Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Boys Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 27, 2023
The seeds for this season’s District brackets are set as 726 Michigan boys basketball teams are finishing up their regular seasons this week in advance of the playoffs beginning March 6.
Brackets were seeded and filled Sunday, and published here for all four divisions:
Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Division 4
This will be the last of our regular-season “Breslin Bound” reports, as next week we switch the format up a bit while previewing several of the strongest Districts across the state.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grand Rapids South Christian 82, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 54 The Sailors (18-3) also needed to defeat Cedar Springs three days later, but this win over GRCC (15-6) opened the opportunity to share the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title with the Cougars and also ended their 75-game league winning streak going back to Feb. 21, 2017.
2. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 68, Detroit U-D Jesuit 63 The Warriors (20-1) claimed their first Detroit Catholic League tournament championship reportedly since 1990 with their third win this season over the Cubs (17-4).
3. East Kentwood 61, Hudsonville 49 Friday’s winner-take-all for the outright O-K Red championship went to the Falcons (16-5), who had fallen to Hudsonville (15-6) by nine Jan. 27.
4. Warren Michigan Collegiate 58, Romulus Summit Academy 50 The Cougars (18-2) clinched the Charter School Conference tournament title in a rematch of last season’s championship game, won by Summit (18-2).
5. Hart 63, Mason County Central 45 The Pirates moved to 20-0 and clinched the outright West Michigan Conference Rivers championship – reportedly their first league title since 1963 in boys hoops.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Kentwood (16-5) The Falcons have hit their stride during a seven-game winning streak that included clinching the O-K Red title (see above) and also avenging an earlier loss to Grandville, plus defeating Detroit Old Redford at Benton Harbor’s Wilson Chandler Shootout. East Kentwood was 6-15 just a season ago and 3-12 the year before that, but also has pairs of wins over Rockford (14-7) and Grand Haven (16-5) this season and an opportunity to impress further in the regular-season finale against South Christian.
River Rouge (15-5) The Panthers have won 10 of their last 12 as they prepare for the postseason, with a pair of wins over Hamtramck (13-7) and others over Davison (16-6), Lansing Waverly (16-6), Grosse Pointe South (17-4) and Brownstown Woodhaven (16-4) boosted by good losses to Brother Rice and Ferndale among others. Rouge earned the second seed at the District at Detroit Cass Tech, with another boost from defeating Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 63-59 at Saturday’s 313 Classic.
DIVISION 2
Cadillac (16-4) The Vikings bounced back from two and one-point losses to Traverse City Central and Petoskey, respectively, to defeat Traverse City West 58-30 on Friday and clinch a shared Big North Conference championship with the Trojans. It was a repeat of the 2021-22 league finish, and Cadillac will hope to build on last season’s playoff run as well after reaching the Division 2 Quarterfinals. Cadillac followed up the one-point loss to the Northmen with a one-point win over Big Rapids (17-2), which went well with other impressive victories over Ludington (18-2) and McBain (17-4).
Grand Rapids South Christian (18-3) As noted above, the Sailors ended GRCC’s incredible league winning streak – but that wasn’t the first highlight for South Christian this winter. Total, the Sailors have 11 victories over teams with double-digit wins, and 15 victories have come by double digits. They started 1-2 with losses to Grand Rapids Christian and Grand Rapids Northview, but those along with a loss to GRCC in their first meeting no doubt helped boost South into the top seed in its District at Plainwell.
DIVISION 3
Ecorse (13-3) After reaching the Division 3 Semifinals a year ago, Ecorse is picking up plenty of momentum for a repeat run with 11 straight wins after taking its three losses consecutively in December to larger Oak Park, Detroit Renaissance and Detroit Catholic Central. The Raiders have gone over 80 points seven times and 90 points five times during this current streak, which began with a win over Division 1 Woodhaven. Ecorse most recently defeated Detroit University Prep Art & Design (14-5) by four at the 313 Classic.
Traverse City St. Francis (17-3) The Gladiators appear to be in top form, having earned a shared Lake Michigan Conference title last week in part by defeating then-leader Boyne City 58-34 to avenge a Jan. 24 loss to the Ramblers. The only other defeats came to Division 1 Grand Haven and Detroit Cass Tech (21-0), and the latter by only seven points. St. Francis will squeeze the last bits of prep possible out of this week with tests against McBain (17-4) and Cadillac before heading into the District at Lake City seeded first and opposite postseason rival Glen Lake (17-3).
DIVISION 4
Rudyard (16-5) The Bulldogs are among the handful of Upper Peninsula schools that play in multiple conferences, and while they are third in the Straits Area Conference they have finished a perfect run through the Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference. Only last week, to Sault St. Marie, did Rudyard take its first loss by more than five points. The Bulldogs are seeded first in the District they host next week, with four other EUPC teams in the field. Wins over Mackinaw City (17-3) and Indian River Inland Lakes (15-5) no doubt provided a solid boost toward that rating.
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (15-5) The reigning Division 4 champion is a win better than at this point last season, and with the same kind of experience as usual having played mostly larger schools outside of league play. A pair of losses by a combined five points have the Defenders as part of a three-way tie for second place in the Alliance League, but they have four wins over teams with 12 or more victories – most recently against Pewamo-Westphalia (12-6) and reigning Division 3 champion Schoolcraft (13-7).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Ferndale (12-7) at North Farmington (17-1) – These two have the top MPRs in Divisions 2 and 1, respectively, and are second and first in the Oakland Activities Association Red thanks to North Farmington’s 50-48 win in the first meeting Jan. 31.
Tuesday – Kalamazoo Central (18-2) at Muskegon (19-2) – A pair of programs with two of the longest traditions of success in state history match up in the regular-season finale for both.
Thursday – Grand Blanc (19-2) at Flint Beecher (16-3) – Grand Blanc has won the last two meetings between these Flint-area powers, in regular-season finales last year and in 2020.
Thursday – Iron Mountain (19-1) at Negaunee (15-5) – The Mountaineers have a one-game lead on the Miners heading into this Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East finale.
Friday – Detroit Cass Tech (21-0) vs. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (20-1) at Detroit Mercy – This Calihan Hall Operation Friendship showdown of champions could end up among the most memorable in the series in some time.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Otsego takes on Paw Paw on Friday in an eventual 58-44 win that kept the Bulldogs atop the Wolverine Conference standings. (Photo by Gary Shook.)
Basketball Takes 'The Judge' Worldwide, Home Again as Love of Game Lives On
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
August 13, 2026
He’s been everywhere, man.
Antoine Joubert, one of the best-known high school basketball players to come out of Michigan during the 1980s, has retired as a day-to-day basketball coach, but still gives back while continuing his lifelong dedication to the sport.
From being one of the most heavily recruited high school basketball players in the state, to playing four years at the University of Michigan and being drafted by the Detroit Pistons, to more than a decade of playing professionally overseas and in South America, Joubert remains humble and a fan of the game that has brought him so much in life.
“All of these things happened in my life because of basketball,” he said.
Joubert, who lives in Farmington, retired after the 2023-24 season after spending more than a decade coaching at Oakland Community College. He continues to host basketball camps – something he has done since 1992 – and has operated an AAU basketball program known as The Judge’s Court since 2006.
“The Judge” got the nickname from his older brother long before he was dominating opponents at Detroit Southwestern High School.
“My brother gave me that nickname,” he said. “I was in the locker room after a game and the media heard him call me that, and it stuck. ‘Here comes The Judge.’”
Joubert graduated in 1983 from Detroit Southwestern. He was Michigan’s Mr. Basketball Award winner and a McDonald’s All-American and recruited by nearly everyone from Indiana to Kentucky to UCLA before choosing Bill Frieder and Michigan.
As a high school junior, he averaged 30 points a game. He was even better as a senior, averaging 31.3 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists per contest. In his team’s 1983 Class A Semifinal, he scored 44 points. Two days later he scored 47 in the championship game against Flint Central, a tough 84-80 loss by the Prospectors that still ranks as one of the greatest Finals performances in state history.
“I was trying so hard to win that game,” Joubert said. “It was tough. Flint Central was a tough team.
“Playing in Michigan back those days was really great. The basketball was great, and there were some great coaches throughout the state. We’d go to camps and go play all over. We knew everybody, from Battle Creek to Lansing to Detroit, Ann Arbor, Traverse City. There was great basketball all over, and the kids all knew one another. I’ll never forget my high school career. I really loved it.”
Detroit Southwestern coach Perry Watson had coached Joubert’s uncle.
“He was like family,” Joubert said. “I knew him from when I was really young. He could play, too. He was a good ball player.”
The early 1980s were before the explosion of travel basketball, AAU programs and summer camps and shootouts. Joubert said while he did attend a few camps, including a national event in Indiana, he refined his skills at the Boys Club in Detroit and the legendary St. Cecilia gym that was a stopping point for some of the all-time greatest players from Michigan, from Dave Bing to Magic Johnson.
“That’s where our summer leagues were,” Joubert said. “Those were some great times.”
As his stock rose nationally, he was able to play against high school players like Patrick Ewing and Doc Rivers.
“That really opened my eyes to a lot of things about how tough basketball is,” he said.
He remembers some tremendous battles in the Public School League as well.
“That was a rough league at the time,” he said. “I mean, the talent that came through Detroit was amazing. Every PSL school had two or three guys that were going on to play Division I or Division II basketball. It was so competitive and they had really good coaches, guys that cared and helped players back then.”
Watson helped forge Joubert’s game, but it was his brother, Ezekiel Joubert Jr., who was perhaps Antoine’s greatest influence. He’s also who gave Antoine the nickname Judge, which stuck and continues to live on to this day.
“He was five years older than me, so he put it on me more than a few times,” Joubert said. “I wanted to be like him and do everything like him in sports. Once I could beat him, I thought I could beat anybody in the world.”
While Joubert gravitated to basketball, his first love in sports was baseball.
“That was the first sport I was really good at,” he said. “I had letters from the Tigers, the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox at 15 years old. Then, I stopped playing.”
After high school, he took his talents to Ann Arbor. His teammates during his four years included Roy Tarpley, Gary Grant and Glen Rice. He was a starter beginning his freshman season and twice was named honorable mention all-Big Ten.
Joubert was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the sixth round of the 1987 draft but injured his knee during training camp and was released. He was signed by teams from a variety of leagues but found a home when he went to Belgium. In 1990 he went to Mexico to play and made that league’s all-star game. In 1992 he played in Venezuela, where he earned league MVP honors.
“I got lucky,” he said. “My career took off.”
While playing in Europe, Joubert said he got a firsthand look at 7-foot players who could dribble like guards and shoot 3-pointers.
“I could see where the NBA was going to be, and that’s what it is like today,” he said.
Thanks to basketball, Joubert travelled the world.
“It was great. I played in Belgium, France, Spain, Poland, Italy, all through South America, Venezuela, Mexico, in Asia. Ball took me all around the world. I visited Egypt and Africa. I visited Jerusalem and Israel. I mean, I’ve been everywhere. I learned so many other languages and other cultures and made so many friends. It was all because of basketball. I got to travel the world and see how beautiful the world is.”
Because of basketball, he also got an education. He has a master’s degree.
“Basketball has meant a lot to me, still does,” he said.
After retiring as a player, Joubert returned home and started his AAU program. Soon after, he was hired to coach men’s basketball at Oakland Community College.
“It was challenging,” he said. “But I loved it, loved helping kids. I had players that played for years overseas and kids that are really doing well in life. It’s a blessing to see them grow up and become men, get their degrees and move on.”
Joubert remains a big fan of basketball – especially high school basketball.
“I go to games all of the time,” he said. “I love the tournaments and spending all day in the gym, talking to my friends and watching basketball. I’ll travel. I’m really enjoying myself.”
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Antoine Joubert puts up a shot during his highlight-filled career at Detroit Southwestern. At right, Joubert coaches Oakland Community College’s men’s basketball team. (Middle) Joubert finished his tenure at OCC in 2023-24. (Southwestern photo courtesy of the Detroit News. OCC photos courtesy of the OCC athletic department.)