Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 12
March 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Coaches often talk about getting hot at the right time – in other words, playing their best basketball on the eve of when it counts most.
This is that time – and the teams below are among those carrying some nice momentum into the final week of the regular season with the start of the MHSAA Tournament approaching.
Class A
Auburn Hills Avondale (15-3) – The Yellow Jackets have won nine straight since falling to Oakland Activities Association Blue co-leader West Bloomfield on Jan. 23, beating the Lakers by one Feb. 17 and then Oxford by one Friday to keep pace atop the standings.
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (17-3) – The Big Reds closed the regular season with five straight wins to finish second in the Macomb Area Conference Red and finish five wins better than a year ago with the postseason still to play.
Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (17-3) – The Bengals clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title over four others with at least 10 wins this winter. Two of the losses were to teams a combined 35-4 – Lansing Everett and Goodrich.
Stevensville Lakeshore (17-2) – The Lancers own a one-win lead in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West with one game to play and after going an uncharacteristic 10-12 a season ago. Lakeshore split this winter with second-place Benton Harbor, last season’s Class B runner-up.
Class B
Big Rapids (14-5) – The Cardinals weathered a three-game losing streak in mid-January to hold on for a share of the Central State Activities Association Gold championship, and will win it outright if second-place Newaygo falls in its league finale. Big Rapids’ most recent four losses were by a combined nine points.
Frankenmuth (14-4) – The Eagles avenged an early three-point loss to rival Millington by beating the Cardinals 51-35 on Friday to pull into first place in the Tri-Valley Conference East – and they can clinch the title outright against eighth-place Otisville-LakeVille on Thursday. Four TVC East teams have won at least 14 games.
Lakeview (15-4) – Despite a loss to second-place Kent City on Feb. 20, Lakeview came back to clinch the CSAA Silver championship with a 72-57 win over Hesperia on Friday. The Wildcats also won the CSAA last season before the league split into divisions for 2014-15.
Williamston (16-4) – The Hornets closed the regular season with a 65-58 win over rival Lansing Catholic, creating a shared Capital Area Activities Conference White championship between the two after Lansing Catholic had won the first meeting Jan. 23. Williamston has won seven straight.
Class C
Carney-Nadeau (12-6) – The Wolves can’t catch Class D contender Powers North Central in the Skyline Central Conference West, but they did win five straight before falling to Crystal Falls Forest Park in overtime Friday. Forest Park also is Class D; Carney-Nadeau opted to play up in Class C this season.
Hanover-Horton (18-1) – Only one-loss Jackson Lumen Christi, in December, has been able to edge Hanover-Horton, which clinched the Cascades Conference title with a 61-54 win over third-place Michigan Center last week. The Comets also won the league in 2013-14.
Ithaca (17-2) – The Yellowjackets have been chasing Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in the TVC West since falling to MLS on Jan 16, but regained a share of first place with a 52-49 win in their rematch Friday. Ithaca has won 11 straight and finishes with winless Merrill.
Southfield Christian (15-3) – The three-time reigning Class D champions are in Class C this season and having similar success during the regular season; the Eagles clinched the Michigan Independent Athletic Conference Blue title last week, and among the few missteps are impressive losses by one to Detroit Pershing and two to Ann Arbor Pioneer.
Class D
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (16-3) – Staying in the MIAC Blue, Inter-City Baptist’s only league losses were to Southfield Christian – and the only other defeat came to Class A Allen Park on the first Friday of the season. The Chargers have 10 wins against opponents from other classes.
Baldwin (14-4) – The Panthers have won nine straight and can clinch a share of the West Michigan D League title with two more this week; they trail Onekama by a win, but Onekama has only one league game remaining. Baldwin also beat Class B Paw Paw (12-7) during the current streak.
Bellevue (14-5) – The Broncos have a slim chance at sharing the Southern Central Athletic Association West title, but can eclipse last season’s win total with one more this week and have earned at least 14 victories for the third straight season despite opening 6-4.
Jackson Christian (12-6) – The Royals are among those who dealt Bellevue an early loss, and they long ago clinched the SCAA Central title. Jackson Christian finishes this week against Battle Creek St. Philip and then opens with the Tigers in next week’s District.
PHOTO: Ithaca's 60-51 win over Freeland on Jan. 30 was part of a current 11-game winning streak. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
'Ville' Coach Driven to Make Difference
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
December 30, 2015
DETROIT – It’s unlikely. But if Juan Rickman ever gets bored, he would be a prime candidate to participate in a sleep-deprivation study.
Rickman, 32, spent five seasons as the boys basketball coach at Detroit Crockett, then became the coach at Detroit East English Village Prep when Crockett merged with Detroit Finney for the start of the 2012-13 school year.
His fulltime job is serving as an attendant agent for the Detroit Public Schools. In layman’s terms, he’s a truant officer. He also works for Wayne County in its juvenile detention department.
And if that’s not enough, Rickman and a partner are in the process of starting a medical transportation business. Rickman said he has the drivers lined up. Purchasing the vehicles is the next step.
Rickman also is a husband and a father. He and his wife Kateena have a 16-month-old daughter, Amira.
A graduate of Detroit Cass Tech and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Rickman is driven. Achievement is the driving force that supplies the motivation for himself and his family, and for the students for whom he is responsible.
“I’m grinding, just grinding,” he said. “My wife and I have a budget.
“She’s totally into my life. You want a means to an end. We want to buy a house.”
A typical day for Rickman begins at 7:45 a.m. at East English. School ends at 3:30 p.m., and then study table begins a half hour later for his players and lasts an hour and a half. Practice runs from 5:50-8 p.m. His job with Wayne County begins at 11 p.m. and he’s off at 7 – then he’s back at East English.
Rickman isn’t Superman, so this routine isn’t played out every day. But there are weeks where he’ll work three nights for Wayne County, then work a Sunday.
“There are some days I don’t sleep,” he said. “This past week I got up Monday morning and didn’t sleep until 11 (p.m.) on Wednesday.
“When my wife wasn’t working, I had to (work extended hours). Sometimes I’ll take some time off (from Wayne County). The thing is, I know when I need to tone it down.”
Kateena returned to work for an insurance company soon after giving birth. Though this helps monetarily, it also forces the Rickmans to send their child to day care.
It can be a dilemma, and it is a balancing act. But they’re determined to create a good life for themselves and their child.
Juan Rickman said he planned on cutting back on his hours during the holidays to spend more time with his family.
Along with the rewards financially from their hard work is the satisfaction of knowing they are contributing to their community. Because of his jobs within DPS and Wayne County, Juan Rickman deals with many troubled youths. He knows he’s in a position to set an example as a positive role model, and there is a responsibility to fulfill these expectations.
“I take it seriously,” Rickman said. “A big part of my job is to get these kids into college. I’ve had six of my players go on to a Division I school, but what I’m most proud of is the others. I didn’t have to work hard to get the Division I kids in school. College coaches came after them. I’m more proud of the D-II and the (players who went to) NAIA (schools). Look at Jaylin McFadden. We worked hard to get him into Ferris State.
“And these players come back around. Even the ones I kicked off the team come back. It’s a good feeling.”
Rickman and others at East English also helped the team manager earn a scholarship. Devin Smith is a senior and he’s earned a scholarship to Madonna University in Livonia through a fund the university set up.
East English is off to a 1-2 start, but the Bulldogs are expected to be a significant factor in the race for the Public School League title.
“I’m content coaching high school basketball,” Rickman said. “I’ve had opportunities to go to the next level. I didn’t like the situation.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit East English boys basketball coach Juan Rickman works with his players during a practice. (Middle) Rickman, with wife Kateena, holds daughter Amira. (Photos courtesy of the Rickman family.)