Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 10
February 17, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Plenty can change – and change again – over the course of a four-month high school basketball season.
Below are this week’s highlighted teams in each class that have jumped out of late – including a number that started slowly this winter but are playing their best with the postseason less than a month away.
CLASS A
Birmingham Brother Rice (11-4) – The Warriors’ basketball program certainly is overshadowed by the football and perhaps hockey teams. But Rice went 3-1 over the second half of the Detroit Catholic League Central season and avenged an earlier 16-point loss to champion Detroit U-D Jesuit by handing the Cubs their only league loss this season, 58-53 last week.
Davison (12-3) – The Cardinals likely can’t catch leader Flint Northwestern in the Saginaw Valley Association South title chase, but can celebrate coming back strong off two straight sub-.500 seasons. Their only losses in 2014-15 are two to Northwestern and the third to Flint Southwestern Academy.
DeWitt (9-6) – An 0-4 start knocked down expectations a little for the reigning Capital Area Activities Conference Red champion. But the Panthers came back with a five-game winning streak and on Friday beat Haslett for the second time this winter to push into a first-place tie with the Vikings. All but one loss were by six or fewer points.
Grand Rapids Northview (13-3) – Last season’s runner-up in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Bronze is a win over reigning champion Forest Hills Northern on Friday from clinching a share of the league title. Northview is undefeated in league play and winner of nine of its last 10 games.
CLASS B
Benzonia Benzie Central (12-2) – The Huskies trail both Frankfort and Maple City Glen Lake by half a loss in the Northwest Conference standings, but play both during the final two weeks of the season. Until then, Benzie Central will try to build on a five-game winning streak and nine victories in their last 10 games.
Big Rapids (10-5) – The Cardinals trail Grant in the Central State Activities Association Gold and will need help if they’re to climb into first, but beat Grant 43-36 on Feb. 6 and added another league win Friday to stay within one of the lead.
Leslie (12-2) – The Blackhawks joined the Greater Lansing Activities Conference in the fall after a few seasons as an independent, and they’re in contention for the championship after beating first-place Lake Odessa Lakewood 43-41 on Friday. Lakewood, on Jan. 9, handed Leslie its last loss before this nine-win run.
Milan (14-2) – The reigning Class B champion is back in fine form, with its only losses this season to Class A teams that won league titles – U-D Jesuit and Romulus. The Big Reds are undefeated in the Huron League but face second-place Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central twice over their final four regular-season games.
CLASS C
AuGres-Sims (8-7) – Its overall record is just over .500, but AuGres-Sims is holding on to a slim lead in the Little Dipper division of the North Star Conference. The Wolverines have won three straight league games and have three to play, including a pair against opponents that are a combined 4-20.
Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest (12-2) – The Crusaders hold a slim lead in the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue thanks to a 66-52 win over Sterling Heights Parkway Christian on Thursday – after they lost to Parkway on Jan. 30. Lutheran Northwest finished 1-20 and last in the Blue a year ago.
Ironwood (15-2) – The Red Devils have followed last season’s run to the Regional Finals with another impressive performance; their only losses are to Wisconsin teams, and they edged Bessemer (see below) by a bucket on Friday to complete a season sweep.
Ishpeming (10-5) – The Hematites didn’t play their first game until Jan. 2 and are accustomed to late starts after three straight trips to the Football Finals at Ford Field. A loss to rival Negaunee on Friday broke a six-game winning streak that included a win over first-place Iron Mountain on Feb. 6.
CLASS D
Bessemer (12-5) – The Speedboys opened 2-3 and have absorbed a second loss this season from Ironwood. But they also have claimed a share of the Porcupine Mountain Conference title and can make it an outright championship March 5 against Ewen-Trout Creek – which beat Bessemer on Dec. 19.
Brethren (10-5) – The Bobcats are tied for fourth in the West Michigan D League, but their losses to first-place Onekama and second-place Baldwin over the last three weeks were both by only two points. Brethren gets Baldwin one more time, in its regular-season finale March 3.
Climax-Scotts (12-4) – Despite a seven-point loss to Battle Creek St. Philip near the end of January, Climax-Scotts remains in first place in the Southern Central Athletic Association West. The Panthers have won five of their last six and will equal last season’s win total with their next victory.
Hillman (16-1) – The Tigers will at least share the North Star League Big Dipper title and sit undefeated in the league standings, their only loss on opening night to still-undefeated Cedarville. Hillman hasn’t had a win by fewer than 10 points.
PHOTO: Grand Rapids Northview needs one more win to claim the O-K Bronze title, thanks in part of to a 75-50 win over Greenville on Friday. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Performance: New Haven's Romeo Weems
March 29, 2017
Romeo Weems
New Haven sophomore – Basketball
Weems, considered by many the top sophomore in Michigan, played a starring role as New Haven won its first MHSAA boys basketball championship Saturday, earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week” as the Rockets downed Benton Harbor 78-49 in the Semifinal and Ludington 45-36 in the Class B title game.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore forward averaged 17.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, and just under four assists, blocks and steals per game this winter in being named the Class B “Player of the Year” by The Associated Press. He had 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in the Semifinal win, and 19 points, 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals in the Final as New Haven scored its fewest points this season but shined defensively.
The Rockets finished 27-1 thanks not just to Weems, but also star senior Eric Williams, Jr., and a strong supporting cast. Last week’s Semifinal also was the first in program history, but Weems has plans to add to the legacy over the next two seasons before likely having his choice of major college programs for which to continue his career. He's also a standout football player, quarterbacking New Haven to a share of the Macomb Area Conference Bronze title in the fall.
Coach Tedaro France II said: “Because he’s unselfish, that’s why we’re the Class B state champions. He gets his teammates involved. He can play the one through five; he does so much for us. He makes each person around him better. He can pass, he can defend, and one thing about him is he can score, but he takes pride in playing defense.”
Performance Point: “We went to our man-to-man press trapping, and they called a timeout because they didn’t know what to do,” Weems said. “I got long, started giving everything I had left. Got scrappy, started rebounding more, got more aggressive. ... I think we just had to step up big, get our teammates ready to play, get people’s nerves out get everybody going. We had to play big."
Getting defensive: “I hate to lose. The object of the game is to score more points to win. If I stop them from scoring, I win. I don’t like people scoring. It’s my paint, so I try to get every blocked shot, every rebound, play my heart out.”
Williams showed the way: “Just teaching the little things. Like on the court, if I miss a free throw, he lets me know if it looked good or if I need to get it up higher. Stay low when I’m jumping, a lot of stuff like that.”
All together: “I like to get my teammates involved. One person can’t win all by himself. I can be off, and I need my teammates to be on, and they get me going. So I get them involved, I get involved, and me and E, it’s hard to stop us when we're on fire.”
Thanks, Coach: “Coach loves us. It’s more than basketball with him, really. Even if we’re just outside playing or something, he’ll come hang out with us. He’s a great guy. If we need something he’s there… . We needed tutors, he got us tutors this year. It’s more than basketball for Coach.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
March 23: Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark, Pittsford basketball – Read
March 16: Camden Murphy, Novi swimming & diving – Read
March 9: Ben Freeman, Walled Lake Central wrestling – Read
March 2: Joey Mangner, Chelsea swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 23: Isabelle Nguyen, Grosse Pointe North gymnastics – Read
Feb. 16: Dakota Hurbis, Saline swimming & diving – Read
Feb. 2: Foster Loyer, Clarkston basketball – Read
Jan. 26: Nick Jenkins, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling – Read
Jan. 19: Eileene Naniseni, Mancelona basketball – Read
Jan. 12: Rory Anderson, Calumet hockey – Read
Dec. 15: Demetri Martin, Big Rapids basketball – Read
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Pittsford's Maddie Clark works for an opening near the basket during Saturday's Class D Final against Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary. (Middle) Teammate Jaycie Burger makes a move toward the basket.