Changing of the Capital Guard
August 16, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Who would I pick to coach a Lansing area boys basketball Dream Team? Sportswriters get a lot of questions like that, from radio hosts or fans, or roommates who grew up nearby.
To not offend the other coaching friends I’d made in my decade-plus in Lansing, I kept that answer within the roommate circle for a long time – until I decided Okemos' Dan Stolz and Lansing Everett's Johnny Jones were so incredible their colleagues would understand my choice.
I could’ve never picked between them. Their styles different, the results were the same. Both had stars over their decades, but I also saw both do more with less and in ways that regularly went unmatched during the 13 years I was a twice-weekly watcher of high school hoops for the Lansing State Journal.
It’s only a coincidence that both decided to retire from coaching during this same summer. But it’s certainly a double loss for mid-Michigan specifically and the statewide basketball community as a whole.
So why were these guys my Dream Team combo?
- Of course, they won a lot.
According to a report from local HOMTV, Stolz finished with a record of 428-99 at Williamston and then Okemos, where he took over for his father Stan in 1994-95. That win total is only eight more than Dad's, giving the family 828 wins over roughly four decades.
Tracking down Jones’ record wasn’t as easy. But based on the paper trail I’ve been running since I got my start in Lansing, he had 334 wins after the 2003-04 season, which likely means he too finished right around 400 – with a few hundred more leading the Vikings girls.
And they were the kind of standout high school players too whose stories had become legend – Jones for Battle Creek Central once taking down a top-ranked team by himself, while it was said Stolz could still dunk into his 40s after playing for his dad and the Chieftains back in his day.
- They won at the highest levels.
Jones is one of only a handful who has won MHSAA championships with both girls and boys teams – his girls teams won Class A in 2000 and 2001 and his boys won Class A in 2004. Everett’s girls program, by the way, was near-winless just a few years before Jones took over and led it to its first run to a Final in 1999.
Stolz never got his MHSAA title, his Chieftains falling to Saginaw Arthur Hill 85-84 in the 2006 Class A Final – the only MHSAA boys title game ever to go two extra periods. But against what many locals considered long odds, Stolz led Okemos from the cozy Class B-dominated Capital Circuit into the highest division of the Capital Area Activities Conference, where the Chieftains continued to win against the likes of Everett, Lansing Sexton, Lansing Eastern, Holt, Grand Ledge, East Lansing and Jackson in what is arguably the toughest league in the state.
Another interesting “by the way:” Stolz did lead Okemos’ softball (1999) and girls tennis teams (1993) to MHSAA championships.
- They won by doing the things others weren’t.
Jones’ girls teams were loaded with talent – a number of players went on to major college programs – but they were unstoppable because of a fullcourt press that handcuffed opponents and set a trend that others like Lansing Waverly and East Lansing also used to win Class A titles. Jones' best boys teams had an all-state post combo of Derick Nelson and Goran Suton, but still had to contend with Grand Ledge’s Al Horford (now of the Atlanta Hawks) two and three times a season.
And, it must be noted that Jones was one of fewer than 20 coaches who continued coaching both the boys and girls teams even after the girls season was moved from fall to winter for 2007-08.
Stolz similarly had his share of good players – Johnathon Jones maybe the best of all. But again, playing in a league with a number of other similarly-talented players (and in the postseason against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Kalin Lucas and others), Stolz was unmatched in Greater Lansing when it came to gameday strategy. His teams always had a plan, and frequently made it work when the odds seemed stacked against -- which made apparent upsets hardly surprises at all.
Stolz has been replaced by Jeff Wonch, who led Bath to the MHSAA Class C title in 2007. He most recently coached at Potterville. Jones' replacement is former Everett star Desmond Ferguson, who played briefly in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers and was a volunteer assistant for the Vikings last season.
Vander Klay's Dedication to Wyoming Schools Netted 400+ Wins, Trip to Breslin
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
April 6, 2026
WYOMING – Over the past 31 years, it was relatively easy to notice a boys basketball team coached by Thom Vander Klay.
Athletic and tough-nosed players who competed hard while playing an up-tempo offense and in-your-face defense were trademarks of his teams at Wyoming Park and Wyoming High School.
“In some ways, at Wyoming Park, and then Wyoming, our athletes have been very similar through those 31 years of varsity,” Vander Klay said.
“Some teams were more skilled and more athletic than others, but they were the same. We never had big kids. We’ve always had kind of gritty kids that would compete hard and play fast, and we had quite a few of them on every team. That bled into what we did.”
Vander Klay will retire from teaching after 40 years at the end of May, and his time as the longtime basketball coach will end as well.
“It’s been a struggle, and it’s hard because it’s my home,” Vander Klay said. “I live in Wyoming, my kids went to Wyoming and I went to Wyoming (Park). I’m the youngest of three and my older brother and sister were Vikings and that’s who I was. I was Wyoming, and I still am, so it was really difficult to say I was going to step away from things I really enjoyed doing.”
Vander Klay has been coaching for 41 years. He was the junior varsity coach at Wyoming Park before replacing Kelly McEwen in 1995.
When Wyoming Park and Wyoming Rogers merged in 2012, he became the head coach at the new Wyoming High School.
During his tenure, he went 424-274 as a varsity coach and won nine conference championships, six District titles and one Regional title. He also helped coach football and track & field.
“So many memories and so many kids, and you love those kids,” said Vander Klay, who coached his two sons, Brock and Chase. “When I think back to when I started, guys like Jack VerDuin, Ron Engels, Dick Locke, Frank Grimm and Kelly McEwen were great mentors that I had. I go back to those days and blink, and here we are 40 years later and I'm the old guy.”
Vander Klay’s best season came in 2004 at Wyoming Park, led by eventual Michigan State standout Drew Neitzel. The Vikings advanced to the Class B Semifinals, losing to Detroit Renaissance.
Vander Klay was named Class B Coach of the Year and enjoyed his time coaching Neitzel, the Mr. Basketball Award winner who is widely considered one of the best players in program history.
“Drew was so well-rounded,” Vander Klay said. “A great leader, great student, great attitude and just mentally tough and so skilled.
“Coaching him was more about trying to get all five guys on the same page, but those teams that Drew played on, we had good players other than him, too. It wasn't just him because we had other guys who stepped up – but he was the best player in the state.”
Jacob Underhill, Vander Klay’s longtime assistant and junior varsity coach, said Vander Klay has been more than just a mentor.
“He has been the blueprint for the teacher and coach I strive to be,” Underhill said. “He has always been incredibly gracious in sharing his knowledge of the game and his wisdom on how to lead young men. Every decision he makes is filtered through a single focus: doing what is best for the students and athletes of Wyoming.
“While his retirement marks the end of an era, his legacy is undeniable. Since the merger of Wyoming Park and Wyoming Rogers, he has been the heartbeat of the basketball program. He has had a profound impact on my professional career, and I cherish the time we’ve spent serving the community together.”
Underhill has witnessed firsthand the influence Vander Klay has had on former players with whom he has reconnected.
“It’s a true testament to his character,” Underhill said. “He is an exceptional human being who makes everyone around him better and ensures they recognize their own value.”
The 62-year-old Vander Klay is keeping his options open in terms of a return to coaching elsewhere.
“I’ll take some time off and maybe there is something else out there,” he said. “I'm wide open to anything, and maybe I’ll coach again and maybe not. We will see what the future holds.”
Two other longtime Grand Rapids-area coaches also stepped down after longstanding careers on the hardwood.
Unity Christian coach Scott Soodsma retired after 43 years on the sidelines. He won more than 800 games and three MHSAA Finals championships as a boys and girls coach. Soodsma coached his last game in the Division 2 Boys Basketball Final at Breslin Center. The Crusaders lost to Freeland, 42-32.
Sparta boys basketball coach Scott Berry also retired after 34 seasons. He won 245 games at Comstock Park and Sparta.
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) Coach Thom Vander Klay (kneeling) talks to his Wyoming Park team during a break in its 2004 Class B Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Vander Klay (kneeling) coaches his Wyoming High team. (Top photo from MHSAA archives; middle photo submitted by Thom Vander Klay.)