Data Dig Continues for Hoops Histories

March 7, 2017

By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half

There is a list – well actually two – that sit, unfinished, among the “1,001 Projects I’d Like to Complete Before I Die.”

I became the caretaker of these lists back when I inherited the title “Historian for the MHSAA” in 1993.

The original lists contained the scores of all MHSAA Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final round games for the MHSAA boys and girls basketball tournaments since their origin.

From the 1930s into the late 1960s, the MHSAA tournament game-day program was generally nothing more than a single sheet document, containing tournament brackets and team rosters for the qualifiers.

In 1969, the program saw a redesign by Lansing sports personality Tim Staudt and premiered at the MHSAA Tournament. Sold for 50 cents, it included a list of “Past Michigan State Champions” containing the names of the winning teams and those schools’ basketball coaches for each of the four classes. The publication also included a couple of articles from Dick Kishpaugh, the author of the champions list. Kishpaugh was identified as “Sports Information Director at Kalamazoo College and … perhaps the most knowledgeable historian on Michigan high school basketball.”

With the start of the Girls Basketball Tournament in 1973, a similar program design was followed.

Those lists were faithfully updated and published in the game-day programs in the same format until the 1987-88 school year, when the souvenir publications were expanded. For the first time, a list containing opponents and final scores of the boys and girls championship games was now available to the general public.

Among the first tasks I chose to approach when I assumed the duties of MHSAA historian was to chase more information.

Since Kishpaugh’s lists had game scores for the three final rounds of the tournament,  and names of the championship coaches, I thought I would try to leave my mark. I began chasing down the names of coaches for the runner-up, as well as final win-loss records for both schools. And while I was at it, I decided to see what I could find for teams that made the Quarterfinals and Semifinals.

Hundreds of hours have gone into adding to and maintaining the lists, and much progress has been made. Yet, some 20+ years later, I’m still trying to fill holes in the data.

The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan helped spread the word, notifying its membership of the project. Web pages were created for both the boys and girls to show teams still missing information.

The pursuit has led to friendships, and fascinating stories, documents and images. The late Walter Michael, who had attended the MHSAA Finals for more than 60 years, donated a cache of MHSAA tournament programs from the 1940s through the 1960s that filled in the names of many high school coaches. Del Newell, a sports writer from the Kalamazoo Gazette, knocked out most of the Kalamazoo schools early in my search. Bill Khan, then of the Flint Journal sports department, filled in a large number of missing names and records from the Flint area. The recently retired “Son of Swami,” better known as Mick McCabe, contributed by including the win-loss records of the quarterfinalists in his annual tournament prognostication columns for the Detroit Free Press.  

Numerous coaches around the state sent e-mails and letters with the names and records for their predecessors. Prep basketball fans and former players sent along offerings. Rob Madsen from Mt. Pleasant became a huge contributor, and sent regular updates to both lists. He focused on some of the state’s smallest schools, including many from the Upper Peninsula.

Leon Westover sent the win-loss record for little Marlette, 1951 Class C runner-up, as well as one of my favorite photos from that golden era of prep sports. Marlette had “waltzed through the Mid-Thumb League and district, regional and quarter-final tournament games,” wrote Fred J. Vincent of the Port Huron Times-Herald. Marlette slipped past Stanton 41-37 to advance to the Class C title game against unbeaten Detroit St. Andrew.  

“Just one game too many …,” continued Vincent, writing from East Lansing’s Jenison Field House following the title game. “That just about explains the one-sided beating Marlette absorbed in the state class C high school basketball final here Saturday afternoon. The final score was 52-26. … One of the smallest teams, physically, in the tournament, it seemed that the Raiders were just worn out.”

Yet, that night, the team was celebrated like the hometown heroes they really were.

Westover’s photo shows the Red Raiders on the night of the Final, gathered at Teale’s Restaurant in Marlette. The clock indicates its 11:30. The owner, George Teale, has opened up his restaurant for the team to cook them steaks in honor of their achievement. Coach Nieland "Tommy" Thompson and his 22-2 squad look happy, ready to celebrate a long season.

At tournament time, these lists help answer media requests that arise.

Question: When was the last time two undefeated teams met for an MHSAA Finals championship?

Answer: 2003-Class A for the girls. Detroit Martin Luther King topped Flint Northern 58-53. 1971-Class C for the boys. Shelby downed Stockbridge 71-57.

Question: What coach had the longest span between championship game appearances?

Answer: Eddie Powers, coach of Detroit Northern, went 34 years between his Class A championship team in 1930 and his runner-up squad in 1964. The mark is asterisked, however, as the Detroit Public School League chose to stop participation in the annual state tournament from 1931 through 1961. Saginaw’s Larry Laeding went 20 years between winning the 1942 Class A championship and his squad’s 1962 Class A title. Maple City Glen Lake coach Don Miller went 19 seasons between the school’s 1977 Class D title and its 1996 runner-up finish, also in Class D.

For the girls, both Mary Cicerone at Bloomfield Hills Marian and Carl Wayer at Ashley went 16 seasons between appearances. While Cicerone’s Marian teams have made seven visits to the Finals and have won six Class A titles, 16 years elapsed between Marian’s 1998 and 2014 Class A championships. Marian then captured a second consecutive title in 2015. Coach Wayer advance two teams to the title game. Ashley finished as runner-up in Class D in 1980 and again in Class D in 1996. The loss in 1996 came in overtime, and was the only defeat for Ashley that season.

Michigan’s high school basketball tournaments are an experience shared, mostly unchanged, since their beginnings. At the end of the regular season, everyone qualifies for the madness. Yet in the end, only four teams finish as champions. The path mimics the magical trail taken by fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers. Qualifying for the Quarterfinals is still a huge triumph, as the round brings together only 32 teams from a field of more than 700 boys teams and more than 650 girls teams.

In my eyes, these lists emphasize that remarkable, undiluted achievement. In a world consumed with trophies and the number “1,” perhaps it is time to step back and celebrate this rare journey.

Click for Ron Pesch's data "Needs Lists" for girls basketball and boys basketball.

Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.

PHOTOS: (Top) Marlette's 1951 boys basketball team gathers for dinner at a local restaurant after the Class C Final. (Middle top) The 1969 Boys Finals saw the addition of updated tournament programs. (Middle below) The 1977 Girls Finals program told of the teams that would meet at Jenison Field House. (Below) The 1947 Boys Finals program was among many that helped fill in data gaps from the early years of the tournament. (Photos provided by Ron Pesch.)

Senior-Freshman Combo has Hackett Catholic Prep Surging Toward Postseason

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

February 18, 2025

KALAMAZOO – Senior captain Addie Smucker is a stats stuffer who rarely leaves the floor.

Southwest CorridorFreshman Lucy Young already set a school record, scored a triple-double and received her first Division I college offer.

The veteran and the rookie phenom are instrumental in Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s amazing basketball season.

“This team has done more than we expected them to do,” coach Erin Gallagher said. “Our expectations were set with (our previous) teams.

“With Lucy coming in this year, you don’t count on your freshman leading scoring, averaging 23 points a game and (scoring) a school-record 41 against Kalamazoo Christian.”

The Irish take a 16-2 record and 14-game winning streak into the final weeks of the regular season, hoping to carry their success into MHSAA District play next month.

Smucker is the most consistent on the team, averaging 8.7 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals a game. She and Natalie Burhans are the only seniors on the team.

“Addie’s steals and assists turn to points for other girls,” Gallagher said.

Smucker averages 28 minutes a game, and it is not unusual to see her on the court all 32 minutes.

Smucker (2) takes on a pair of defenders during the Irish’s Feb. 7 win over Lawton. “If she didn’t get in foul trouble, she’d probably have more 32-minute games,” Gallagher added, smiling. “Over half her games, she’s played all 32 minutes in four years.”

At 6-foot-2, Young is the tallest player on the team, and if she continues scoring her average, could hit the 500-point mark by the end of the season and reach the magical 1,000-point career milestone during her sophomore year.

“Lucy’s biggest adjustment has been defense,” Gallagher said. “As a scorer, she comes in as a senior but as a defender she comes in a little bit like a freshman because (she hasn’t) played the fast pace like (varsity).”

Young said she had no idea she would start her high school hoops career on varsity.

“I was so nervous,” she said. “My first game (Smucker) asked if I was ready, and I told her I was so nervous.

“It was honestly nerve-wracking, but I know I can lean on my teammates and they can help me through the game. It’s been a really fun season.”

Young did not realize she set a school record with her 41 points against Kalamazoo Christian, a game that Smucker iced with a free throw during the final seconds.

The 56-55 win was the first for the Irish over K-Christian in four years (nine games).

“When they post me up, it’s a little easier to score,” Young said. “I do like to block shots, very carefully, of course. 

Young (34) gets to the basket against Lawton. “I always know where (Addie) is on the court and if I’m stuck in the post, I can pass it back to her. She has a great shot. Whenever she steals the ball, I know I can just run down the court and she can pass it to me, so I feel we complement each other well.”

Young’s triple-double came in a 55-31 win over Maple City Glen Lake when she recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals.

Young said her strengths include “driving to the basket and posting up, using my height as an advantage to score. Maybe a little bit of passing, too. I can sometimes find some people in the corner and they can shoot it.”

Putting up such impressive numbers, Young has attracted the attention of several college coaches and got her first scholarship offer from Division I Western Michigan.

“ I was so proud, so happy,” she said. “That’s something I was working for because I really want to play in college.

“That’s my dream. It just felt like all the stars aligned. It was so cool. I was so happy.”

Young played volleyball in the fall and said that helped her get in shape for basketball.

“Volleyball can be fast-paced, but you don’t really move a lot,” she said. “I stay up at the net most of the time, so I only move side to side.

“Basketball is also fast-paced, but you’re sprinting, changing direction.”

Although Smucker is making her mark on the basketball team, soccer is her first love. She earned third-team all-state honors her sophomore year and first team last year.

“I’d say basketball is harder to get ready for because it’s more quick-paced,” Smucker said. “In soccer, you’re still running but it’s for a longer distance.”

She said she brings a common strength to her two sports.

“I feel like I’m a good passer,” she said. “In basketball, I’m always looking for Lucy and the same with soccer.

Gallagher is celebrated on-court after his 100th win.“That’s one thing I translate from both, looking for my teammates, the good pass.”

The team’s success also led to a milestone for Gallagher.

Hackett’s victory over Schoolcraft on Jan. 31 was the coach’s 100th varsity win, all at Hackett.

“I didn’t know even where I was at until two years ago when we made the (Division 4) Quarterfinals and had to turn in our stats to the MHSAA. I was 70-something,” he said. “Last year we won 16 and (during this season) coach Jared Butler asked where I was at and it was 97, so then I was keeping track from there. I didn’t want to miss that.”

While Young is getting much of the attention, Gallagher points out that everyone on the team is contributing.

“We don’t win those last few games without Addie putting in 10 points, (junior) Leah Smith putting in 10 points a game, (junior) Marissa Toweson’s hitting some big shots for us, timely shots.

“(Junior) Erin Cook has probably sacrificed more than anyone this year. As a freshman, we brought her up halfway through the season because we needed a post player and she just played defense and scored when she was able. Her defense and her rebounding have been incredible for us.

“Everybody has played very well all year. (Junior) Bethany Carpenter can score two points a game and have the biggest impact on the game. She is on the other team’s best player every single game.”

Young is not the only tall player in the lineup. Junior Lily Arechiga is 6 feet, Cook 5-11, and Smucker and Carpenter each 5-10. 

“They’re all really good teammates,” Gallagher said. “I think this is the best group I’ve had. They all get along, which makes it easier to coach.”

Pam ShebestPam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS (Top) From left, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep's Addie Smucker, coach Erin Gallagher and Lucy Young chat during a recent practice. (2) Smucker (2) takes on a pair of defenders during the Irish’s Feb. 7 win over Lawton. (3) Young (34) gets to the basket against Lawton. (4) Gallagher is celebrated on-court after his 100th win. (Top photo by Pam Shebest. Action photos by Chris Ogrin. Gallagher celebration photo by Rachel Ogrin.)