ ninth member of the 1,000 point club joining his father and uncle.
“It is really cool,” the four-year Elk Rapids starter said of joining his father and uncle. “Three Balls on the list ... I really can’t put it into words ... it’s incredible.”
His father agrees.
“As a family we’re very blessed and been very fortunate to have all of our kids have success in athletics,” said the proud father of three children raised with his wife Charlotte. “So to have Preston join us is awesome.
“We’re excited that Spencer has been a part of it as well,” he conditioned. “To be able to play with his brother is pretty special. With my brother being four years apart, we didn’t have that opportunity until after we graduated.”
Spencer and Preston have also teamed up on the soccer pitch for the Elks, who reached the Division 3 Semifinals this fall. Preston led the Elks in scoring all four years amassing 86 goals and 41 assists. Spencer assisted Preston’s final career goal and the Elks’ only goal in the Semifinal shootout loss to Grand Rapids South Christian.
And Spencer’s very first goal for the Elks was assisted by Preston.
Spencer had hopes all along he’d be the one getting the assist on the 1,000th point. It was on the sophomore’s mind as Preston neared the mark entering the game with the Ramblers. But it didn’t cross his mind in the game until play was stopped to recognize the accomplishment.
“I wanted to, but our whole team wanted to do the same thing,” Spencer noted. “They all wanted the assist on it.
“I guess it just fell in place.”
And Preston is thrilled it did come from his brother.
“It was pretty cool the way it all turned out,” he said.
Preston currently ranks ninth among the school’s all-time career scorers. Kevin’s 1,188 points are second, and Jeremy is third on the list with 1,171. The senior is not likely to pass top scorer Luke Morrison, but topping his father and uncle may be in reach.
Preston recalls watching Morrison join the 1,000 point club.
“Luke Morrison was kind of the guy I looked up to a lot,” Preston said. “Watching him throughout his career kind of inspired me.
“My dad and uncle being in the 1,000 point club was also something I wanted to join them in and coach (Brett) Graham also in the 1,000 point club,” he continued. “All three of them had a tremendous impact on my game and my life.”
Graham coached the Elks when Preston began his varsity career. Kevin was the JV coach and was happy to see his son move up to the varsity right away. Kevin took over the boys varsity last year when Graham stepped down.
Kevin wasn’t and still isn’t sure how far Preston would go, but he knew there was a good chance Preston would join him in the 1,000 point club the day he started on the varsity. Preston’s summer camp display proved to coach Graham that he could play varsity, his father said. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
“Once he made (varsity) and once he was in that position to be a starter as a freshman, I knew he had a shot (at the 1,000 point club),” the coach said.
Both coach and son are glad to put the accomplishment behind them and move on. The Elks are 8-1 after Friday’s win over East Jordan.
“I tried to think about it as little as possible,” said the senior who is averaging nearly 20 points, five assists and five rebounds per game. “It felt really good to get past that benchmark.
“Hopefully people kind of stop talking about it for a little bit and I can just focus on the rest of season, play my game and just enjoy it.”
The Balls’ younger sister, Mattea, is an eighth grader. She is expected to carry on the Ball family tradition next year playing basketball for Elk Rapids.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Preston Ball (3) went over 1,000 career points last week against Boyne City, on a basket assisted by brother Spencer (24), to join the school’s 1,000 point club with father/coach Kevin Ball (far left) and uncle Jeremy Ball (far right). (Middle) The school’s 1,000-point scorers banner will soon include Preston as well. (Below) Preston Ball brings the ball upcourt this season. (Group and banner photos courtesy of Charlotte Ball. Action shot courtesy of the Elk Rapids boys basketball program.)
Concord Basketball Celebrates Rare Feat: Foursome of 1,000-Point Scorers
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2026
Concord has a rich basketball tradition, but something has happened this year that no one could have predicted.
The Yellow Jackets have had four players – two girls and two boys – reach the career 1,000-point milestone.
“It seems like a pretty rare occurrence,” Concord athletic director Matt Lehman said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve never seen anything like it. There was a time where we’d go years without having one player do it. To have four players do it in one season is crazy.”
Senior Cierra Barrett started the avalanche when she reached the milestone just after Christmas against Adrian Lenawee Christian. Teammate Cierra Barrett grabbed a steal and fed Lehman with an assist to put her over the top.
A couple weeks later, during the same game, Concord seniors Connor Stevens and Jett Smith both scored their 1,000th points on back-to-back possessions during the Yellow Jackets’ win over Quincy. It was also Senior Night.
“It was a close game, too,” said Smith. “I got it, then the next time down the court, Jett got his 1,000th point. We called timeouts both times. It was pretty cool.”
Stevens went into the game needing just six points to reach 1,000. “I knew I should get it that game,” he said.
Smith needed a bigger night to accomplish it the same game – and he came through, pouring in 35 points in the Concord win.
“It was cool,” Smith said. “A lot of people said they’ve never seen that before.”
Barrett, who is also Concord’s all-time assists leader, has played for three coaches over her four varsity seasons. After a 4-17 season her freshman year, Concord has won 20, 22 and 20 games. This year’s team is 20-2 heading into the District Semifinals on Wednesday.
“I’ve had multiple coaches, and they all have had a different style,” Barrett said. “I’ve had to learn how to play in all of them. I think they each have given me something different I can use in my game.”
Reaching 1,000 points, she said, “wasn’t my focus, but once I knew I was close it became a goal.”
Lehman, the daughter of the athletic director, also was brought up to the varsity at the start of her freshman season. She said that season she wasn’t a big scorer.
Concord’s girls play an up-tempo offense, averaging 55.7 points a game. Lehman said the team plays tough defense, too, which sets up the offense.
“We score a lot in transition, off turnovers,” she said.
Reaching 1,000 points took a burden off of her, she noted.
“I was out for a lot of games last year, so I didn’t think I could get it this year,” she said. “Once I got there, it was kind of a relief. I was thinking about it so much. I just wanted to get it done and move on.”
Lehman thinks the Yellow Jackets are poised for a deep tournament run again. Last season they reached the Division 4 Semifinals.
“I definitely think we can make it there (again),” she said. “We have a lot of pieces.”
The Concord boys (20-4) put the finishing touches on their Division 4 District title Friday.
During his four seasons on the varsity, Stevens – also Concord’s all-time leading rebounder – said he’s grown as a player.
“I’ve gotten stronger and better,” he said. “I’m more aggressive now. That has helped my confidence, too.”
Smith said he’s always had a shooters mentality. He had 36 points in the District Final and is among the top scorers in his area. The success of this year’s team is no surprise, he said, given the bulk of the team has been playing together since middle school. The Yellow Jackets have won 67 games over the past four years.
“We’ve been talking about this since the eighth grade,” he said.
Concord boys basketball coach Marcus Gill said Smith and Stevens are polar opposites in terms of personalities, but they make it work.
“They couldn’t be more different dudes,” he said. “Jett is wired to score. From day one, he was wired to score. He never met a shot he didn’t like. Connor, he’s so unselfish it’s almost selfish. I tell him we need him to score more.”
All four players now have banners hanging up in the Concord gym recognizing their accomplishment. The athletic department also has a Wall of Fame outside the gym that all of them may someday join.
Gill summed it up: “It’s a special time for Concord basketball.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Four Concord basketball players have reached 1,000 career points this season – from left: Bradie Lehman, Cierra Barrett, Connor Stevens and Jett Smith. (Middle) Lehman brings the ball upcourt. (Group photo by Doug Donnelly. Lehman action photo courtesy of the Concord athletic department.)