Constantine Looks to Build on Comeback
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
December 7, 2015
On one of the last summer days in town before leaving for college, Joey Steiner and Cody Ley spotted some youngsters on the east side of Constantine playing basketball in the street on a portable hoop. They stopped and played 2-on-4 with the boys.
The group of eighth-graders talked about how they were going to keep a reignited Falcons basketball program burning hot. That legacy Steiner and Ley, two outgoing seniors who helped fuel the Falcons to an unimaginable turnaround in 2014-15, and their classmates left behind means more than being named Associated Press Class C all-state honorable mentions.
“They told us that they were going to keep it going and they were going to go further than we did,” said Ley, a post player who developed a dangerous inside-outside game over the last two seasons and earned a scholarship at Lake Michigan Community College. “We were like, ‘You guys better, and we’ll be there to work with and support you guys, too.’ That’s one of my biggest things I’m proud of.”
Constantine had just one win in 2013-14, but head coach Chuck Frisbie knew he had a group of dedicated players that was going to surprise folks in 2014-15.
The Falcons did just that, finishing with a 21-3 record after a loss to New Buffalo in the MHSAA Regional Semifinals.
Constantine looks this winter to replace Ley’s 16 points and 12 rebounds per game, as well as the 14 points and four assists per contest by Steiner, who now plays at Goshen College.
Frisbie, last year’s Associated Press Class C Coach of the Year, knows this year’s team will look quite a bit different as it transitions from the now-defunct Kalamazoo Valley Association to the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Different isn’t bad, however.
The Falcons return seniors Anthony Bontrager, Tyler Shank, Noah Beegle, Travis Brown, Brian Doering and Devin Knight. Juniors Evan Herschbach, Anthony Evilsizor, Charles Hamilton, Bryce Corte and Ryan Miller join the varsity fold, and 6-foot-4, springy freshman Seth Wright is expected to make an immediate impact.
Of those players, 10 are 6-foot-1 or taller — a pretty big lineup compared to recent Constantine squads.
“I think we can protect the basket,” Frisbie said. “I think we’re young. (Defense) is my biggest concern this year. Travis, Tyler and Brian can really play defense. I think we can put a crew out there that can play defense, although I don’t know if it is necessarily our best offensive group. We’re going to try to find that right mix.”
Frisbie isn’t putting too much pressure on rookie Wright, but the freshman has tremendous size for a guard and the skills to match.
“Seth is one of those kids that could be a special kid,” Frisbie said. “Honestly, if he’s open, we’re going to let him shoot. He’s the kind of kid that can go to the basket and dunk pretty easily, too. He has to learn how to play defense. More than anything, he has to be able to get wider, rebound and play good defense. If he can do those things, he’s going to be hard to get off the floor.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Anthony Bontrager (11) looks to get to the baseline during a game last season. (Middle) Constantine secures a rebound in a game against Kalamazoo Christian. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)
MHSA(Q&A): Flint Beecher boys basketball coach Mike Williams
March 30, 2012
Mike Williams had brought Flint Beecher to the MHSAA Semifinals at Michigan State's Breslin Center at the end of both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, and also coached the team that made the Class C Final in 2008. All three times the Buccaneers had to settle with great runs, but losses to end them.
But not Saturday.
Beecher and Williams capped one of the best season's in MHSAA history, becoming the 12th team to finish with 28 wins and claiming the Class C championship. Beecher finished with a perfect record, and the championship was the Bucs' first since claiming the Class B title in 1987.
Williams graduated from Grand Blanc High in 1994 before then getting degrees at Ferris State and Eastern Michigan University. He's led Beecher to a 138-61 record over the last eight seasons, and had some powerful things to say after Saturday's win, both about the Bucs' legacy but also about what the win could mean to the entire Flint community.
"I’m just overwhelmed with excitement. Very humbled by this entire process, by this entire season, by the way our kids performed. Just fortunate to be a part of this. We put in a lot of work to get here. It feels unbelievable. I really can’t describe it with words.
"I know we did everything the right way. And we worked from the ground up"
This is the third time in school history (Beecher) finished with an undefeated season. You yopped the last two teams by one game. How does it feel for you guys to do this?
"It’s incredible. The only thing that I can say is we’ve got the full support of all the Beecher alumni, all the supporters that came out. … Everybody was pulling for us to do this. Like I said, it’s humbling to be considered and to be known right up there with all those great teams that have played in the past at Beecher. And to add to the legacy of Beecher, that’s the main thing.
With all things you guys have been through up to this point, not even just basketball, but off the court, on the court, talk about the feeling you guys have to be able to finish it on top and be able to celebrate a victory.
"I think with the things that our kids have gone through and the things our community has gone through, for me this is more than about basketball. This is about these kids' lives. I feel like I’m their father. The toughest part is that this is over. I won’t get to coach Antuan (Burks) anymore. I won’t get to coach Montana (Gooch) anymore. These are like my sons. I put more into their lives than into basketball. We revert everything back to their lives.
"Because you’re looking at some kids that overcome some things that you can never imagine. For them to make it here and accomplish this, it's setting a standard for all the kids in our city that we don’t have to act up. We can achieve. We can be successful. Because too many bad things are going on in our city, and I want these kids to be representatives of our city, of their generation turning around and being positive. And that’s been the biggest thing. It’s been about their lives. For them to accomplish this, it doesn’t even compare to the things they’ve overcome in their lives.
"So we just want to bring it back home and show everybody we can be successful. We don’t have to be in the streets. We don’t have to do things that are getting written about in paper that Flint is known for. Let’s get back to being successful. And our community and the whole Flint area, everybody supported us. Not just Beecher. That’s what I’m more proud of -- that we get to bring some positive attention to our area."