Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 5
January 13, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
With the beginning of January comes the end of holiday basketball showcases and a switch in focus by MHSAA teams toward local opponents, conference races and the haul of the second half of the regular season.
The first week of 2015 saw the ranks of the undefeated decreased by 35 boys teams statewide to 64 remaining, with some listed below among those that caught my eye during the first days of the new year.
Class A
Alpena (6-0) – The Wildcats not only sit alone atop the Big North Conference standings as they look to repeat as champions, but avenged their two losses from last season – by 10 over Traverse City West before break and by 20 over Traverse City Central last week.
Detroit East English (4-2) – The Bulldogs are early leaders in a Detroit Public School League East Division 1 that includes powers Pershing, Cass Tech, Martin Luther King and Southeastern; East English’s current three-game winning streak started with a big win over solid Southfield and includes a five-pointer over better-than-its-record Cass Tech from last week.
Grand Ledge (5-0) – Last season’s somewhat-surprise Capital Area Activities Conference Blue runner-up isn’t sneaking up on anyone this winter; a strong backcourt has paced a fast start that’s included wins over Lansing Sexton on the first Friday of the season and much-improved Jackson by 15 last week.
Middleville Thornapple Kellogg (5-0) – The Trojans have bounced back from last season’s sub-.500 finish thanks in part to four wins by four or fewer points, including a 49-46 victory last week over Caledonia.
Class B
Detroit Henry Ford (7-0) – Ford is off to a strong start again this season after starting and ending strong a year ago; the Trojans look good to avoid the five-game losing streak they encountered at this time last year, although Cass Tech and Pershing are up next.
Dowagiac (4-1) – A one-point loss to Wolverine Conference West leader Paw Paw before break surely smarted a bit, but the Chieftains came back to start 2015 with a 58-55 win over rival Niles; they pick up league play Friday against Berrien Springs.
Flint Northwestern (5-0) – After struggling mightily the last two seasons, Northwestern has begun like the Northwestern of old, with a nine-point win over Midland and 37-pointer over Saginaw Heritage last week keeping the Wildcats among the undefeated.
Williamston (6-1) – Only a loss to Class A Dexter in the championship game of Coldwater’s holiday tournament has kept the Hornets from perfection – and also from beating all of their opponents by double figures as they did last week versus East Lansing and Fowlerville.
Class C
Burton Bendle (6-0) – The Tigers are halfway to last season’s 12 wins and tied for first in the Genesee Area Conference Blue thanks in large part to a 72-67 overtime win last week over New Lothrop, last season’s league runner-up.
Detroit Loyola (5-2) – The newly-crowned Division 7 football champion has been pretty good at basketball too over the years – but has looked better than that early with its only losses by six or fewer points to much bigger Henry Ford and Detroit Renaissance.
Gwinn (4-2) – The Modeltowners have won four straight after two big losses to start and beat Houghton and Norway on back-to-back nights last week – they took the lead against Norway with 31 seconds to play on the way to winning 43-41.
Laingsburg (5-0) – The Wolfpack have made a smooth transition from coach Greg Mitchell (now at Hope College) to Dan Blemaster (formerly coach of Brown City). Laingsburg sits atop the Central Michigan Athletic Conference by a half-game over Fulton-Middleton (see below).
Class D
Fulton-Middleton (5-1) – The Pirates are right behind Laingsburg in the CMAC after having last week’s game against Bath postponed, but did open the week with a 55-53 victory over reigning Class C runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia – one of only three teams to beat Fulton during 2013-14.
Peck (5-1) – The 8-player football power is strong at basketball too, with its only loss to Class B Richmond, 45-41, on Jan. 3. The Pirates lost only once in 2013-14, to eventual Class D champion Southfield Christian in their Quarterfinal.
Morenci (3-1) – The Bulldogs are following their football success of the fall with a nice start to the winter including a one-point win last week over Whitmore Lake after a two-point win to kick off the new year against Gorham-Fayette (Ohio) on Jan. 3.
Onekama (4-0) – The Portagers sit atop the West Michigan D League standings in part because of a two-point win last week over reigning league champion Baldwin; Onekama followed up with another two-point win against Manistee.
PHOTO: Detroit East English defenders block the lane during their 75-70 win over Detroit Cass Tech last week. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League.)
Kings of the Detroit PSL
February 23, 2012
The Detroit Martin Luther King boys basketball team came into this season riding high hopes – and high outside expectations too as many saw the Crusaders among teams to beat in Class A this winter.
And King made good right away, with a 10-1 start that included wins over Detroit Country Day and Bay City Western.
That made the Crusaders' Jan. 20 game at Detroit Pershing arguably the biggest in the Detroit Public School League this regular season -- and King's 87-78 loss to the Doughboys a letdown that spiraled into three losses in four games heading into the PSL Tournament.
“In retrospect, we look at it as almost a blessing in disguise,” King coach Pierre Brooks said. “It was kind of a reality check. We needed to go back to the drawing board, clean up some things as far as strategy. I think we peaked at the right moment.”
It’s tough to argue with that. King avenged that Pershing loss by beating the Doughboys 76-69 in Thursday’s PSL Final at Detroit Mercy’s Calihan Hall. The PSL championship is King’s first since 1999, and the performance earned the team one of Second Half's High 5s this week.
Climbing out of that downturn started with a team meeting. Brooks, for his part, didn't have to do much talking. The Crusaders have eight seniors, led by four-year varsity players Dennis Norfleet and Malik Albert. They were bent on finishing with a flourish instead of a disappointment.
And Brooks had a sound plan. King is known for aggressive man-to-man pressure defense. So in the tournament, Brooks put his team in a zone. That new look seemed to throw off opponents – the Crusaders won their four PSL Tournament games by an average of 10 points, and also avenged an earlier loss to Crockett by beating the Rockets 69-67 in a semifinal.
Albert, who leads the team scoring 23.1 points per game, had 29 in the final including 16 in the fourth quarter. Freshman center William Abbott, who averages 2.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, added 12 and 13, respectively.
Brooks, who also coached under Benny White for three seasons at King before taking over the program last winter, said his players have begun to come down from the celebration and refocus on their next goal. They host their Class A District beginning March 5. And on the other side of the bracket is Detroit Southeastern, which also beat King last month and in the District Final a year ago.
“We’ve got guys who have been on varsity the last four years … (and) they’ve been through it all in terms of highs and lows,” Brooks said. “They constantly talk about how they want to end their senior year. They’ve got that desire and passion.”
PHOTO courtesy of the Detroit Public Schools League.