Bellaire's 'Captain' Robinson Making Senior-Year Impact Sure to Last
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
February 18, 2022
Oh, the glory days.
When Paul Koepke took over Bellaire basketball, he stepped into some mighty big coaching shoes.
He’s got the Eagles on the right track as they work to return to being a powerhouse program. The culture almost fits the visions he’s had since taking over for legendary and hall of fame coach Stan Sexton. They’re 8-7 overall and 6-5 in Ski Valley League play.
But today he’s preparing to lose his only senior starter, Cole Robinson, perhaps better known as The Captain. Robinson may not be as famous as the professional athletes whose careers led to being known as The Captain — baseball’s Derek Jeter and hockey’s Steve Yzerman —but he is to the locals.
“I have a bunch of freshmen,” noted Koepke, who’s been around the Eagles since the early 2000s as a middle school and varsity assistant coach. “I couldn’t ask for a better set up than having him as my captain.”
Robinson, a three-sport star for the Eagles, joined Bellaire’s 22-2 varsity team his freshman year as the postseason run ended with a 50-41 upset loss to Suttons Bay in the Regional. That loss ended a string of deep postseason runs covering decades. It was Koepke’s first year at the helm.
Today the Eagles are preparing to host Fife Lake Forest Area with their captain possibly on the sideline. He suffered an ankle injury in this week’s 44-32 win over Pellston. Koepke helped the senior guard off the floor after his first career injury.
He saw a glimpse of how things could be next year without The Captain, but he loved how his Eagles responded and how Robinson handled it.
The Eagles immediately went into a “win it for Cole” mode. Bellaire hopes tonight’s game will be the only game the 6-foot, 205-pounder needs to sit for a full recovery.
“Cole was on the bench cheering like a mad man after the injury,” Koepke said. “The kids were high-fiving him, and he was coaching kids up.
“We probably had better effort after that,” he continued. “We competed at a higher level, and I think we won that one for Cole.”
The injury didn’t hamper his leadership skills a bit. The Eagles beat Pellston with the same freshmen and sophomores Robinson’s had under his wings for some time.
Robinson has high hopes the young players will help win a District championship like the Eagles regularly did during their glory days. He has yet to win a District title – in any sport – during his years at Bellaire. He’s got this basketball season and his senior baseball season to experience it.
He did experience a first earlier this basketball season. Bellaire beat Gaylord St. Mary 69-62 on Feb. 8, the first win Cole and his senior teammates had experienced over the Snowbirds in any sport.
Robinson, who admits football is his favorite sport followed by baseball, likes helping his young teammates on the court. And he can’t wait to see them on the baseball field.
The Eagles have racked up more basketball wins this season than the previous two combined.
“For us, this is a big improvement,” Robinson said. “We’re a really young team.
“I think we’re going to surprise a few teams in the Districts,” he continued. “It’s going to be a tough one.”
Ellsworth, last year’s champion, will likely get the top seed in the 2022 tournament, hosted by Central Lake. Boyne Falls and Gaylord St. Mary also will vie for the title. The Eagles lost to Ellsworth 70-52 in the season opener. The freshmen were coming off just a two-game middle school season due to COVID-19 cancellations.
“Our record is starting to show we’re not just a bunch of freshmen just being freshmen,” Koepke said. “We’re starting to get pretty good.”
Bellaire starts three freshmen, a sophomore and The Captain.
“This man is selfless,” Koepke said about Robinson. “He’s the first one to come to me when I get there (to practice or games) to give me a fist bump and ask me how my day is going.
“Captain means a lot of things. He’s the last one to go off the bus. He cleans the bus. He’s the last one to leave the locker room.”
Robinson is averaging nearly six points and three assists per game. He also hauls in eight rebounds per contest. He’s coming from an outstanding football season as the Eagles’ tight end, tackle and defensive end. He had two touchdown receptions in the fall.
Jayden Hansen, a freshman, leads the team in scoring at more than 15 per game. Another freshman, Drake Koepke, averages 12 points. Hanson is among Northern Michigan’s leading rebounders. Koepke, the coach’s son, is among the area’s leaders in steals.
“We’re always looking for the third scorer,” Koepke said.
But the starting lineup is set.
“We finally kind of found out these are our guys, our lineup,” Koepke said. “We’re growing now.
“We understand who we are, and now we have to fix some things we struggle with,” he continued. “Right now we have a great attitude, and we are peaking.”
Robinson goes back a long way in Bellaire. He was a water boy for the varsity team when his father, Brock, was the Eagles’ head football coach. Brock died suddenly in 2020, and had served as The Captain’s youth football and baseball coach and high school football coach his freshmen and sophomore seasons.
The younger Robinson also lost his 2020 baseball season due to COVID. But he has persevered. Today he’s a regular on the court coaching youth basketball and his youthful teammates.
“You can say it’s been a little tough —I obviously miss him of course,” The Captain said. “He loved sports just as much as I do.
“I think about him usually before most sporting events – especially football games I’d think about him beforehand.”
Coach Koepke, who also assisted Coach Robinson in football, is amazed by his captain’s career and his contribution to the Eagles’ success.
“He is always a positive person,” Koepke said. “There are so many things he does.”
If the Eagles don’t make the great run this season as they have in the past, the veterans they’ll have next season along with others impacted by Robinson should help them return to the glory days.
“You are going to be a better person because you met Cole,” Koepke said. “That’s basically what Cole is.
“We’re all going to miss Cole. He’s made me a better person for sure.”
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) Bellaire’s Cole Robinson looks for an open teammate during a game against Johannesburg-Lewiston. (Middle) Robinson works to bring down a Bear Lake ball carrier. (Below) Robinson works with players in Bellaire’s youth program on their shooting form. (Top and middle photos courtesy of the Antrim Review; below photo courtesy of the Bellaire athletic department.)
TC Christian's Broderick Sets Standard for Boys Hoops 3-Point Shooting
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 2, 2026
Traverse City Christian’s Reece Broderick tied an MHSAA record on Jan. 24, 2025, when he drilled 15 3-pointers during an 85-36 win over Grand Traverse Academy. He finished with 45 points total, with a high of six 3-pointers during the first quarter.
Those 15 contributed to his season total of 108 – which ranks fourth all-time – and he closed his four-year, 89-game varsity run that winter as the MHSAA career record holder with 368 3-pointers.
Total, he has five listings in the MHSAA boys basketball record book, with his 104 3-pointers as a junior continuing to rank fifth for a single season and just behind his senior-year performance.
See below for several recently-added listings to the boys basketball record book, and click the heading to see the record book in full. Several more applications have been received and are in the process of being confirmed.
Boys Basketball
Austin Cole played his roles well on both ends of the court in Burr Oak’s Jan. 10, 2023, win over Athens, and magnificently on the defense end. The sophomore had 15 steals in the 55-33 victory, setting a new single-game record, to go with his 11 points.
Eight days after Cole’s 15-steal game, senior Cody Boling tied the record with 15 steals in Center Line’s 79-54 win over Hazel Park – during which Boling also scored 31 points.
Five days after Boling’s 15-steal game, Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Felix Quevedo also totaled 15 steals, on Jan. 23, 2023, against Gwinn. Quevedo finished that season with 134 steals – fifth-most all-time – over 24 games.
Ben Miller finished his three-season varsity career at Dundee in 2018 with 316 rebounds over 24 games that winter to make the single-season list and 700 rebounds to make the career list in that category.
Saginaw Nouvel’s MJ Yeager added two more record book entries during a brilliant junior season in 2022-23. His 118 3-pointers over 26 games rank second on that list, and his 90-percent free-throw shooting success rate tied for 13th-highest for one season. He’s now playing at Oakland.
Mesick’s 2022-23 success included a District championship and a series of record book entries, especially for 3-point shooting. The Bulldogs were added three times for single-game 3-pointers, with a high of 18, and their 231 over 25 games rank sixth all-time. Carter Simmer was added for 88 3-pointers for the season and 195 over his four-season career. Teammate Ashtyn Simerson was added for 107 steals over 25 games.
Brandon Johns enjoyed a decorated four-season career at East Lansing from 2015-18 that saw him score 1,753 points and make the MHSAA record book with 378 free throws, 891 rebounds and 270 blocked shots – all over 89 games. He went on to play at University of Michigan and Virginia Commonwealth.
David Shillinger provided a record book-worthy defensive boost to Ludington during the 2022-23 season with 87 steals over 23 games as the Orioles finished 20-3.
Cooper Whipkey capped his Mackinaw City career in 2022-23 on three record book lists – for 93 3-pointers as a senior, 214 over his four-season varsity career, and also for 81 steals as a senior. Teammate Lucas Bergstrom made the single-season rebounds list with 331, and 2021 graduate Kal O’Brien was added for 708 rebounds over his four seasons. Lars Huffman made the single-season steals list in 2022-23 with 81 as well and the career list with 245 over four seasons. He's continuing his track career at St. Norbert (Wis.).
On Feb. 14, 2006, Benzie Central’s Tyler Moss totaled 14 steals in a game when he did so during a 71-63 win over Elk Rapids. Moss was a senior that season. Jaxon Childers made his presence known on both ends of the court throughout his four-year Benzie Central career, and defensively he made state history. Childers finished 2023-24 with 305 steals over 91 career games, good for 11th on that all-time list. He also made the single-season list with 98 as a sophomore and 93 as a junior. He played football at Northern Michigan.
Trent Hopkins made the list for most 3-pointers in one season in 2022-23, draining 81 in 223 attempts over 23 games for Auburn Hills Oakland Christian.
Cameron Peterson’s junior season at Rudyard in 2022-23 included a historic highlight, and he’s been added for his 20 points during the second quarter of a Jan. 21 game against Brimley. Peterson made six 3-pointers and another field goal over those eight minutes.
Carson Knoll undoubtedly found the zone Jan. 6, 2023, when he scored 21 points during the second quarter of Frankenmuth’s 68-28 win over Saginaw Swan Valley. Frankenmuth as a team also was added for making 16 3-pointers in a 75-45 win over New Lothrop that Jan. 18 and 15 against Standish-Sterling during the 2018-19 season.
Parker Hovey’s 217 assists over 24 games as a senior in 2022-23 are ranked 10th on that single-season list. The Hart graduate is continuing at Hope College.
Adrian Lenawee Christian’s 88-38 win over Britton Deerfield on Feb. 2, 2024, got off to a fast start – fast enough to make the record book. Lenawee Christian was added for points scored in one quarter after taking a 41-9 lead by the end of the first. Lenawee Christian also was added for making 216 3-pointers in 2024-25 and 196 in 2023-24.
Posen senior Logan Timm contributed plenty all over the floor in 2023-24, but most memorably on defense with 176 steals over 24 games. He also made the single-game steals list four times, with a high of 14 twice.
Senior Zander Smith drilled 12 3-pointers in a Feb. 2, 2024, New Haven win over Detroit Universal Academy, tying for fifth on the single-game list in that category. New Haven also made the team list with 19 total.
Among Cory Coe’s accomplishments as a senior in 2001-02, the Williamston senior made 90 percent of his free-throw attempts to make that record book list. He went on to play at Hillsdale College.
The 22 made free throws by Steve Balza on Feb. 14, 1989, ranked sixth-most in one game in MHSAA history at the time and remain tied for 10th-most 35 years later. He was a senior that season at St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran and attempted 30 total that game against Covert.
Bronson then-junior Kamron Brackett reached the record book for the first time in 2023-24 with 103 steals over 23 games, and he just missed the single-game steals list with 10 in two contests.
A little more than a decade later, LeRoy Pine River’s Tyler Lewis has reached the record book for his outstanding perimeter shooting as a senior in 2012-13. He was added to the season 3-pointers list with 84 after making nearly half his shots from beyond the arc. He went on to play at Lansing Community College.
After already earning a single-season steals listing as a junior, Grand Rapids Wellspring’s Zeekeal Jackson finished his career in 2023-24 with 267 steals over four seasons and 74 games. Grand Rapids Wellspring also was added to the records for making 206 3-pointers that winter, and 15 in a game.
Layk Woodruff and Reese Longstreth helped Beaverton coach Roy Johnston finish his career in 2023-24 as the all-time winningest in Michigan boys basketball history. Woodruff made the single-season 3-pointers list with 91 over 24 games, while Longstreth made the rebounds list with 310.
Austin Vang was like a wall on Suttons Bay’s side of the floor during a Feb. 18, 2025, win over Boyne Falls. The Norsemen then-senior set an MHSAA record with 16 steals.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Jonas VanderWoude finished his high school career in 2024 making the record book for the first time with a .901 free-throw percentage over 26 games. He’s playing now at Davenport.
On Feb. 4, 2025, Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh made a state-record 32 3-pointers in a 96-50 win over Wetmore Munising Baptist; all of the team’s points were scored from beyond the arc. Senior Jayden Sagataw tied for the fifth-most on the single-game individual list with 13.
Jalen Kampen capped his Parchment career in 2024-25 as one of the top free throw shooters in state history, connecting on 87 percent of his attempts as a senior to tie for 17th on the career list with a .807 percentage. He also made the single-season free throws made list with 162. As a team, Parchment made the single-game 3-pointers list with 15 and combined with opponent Delton Kellogg to make the list for two teams in one game as they had 24 together Jan. 7, 2025 – which tied for ninth-most on that list. Kampen is continuing at Central Michigan.
Carson Ososki earned an entry in the MHSAA record book in 2024-25 as a junior with his defensive work. He totaled 94 steals in 21 games played for Au Gres-Sims.
Shane Rykse finished his four-year Schoolcraft career in 2024 with 261 3-pointers, ranking 13th all-time, and with a career free-throw percentage of .852 that ranks fifth on that list. Additionally, Schoolcraft as a team was added multiple times including for 215 3-pointers (tied for 12th) during the 2023-24 season. Rykse plays at Spring Arbor. Tucker Walther capped his four-season Schoolcraft career in 2024-25 tied for fourth all-time having played in 104 varsity games. He helped his team to an 83-21 record and is continuing at Hope College.
Ewen-Trout Creek’s Jaden Borseth finished his four-year varsity career in 2022 with 2,073 points, one of only 47 players to reach 2,000. He continued at Gogebic Community College.
Austin Long finished his four-season varsity career at Vassar in 2024-25 on the all-time free throw list with 315 made in 420 attempts over four seasons and 91 games. He’s now playing football at Elmhurst (Ill.).
Cooper Wagner earned Saginaw Swan Valley’s first record book listing in this sport as a junior in 2024-25, with 112 steals in 24 games played.
Buckley’s Landon Kulawiak capped his four-season varsity career in 2024-25 on three career lists reflecting his scoring talents. He made the career points list with 2,034 over 91 games, the career 3-pointers list with 261 and career free throws list with 333. His 3-pointers total is tied for 13th.
Oskar Kangas finished his four-season varsity career at Iron Mountain in 2024-25 on the career rebounds list with 978 over 94 games. He also fell only 26 points shy of scoring 2,000. He’s playing at Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Gregory Grays’ 60-point game for Southfield-Lathrup against Toledo Scott (Ohio) in 1997 already was in the record book, but a few more listings have been added. Grays scored 25 points during the fourth quarter of that game, and he also made 20 of 21 free throws – including 20 straight. He went on to play at Penn State and Detroit Mercy.
Landen Reister earned his school’s first boys basketball record book entry in 2024-25, when he made the steals list with 83 over 25 games. He was a senior and is playing now at Grand Rapids Community College.
Trey Lynn became the second player in Brimley history to reach the record book in this sport, doing so for single-season steals three times including with 111 as a senior in 2024-25, and for his 299 steals over 87 games and four seasons. Lynn is playing baseball at Bay College.
Brad Coleman finished his Millington career in 2025 as one of an elite group who have scored at least 2,000 varsity points – but also is listed in multiple other categories. Coleman finished with 2,058 points over 96 games and four seasons, and he also ranks in career steals and four times in free-throw categories, including eighth all-time with 523 made in 670 attempts. He’s continuing his career at Grace Christian.
More than 40 years after graduating from Melvindale, Paul Bargardi was added for his 367 rebounds as a senior in 1982-83. He went on to play at Saginaw Valley State.
Luke Tropea earned multiple 3-pointers listings during his career at Chelsea as a freshman and Jackson Lumen Christi over his final three seasons before graduating in 2025. He made the single-season list as a senior with 90, and the career list with 233.
Onsted’s Ayden Davis finished his impressive four-year run in 2024 on single-season and career lists for rebounds and blocks. He ranks fifth all-time with 1,222 career rebounds over 90 games, and second on the blocks career list with 479 – with a fourth-best single-season listing of 161 blocks as a sophomore. He’s playing at Wright State.
PHOTO Traverse City Christian’s Reece Broderick shoots a 3-pointer against Gaylord St. Mary during his senior season. (Photo courtesy of Traverse City Record-Eagle.)