Breslin Bound: Boys A-B Semis Preview
March 20, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Some semi-ancient history is at risk of being updated during the Class A and B Finals this weekend at Michigan State University's Breslin Center.
Detroit Southeastern is seeking is first title since 1926 and Grand Rapids Christian since 1938. Wyoming Godwin Heights will play for its first championship game berth since 1960, but also as one of three Class B Semifinalists looking to win it all for the first time.
Standing in the way? In Class A, it's reigning champion Saginaw and heavy favorite Romulus. In Class B, one of the state's most successful programs ever, Detroit Country Day.
Below is the schedule for all four Friday Semifinals and Saturday Finals, plus broadcast information and a look at all eight A and B Semifinalists.
Semifinals - Friiday
Class A
Romulus (25-1) vs Grand Rapids Christian (20-6), 1 p.m.
Detroit Southeastern (20-5) vs Saginaw (23-3), 2:50 p.m.
Class B
Cadillac (21-4) vs Detroit Country Day (23-3), 6 p.m.
Detroit Community (17-9) vs Wyoming Godwin Heights (23-2), 7:50 p.m.
Finals - Saturday
Class A - Noon
Class B - 6:30 pm
Class C - 4:30 pm
Class D - 10 am
Tickets cost $8 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session. All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and available on a pay-per-view basis for $3.95 per day or $6.95 for the weekend. Saturday's first three Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit, with the Class B game on Fox Sports Plus and then re-broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit at 10:30 p.m.. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
And now, a look at the Semifinalists in Class A and B.
Class A
DETROIT SOUTHEASTERN
Record/rank: 20-5, honorable mention
League finish: Second in Detroit Public School League East
Coach: George Ward, fourth season (82-15)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recently 1926), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 54-49 (OT) over honorable mention Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (Regional Final), 54-49 over Rochester (Quarterfinal), 71-52 over Class B No. 4 Harper Woods Chandler Park, 48-44 over Class B No. 10 Detroit Douglass.
Players to watch: Jovone Haynes, 6-0 sr. G; Kenyatta Singleton, 6-0 sr. G. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Although Southeastern’s championships came in 1925 and 1926, they finished Class A runner-up only two seasons ago and with Singleton a prominent player off the bench. That Southeastern was likely the third-best Detroit PSL team during the regular season speaks to the league’s strength again this winter, and the Jungaleers lost to reigning Class A champion Saginaw and No. 8 Detroit Cass Tech by one point apiece and Ann Arbor Pioneer and River Rouge by only two each.
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 20-6, honorable mention
League finish: First in O-K White
Coach: Steve Majerle, first season (20-6)
Championship history: Lower Peninsula Class B champion 1938, one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 72-69 over No. 9 East Kentwood (District Semifinal), 64-61 over honorable mention Lansing Waverly (Regional Semifinal), 78-70 over honorable mention Holt (Regional Final), 64-61 over Muskegon, 70-59 over Class B No. 6 Wyoming Godwin Heights.
Players to watch: Drake Harris, 6-4 jr. G; Wuoi Mach, 6-4 sr. C. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: Grand Rapids Christian has been surging with 10 straight wins and avenged a previous 24-point loss by beating Muskegon in the Quarterfinal. Harris is the catalyst and will try to add a basketball championship to the football title in which he played a large role at the end of November. Majerle previously coached Rockford to the 2003 Class A championship.
ROMULUS
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 2
League finish: First in Western Wayne Athletic Conference Blue
Coach: Nate Oats, 11th season (220-52)
Championship history: Class A champion 1986, one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 93-91 over No. 1 Detroit Pershing (Quarterfinal), 82-71 over No. 4 Saginaw Arthur Hill, 93-63 over No. 6 Saginaw, 75-65 over Class B No. 1 Detroit Country Day.
Players to watch: E.C. Matthews, 6-4 sr. G (16.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg); Leonardo Edwards, 6-8 sr. C (11 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.1 bpg), Wes Clark, 6-0 sr. G (11.8 ppg, 5.7 apg).
Outlook: Throw in wins over Lansing Sexton, Detroit Community, Detroit Douglass, Detroit Consortium, Chicago Seton and Indianapolis Cathedral, and no team in Michigan has defeated as impressive a slate. The Eagles’ lone loss was to Pershing by six in their second game this season, and Romulus avenged that Tuesday. Senior forward Jalon Plummer (11.2 ppg, 47 3-pointers) also adds double-digit scoring. Matthews has signed with Rhode Island, Clark with Missouri and Edwards with Louisiana Tech.
SAGINAW
Record/rank: 23-3, No. 6
League finish: Second in Saginaw Valley Association North
Coach: Julian Taylor, second season (48-5)
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recently 2012), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 75-64 and 86-76 (District Final) over No. 4 Saginaw Arthur Hill, 57-56 over honorable mention Detroit Southeastern, 86-61 over Class B No. 4 Harper Woods Chandler Park.
Players to watch: Julian Henderson, 6-2 sr. G; Keyon Addison, 6-1 jr. G. (Statistics not submitted.)
Outlook: The Trojans have won three of the last six Class A championships, and Henderson was the second-leading scorer in last season’s title game win over Rockford. Saginaw already avenged its early loss to Arthur Hill, and no doubt would like to face Romulus again after falling to the Eagles in the regular-season finale.
Class B
CADILLAC
Record/rank: 21-4, unranked
League finish: Tied for first in Big North Conference
Coach: Jeff McDonald, 19th season (303-124)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 41-29 over No. 8 Big Rapids (Semifinal), 47-46 over Petoskey, 56-53 over Traverse City West.
Players to watch: Nick Paquet, 5-9 sr. G (15 ppg, 45 3-pointers); Jalen Brooks, 6-4 jr. F (12.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
Outlook: Cadillac is 63-11 over the last three seasons with Regional championships to cap off each. The Vikings also won a share of their league title this season by avenging early losses against other sharers Petoskey and Traverse City West. They have good size, with five players 6-4 or taller, and plenty of balance; four more join Paquet and Brooks to average between four and seven points per game.
DETROIT COMMUNITY
Record/rank: 17-9, unranked
League finish: Second in Michigan Metro Athletic Conference
Coach: Venias Jordan, Jr., first season (17-9)
Championship history: Has not played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 50-47 over honorable mention Jackson Lumen Christi (Quarterfinal), 61-48 over Class C No. 8 Melvindale Academy for Business & Technology,
Player to watch: Byron Zeigler, 6-6 sr. F (statistics not submitted).
Outlook: Don’t be fooled by Community’s nine losses. Instead, consider some of the teams they came against: Class A top-10 teams Detroit Pershing (by two), Cass Tech and Romulus, honorable mention Detroit Southeastern, ranked Class C Detroit Consortium and reigning Class D champion Southfield Christian, among others. Zeigler has signed with South Florida.
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 23-3, No. 1
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Kurt Keener, 35th season (676-180)
Championship history: Eight MHSAA titles (most recently 2010), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 75-57 over No. 4 Harper Woods Chandler Park (Regional Semifinal), 73-51 over No. 10 Detroit Douglass (Regional Final), 68-48 over Class A honorable mention Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, 86-61 over Class A No. 4 Saginaw Arthur Hill.
Players to watch: Edmond Sumner, 6-3 jr. G (16.1 ppg, 6.2 apg); Austin Price, 6-3 sr. G (12.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 63 3-pointers, 3.2 spg); Mory Diane, 6-2 sr. G (12.1 ppg).
Outlook: A few fun Country Day facts: The last time the Yellowjackets didn’t make it to Breslin was 2009; the last time they finished a season with fewer than 20 wins was 2004. Country Day starts out small (relatively speaking; no player is shorter than 5-11) but can get big with future Texas Tech offensive lineman Poet Thomas (6-7, 285 pounds) off the bench. Price has signed with Lehigh and makes nearly 40 percent of his 3-point shots.
WYOMING GODWIN HEIGHTS
Record/rank: 23-2, No. 6
League finish: First in O-K Silver
Coach: Chad Conklin, sixth season (98-39)
Championship history: Two runner-up finishes (most recently 1960).
Best wins: 79-72 over No. 7 Comstock Park (Regional Semifinal), 56-52 over No. 2 Stevensville Lakeshore (Quarterfinal), 60-58 over Class D No. 1 Wyoming Tri-unity Christian
Players to watch: Jamal Bland, 5-10 sr. G (14.9 ppg, 3.2 apg); Quantrell Hastings, 6-1 sr. F (15.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg).
Outlook: One more win and Godwin Heights will have improved on or tied the previous season’s win total in all six of Conklin’s winters running the program. Senior guard Braima Hai (10.9 ppg, 5.2 apg) runs the show, and sophomore guard Delaney Blaylock (11.2 ppg) also scores in double figures.
PHOTO: Saginaw junior Joseph Williams-Powell (44) drives against a Midland defender during the Trojans' Regional Semifinal win last week. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Keeler Approaching Milestone Win Amid Final Season of Legendary Tri-unity Career
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
December 18, 2024
WYOMING – Mark Keeler has spent four decades coaching boys basketball at Tri-unity Christian High School.
And while he has many stories that he shares often, one of his favorites comes from the beginnings of the program.
“We didn't have bleachers in our gym when I first started,” Keeler said. “I would make my boys set several rows of chairs up so people could watch our games. And then they eventually added bleachers that were donated by the church.”
Keeler’s teams have been filling up the bleachers since he took the reins for the 1983-84 season, and he has built the program into one of the most successful in the state.
Now, as he leads his team through the opening month of his 38th and final campaign, Keeler is nearing a rare milestone only achieved by a few. He is expected to soon become the fourth coach in MHSAA history to reach 700 wins.
Tri-unity is 3-1 this winter, making Keeler a combined 697-217 coaching the Defenders. Roy Johnston is the winningest coach in state boys basketball history with 833 victories earned during stints at Yale, Howell and Beaverton before retiring in March. He is followed by longtime River Rouge coach Lofton Greene (728) and Clarkston’s Dan Fife (703).
“It's a statement of longevity with these men,” Keeler said. “All three of them were very successful at the schools they were at and most of them spent a long time at one school, just like I’m doing now. I’ve never coached anywhere but Tri-unity, and that is quite a privilege to have been a part of this school.”
Keeler reached 697 wins with last week’s nonconference victory over Wyoming Kelloggsville and can move closer to the milestone with another Friday night against Grandville Calvin Christian. The Defenders then play East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids West Catholic, respectively, at the Cornerstone University Holiday Classic at the end of the month.
Keeler, who retired from a 40-year teaching career two years ago, started coaching in 1983-84 when Tri-unity had only an eighth and ninth-grade team. After two seasons of playing subvarsity, the school formed its varsity team for the start of the 1985-86 season, with Keeler at the helm. After three seasons with the varsity, he took a break from coaching (but continued teaching and serving as athletic director).
“I had to get my priorities right with the Lord,” Keeler said. “I was trying to do too much and lost focus, and it was something that needed to be done. I look back, and it was something that set me up for the rest of my coaching career.”
Keeler returned for the 1990-91 season and has been at the forefront ever since. He has guided the Defenders to six state championships, including last year’s with a victory over Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in the Division 4 Final. Tri-unity also has won titles in 1996, 2002, 2006, 2011 and 2022, while finishing as Finals runner-up six times.
Keeler’s teams also have reached the Semifinals 15 times, won 19 Regional championships, 26 District titles and 22 conference championships. His players have filled Class D and Division 4 all-state teams for years, with surely the best-known 2000 grad Chris Kaman – who went on to play at Central Michigan and 13 seasons in the NBA – and Brandon Voorhees, who led Tri-unity to the 2002 title as a senior, went on to CMU and then Park University in Missouri, and played professionally overseas.
“I’m so glad that I’ve been able to just be here this long,” said Keeler, who was inducted into the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame in 2016. “I love Tri-unity. My wife taught there, we met there, and my daughters went all the way through and graduated from there, so it's always been a part of my life. There's been so many quality people that have been there along the way.
“I've been very blessed to have had so many quality players and parents and coaches. It’s amazing when I look back at all those that have been a part of the program.”
Keeler, a man with a strong Christian faith, could’ve gone elsewhere during his career, but believed he had a calling at Tri-unity.
“I've had some opportunities to move on and go to different places, but whenever I prayed about it I always thought that this is where the Lord wanted me and that's always my priority,” Keeler said. “I want to please him first, because as a Christian that's my priority. I just thought this is where he placed me, so I’m going to set roots and do the best I can.”
Tri-unity senior guard Keaton Blanker, one of two returning starters on this year’s team, is excited to see his coach reach such a prestigious milestone.
“It’s the perfect scenario for him with this being his last year and getting to 700 wins,” Blanker said. “He’s going to leave his mark, and it’s well deserved. Being a small Division 4 school, he’s helped to put the program on the map and I remember growing up and watching his teams win state titles. I was waiting for the opportunity to play for him so I could help do the same thing.”
While Keeler is grateful for the unbridled success of the program on the court, creating lasting relationships with his players off the court and helping them grow in their faith has been equally gratifying.
“I know without a doubt that the Lord has blessed our program.” Keeler said. “There are a lot of great coaches out there that are probably better at Xs and Os than I am, but I think I’m a strong motivator and build good relationships with the players and get to know them.
“I let each player know that I want them to grow in their walk with the Lord, and that's where my priority is. To be an influence toward Christ, not away from Christ.”
Past Tri-unity standout Brent Voorhees, who has been Keeler’s assistant coach the last several years and will succeed him next season, said Keeler has never changed his approach to the game.
“Coming back to coach with him, the one thing that stands out is he doesn't waver on his principles,” Voorhees said. “A lot has changed in the sport in terms of analytics and how coaches attack things, but he has definitely stayed firm in his approach that it’s defense first and he preaches the team aspect. It’s never about an individual.
“He doesn’t let anything off the court distract him from goals. He's really good at keeping the goal in front of the guys. He keeps them focused on the goal of winning state championships and also becoming great, young Christian men in the community, which is what he stands for and always comes first.”
The Defenders graduated eight players from last year’s team, but Blanker and senior Joey Mellon are back with several newcomers as they bid to send Keeler out with one more title at Breslin Center.
“I enjoy putting them together and getting them to mesh as a team,” Keeler said. “For me, I have learned that defense wins championships. The old adage that offense wins games, but defense wins championships ... I so believe that with all my heart.”
Reporter Dean Holzwarth, a longtime member of the West Michigan media, is also the junior varsity head coach and a varsity assistant for the Tri-unity Christian boys basketball program.
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) Surrounded by celebrating players and assistant coaches (including the author, far right), Tri-unity boys basketball coach Mark Keeler (hand in pocket) enjoys a moment near the end of last season’s Division 4 championship game. (Middle) Keeler, middle, huddles with his team during the 1997 run to Breslin, when the Defenders finished Class D runners-up. (Below) Keeler raises the 2002 Class D championship trophy to the cheers of Tri-unity’s supporters. (MHSAA file photos.)