Breslin Bound: Boys Quarterfinal Preview
March 18, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
1927. 1948. 1953. 1955. 1968.
A number of boys basketball teams playing in MHSAA Quarterfinals tonight are celebrating returns to the final week of the season for the first time in seemingly forever. And for a few others, tonight will mark the first time, ever, they've advanced this far.
See below for brief previews of all 16 Quarterfinal games, and click for brackets and more to be updated as scores are reported tonight.
(NOTE: ppg=point per game, rpg=rebounds per game, apg=assists per game, spg=steals per game, bpg=blocks per game.)
Class A
Howell (19-5) vs. Mount Pleasant (21-4) at Davison
Howell is playing in its first Quarterfinal since 1927 and advanced by avenging two regular-season losses to Kensington Lakes Activities Association West champion Grand Blanc by winning in the Regional Final. Senior 6-foot-3 guard Tyler Johnson leads with 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Mount Pleasant also is back after a shorter but still lengthy absence, playing in its first Quarterfinal since 1982. Senior 6-6 forward Jaleel Hogan averages 16.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.
Ann Arbor Skyline (17-7) vs. Muskegon (25-0) at Lansing Eastern
Skyline has improved from 10-11 each of the last two seasons and stunned Kalamazoo Central in the Regional Final to advance. The task is tall again though in Muskegon, led by recently-named Mr. Basketball Award winner and senior guard Deshaun Thrower (18.6 ppg) and 6-9 junior center Deyonta Davis (14.2 ppg, 13.6 rpg). Skyline is in its first Quarterfinal; Muskegon missed the Semifinals by falling to Grand Rapids Christian by three in this game a year ago.
Romulus (21-4) vs. Detroit U-D Jesuit (21-2) at Detroit Mercy
U-D Jesuit won the regular-season matchup between these two 67-57 three weeks ago, but reigning Class A champion Romulus surely won’t go quietly. Sophomore guard Cassius Winston leads three Jesuit scorers averaging double figures with 18.4 ppg along with 7.2 rpg. The Eagles are directed by first-year coach Jerret Smith, a standout on the 2005 Class A runner-up team who went on to play at the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University.
Warren Mott (21-4) vs. Bloomfield Hills (22-3) at Detroit Mercy
Both are playing in their first Quarterfinal; Mott despite opening this season 2-3 and Bloomfield Hills because it is a first-year school, although the schools that merged to form it – Lahser and Andover – also had never advanced past Regionals. Mott is scoring a school-record 73.2 points per game, led by 6-8 senior forward Kenny Goins (21.1 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 5.4 bpg).
Class B
Benton Harbor (15-9) vs. Wyoming Godwin Heights (25-0) at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg
Longtime power Benton Harbor is back in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2001 thanks in part to a three-point win over Stevensville Lakeshore in the District opener and an overtime win over Otsego in the Regional Final. Senior 6-6 forward Cortez Moore leads with 21 points and 12 rebounds per game. Godwin Heights reached the Semifinals a year ago and is a combined 72-4 over the last three. Senior 6-4 center Markese Mayfield and 6-3 junior forward Delaney Blaylock both average 17 points per game.
Big Rapids (20-4) vs. Cadillac (18-6) at Ferris State University
This is a rematch from last season’s Quarterfinal round, when Cadillac won 41-29. Senior forward Quinn Tyson has keyed Big Rapids’ return with 23.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Cadillac will play in its fourth straight Quarterfinal after surviving three straight tournament games decided by five points or fewer. Senior forward Jalen Brooks is averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game to lead the Vikings.
Detroit Douglass (16-9) vs. Goodrich (20-5) at Marysville
Douglass is in its second Quarterfinal ever and seeking its first Semifinal appearance, and has suffered eight of its losses to Class A or Chicago-area teams. The Hurricanes have won District titles in eight of 10 seasons under coach Nkwane Young. Goodrich tied for second in the Genesee Area Conference Red with Class C Regional finalist Montrose and behind reigning Class C champion Flint Beecher.
Milan (22-3) vs. Wayland (21-4) at Chelsea
Milan has won 17 straight going back to mid-January to reach its first Quarterfinal since 1948. Junior guard Latin Davis (15.9 ppg) and junior 6-7 center Nick Perkins (15 ppg) key an offense that has won all but one of its tournament games by at least 14 points. Wayland is in a Quarterfinal for the first time since 1955. The Wildcats advanced with an overtime win over No. 2-ranked Jackson Lumen Christi in the Regional Final and get a big boost from a pair of juniors, 6-6 center Lacey James (14.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg) and guard Dilon Aten (18.5 ppg).
Class C
Flint Beecher (22-3) vs. Pewamo-Westphalia (21-2) at Owosso
Reigning Class C champion Beecher has five new starters this season including three underclassmen, but the Buccaneers have won 17 straight since their last loss Jan. 18 to Class A Detroit Cass Tech. A strong group of nine seniors has been building for this Pewamo-Westphalia run, especially after the Pirates suffered their only 2011-12 loss in the Quarterfinal. Senior guard Nick Spitzley has led a balanced lineup with 18.7 points per game.
Muskegon Heights (19-3) vs. Hillsdale (24-1) at Vicksburg
Muskegon Heights has one of the longest traditions of success in MHSAA boys basketball history, and that has continued through its closing and re-opening as a public school academy two years ago. The Tigers are making their fourth Quarterfinal appearance in five seasons. Hillsdale is back in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2005 and hasn’t lost since falling to P-W in its opener. Senior guard Brandon Bisher scores 18 points per game for the Hornets.
Detroit Consortium (22-2) vs. Mount Clemens (24-1) at West Bloomfield
Consortium has fallen only to annual powers Detroit Pershing and Country Day and defeated a number of strong, larger teams including Saginaw, Detroit Southeastern, Detroit Douglass and Saginaw Arthur Hill. Sophomore 6-8 forward Joshua Jackson has been a big part averaging 25 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. Mount Clemens’ lone loss came just last month to Class A favorite Muskegon, and the Battling Bathers have won all of their tournament games by at least 13 points. They are in their first Quarterfinal since 1985.
East Jordan (19-4) vs. Negaunee (23-1) at Petoskey
East Jordan last played in a Regional Final in 1953, but bounced back from two losses to end the regular season to return to the final week – thanks also to an overtime win over Beaverton in the Regional Final. Neguanee is much more familiar with this spot; this is the Miners’ fourth straight Quarterfinal, and they missed last season’s championship game by falling just two points short in the Semifinal. Standout senior guards Tyler Jandron and Eric Lori average 17.5 and 16.6 points per game, respectively.
Class D
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (20-3) vs. Frankfort (19-6) at Cadillac
Sacred Heart advanced with a nationally-replayed buzzer-beater over Fulton-Middleton and hopes to follow its girls team to an MHSAA title. Senior 6-6 forward Kevin Gamble, son of the former NBA player by the same name and brother to the girls team’s standout center Averi, averages 15 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Frankfort finished second in the Northwest Conference thanks to two losses to Suttons Bay, but beat Suttons Bay by 19 on the way to reaching the final week for the second straight season. Senior 6-3 center David Loney averages 20.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
Southfield Christian (23-1) vs. Peck (22-0) at Burton Bendle
Peck is back in the Quarterfinals for the first time since 1968 and led by a pair of standouts from its 8-player football MHSAA championship team – 6-4 junior Kyle Abrego (15.1 ppg) and 6-3 senior Tristen Haener (10.9 ppg). The Pirates must next defeat two-time reigning champion Southfield Christian, which has a new coach in promoted assistant Clennie Brundidge and returning standouts in senior forward Lindsey Hunter IV (14.8 ppg), junior guard Bakari Evelyn (16 ppg) and sophomore guard Eugene Brown (11.4). The Eagles’ only loss was to Class A Saginaw Arthur Hill.
Cedarville (22-2) vs. Powers North Central (25-0) at Marquette
This too is a rematch of a 2013 Quarterfinal, which North Central won 71-57. The Jets were virtually untouchable during the regular season with only Carney-Nadeau and Munising getting within single digits – although those two and Crystal Falls Forest Park all got within eight or fewer points of North Central during the last two weeks. Senior forward Travis Vincent (15.1 ppg) leads four Jets averaging double-figure scoring. Cedarville’s only losses were to a pair of solid Class C teams, and the Trojans are more than capable of taking the next step; they’ve won Regional titles eight of the last nine seasons and beat Quarterfinalist Frankfort earlier this winter.
Battle Creek St. Philip (24-1) vs. Adrian Lenawee Christian (19-4) at Battle Creek Central
St. Philip is back in a Quarterfinal for the first time since 1984 and with 10 straight wins by 15 or more points. Senior guard Tyler Hubbard-Neil leads four Tigers averaging double-figure points with 13.9 per game. Lenawee Christian is making its second Quarterfinal appearance in four seasons and thanks in part to surviving a two-point scare against Morenci in the District Final after losing two of its final three regular-season games.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant, here against Saginaw Arthur Hill, advanced to the MHSAA Quarterfinals for the first time since 1982. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Their Place, Forever
February 9, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It’s surreal, Terry Reid said, humbling and overwhelming every time he sees his name hanging on Marlette’s gymnasium wall.
A little more than a month has passed since the school dedicated one of its most visible buildings to the longtime basketball coach. Thing is, Reid added, those honors usually are bestowed after a person has died – not while he’s still working the sideline, as Reid has done for Raiders teams over the last 40 years.
On the opposite wall hangs a new scoreboard, also dedicated Dec. 28. At the top is the name “Kyle Hall,” one of Reid’s eight grandchildren, a standout player who graduated last spring. Below hangs a photo of number 35, palming a basketball, gazing across the floor where Reid guides his junior varsity team through the same drills he’s been teaching for decades – and where he helped his grandson earn an opportunity to play at the college level.
“Every practice, … there’s a picture of him. And those eyes. I look up, and it kinda chokes me up,” Reid said.
“We’ve been blessed with grandkids who have let you know their feelings for them. ‘Hey Grandpa, see ya, I love ya.’ Those were the last words I heard from him, the day before he died.”
Reid wasn’t sure if he could return to coaching after that day, July 16, when during the early morning hours a car crash claimed Hall’s life as he drove home from a friend’s house.
Reid’s wife of 52 years, Jackie, convinced him to go back – both for himself, and for his grandson. And it seems just right they will be remembered in a place that has meant so much to both.
The plan comes together
Reid, 72, grew up in Redford Township, coached at Redford and then Detroit Benedictine for a short time before moving to Marlette in 1972. He’s coached a variety of teams, including the girls varsity for 21 seasons and the boys for 12 over two tenures, and hundreds of athletes including his daughter and Kyle’s mom Tammi, and currently Kyle’s little brother Dakota.
Kyle Hall got serious 
about the game as a junior. At 6-foot-5 and at a Class C school, he was a post player – but realized he’d need better perimeter skills to play after high school. Reid never officially coached Kyle – Hall skipped Reid’s JV team to join the varsity as a sophomore. But that summer before senior year, Grandfather and Grandson got to work, a few hours three days a week, through tough times and good ones that come in part with coaching one’s child, or in this case, grandchild.
After earning all-league and all-area honors in his final high school season, Hall was slated to join the Alma College men’s basketball team this fall – in fact, the Scots wear his initials on their pre-game warm-up shirts. Alma College also recently acquired a new scoreboard, and Kyle “told me one time … I’m going to light that sucker up,” Reid remembered.
That was Hall. He’d visit potential colleges with Tammi and his father Mike, and coaches would ask Kyle to list his strong point. Answer: Confidence. Weak point? Same answer. “He went out every game with the plan to win,” she said.
She recalled Kyle’s big feet: “He could run down the floor in three leaps.” Sports were his obvious first love. A three-sport athlete every year of high school, Kyle played football in fall, track and later golf in the spring. Every inch of his bedroom wall was covered either with pictures or clips from newspapers, his workout plan, and the terminology he was learning for nursing. Hall had passed his certification test to work as a nurse assistant two weeks before the crash. He had plans to pursue jobs at the hospitals in Marlette and Alma, and after getting his bachelor’s degree head to University of Michigan or Ferris State University for his master’s in nurse administration.
“When Kyle got something in his head, that’s what he’s going to do,” Tammi Hall said.
‘You just knew that he cared’
Terry Reid is an old-school basketball coach. Fundamentals rule. Defense first. Life has been basketball, golf, and family. He’s Marlette to the core – after all, the dog’s name is Red Raider Reid.
Prior to the gym dedication, the Huron Daily Tribune reported Terry’s various successes: a 315-149 girls varsity record, 100-98 with the boys varsity, and a combined seven District and five league championships. He also led the baseball team to a league title, coached in the football program and was athl
etic director for 18 years on top of teaching a variety of subjects.
The branches of his coaching tree spread throughout Michigan’s Thumb, and further. Reid estimates at least 40 former players have gone on to run their own teams. Brown City boys basketball coach Tony Burton and Bad Axe girls coach Brent Wehner both played for Reid, as did Kentucky Wesleyan College co-women’s coaches Caleb and Nicole Nieman. Closest to home, former players Chris Storm and his wife Cathy Storm now run Marlette’s boys and girls varsities, respectively.
“You just knew that he cared. … At the time you don’t realize it, but he becomes a true friend shortly after high school and throughout your career,” Chris Storm said.
“You always live through the tough times as well as the good times of teams. He’s been one who has persevered over the years. Everyone certainly goes through it; there are certain teams that don’t accomplish what they should, and that falls on the coach. But he’s always been able to keep his focus on the kids. That’s what we’re here for, and they know it.”
Like any grandparent, Reid takes pride in all of his grandchildren. An athletic bunch, he can recognize basketball potential – even in those who have chosen to play that other winter sport, hockey, instead.
But admittedly, Reid’s relationship with Hall took on another level because of their time together on the court. Storm’s son Alex teamed with Hall in 2010-11 and now plays at Rochester College in Rochester Hills, and Chris Storm recognized the similar tensions to his coaching his son.
But, “there’s certainly no question the time (Reid) spent with him and put in paid off for Kyle,” Storm said. “It was kinda neat they were able to share in that success at the end.”
He will be remembered
Reid said between 30 and 40 people came to the Halls’ home the night Kyle died.
His showing at the funeral home was scheduled to run from 1-9 p.m., but went until 10:20. After a small private funeral, the family went to the gym for a community ceremony – and found it packed.
“I really found out I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. The support we received at that time, and to the present, has just been unreal,” Reid said. “They stuck with Mike and Tammi, and they still do.”
For the dedication, Kingston agreed to have its varsity girls and boys teams play at Marlette on the same night, instead of the usual JV/varsity doubleheader. Every Kingston player came into the stands and hugged Mike and Tammi. The Raiders boys team has had a bit of a tough one this winter coming off last season’s 17-5 finish – it was just 6-8 heading into Friday – but beat Kingston that night by 20.
In a small town, Storm said, something like Hall’s death brings somberness to the entire community. And, of course, it still hits the family hardest. But Reid is back coaching his junior varsity, with no plans to stop.
And after Dakota is done playing for the JV, Mike and Tammi stick around for the boys varsity games. They watch and support the friends and community that have supported them – and now in the building where they are surrounded by reminders that will continue to live on.
“He was so much fun to watch. I realize he was my own, so obviously I think higher of him. … But it was just so much fun to watch him play,” Tammi said.
“My husband and I talked quite a bit, and that’s where he’ll be remembered, on the basketball court. He packed a lot in those 19 years. ... I think he would think that’s pretty cool.”
PHOTOS courtesy of Reid and Hall families.
TOP: Terry Reid waves to the crowd during the Marlette gym dedication Dec. 28. (Middle) The scoreboard dedicated to Kyle Hall hangs on the eastern wall of the gym. (Right) Hall's retired jersey also hangs at the high school.
MIDDLE (1): A sign honoring Reid and remembering Hall hangs on the western wall of the gym.
MIDDLE (2): Hall (jumping) celebrates his team's outright league championship in 2011. Grandfather Terry Reid is among those pictured behind him.
MIDDLE (3): Reid (left) and Hall posed for a shot during the postgame celebration of that championship win.
BELOW: The full scoreboard, plus a photo of Hall, also were dedicated on Dec. 28.