Highlight Reel: Class A Semifinals
March 27, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director
Saginaw Arthur Hill and Detroit Western International advanced to the MHSAA Class A Boys Basketball Final with Semifinal wins Friday at the Breslin Center.
Click below for highlights from all four teams that took the court.
Saginaw Arthur Hill 73, Lansing Everett 61
Get That Outta Here! - Willie Rogers of Saginaw Arthur Hill comes up with a monster shot block during the third quarter against Lansing Everett.
Manual Fast Break Dunk - Trevor Manuel led Lansing Everett with 19 points against Saginaw Arthur Hill, including two on this fourth-quarter fast-break jam.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Detroit Western 55, Detroit U-D Jesuit 46
Neely Flies Downcourt - Brailen Neely led Detroit Western with 16 points in its Class A Semifinal win over Detroit U-D Jesuit, with two coming on this dash downcourt after a rebound.
Winston Drives & Scores - Cassius Winston of Detroit U-D Jesuit led all scorers in this Class A Semifinal with 21 points. Here he scores on a drive to the basket.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
PHOTO: Western’s Josh McFolley drives hard in an effort to get past Jesuit’s Gary Collins during their Semifinal.
River Rouge Star Wilburn Remembered
By
John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus
October 19, 2016
One of the captains from the legendary boys basketball teams of the early 1960s at River Rouge passed away earlier this month.
Ken Wilburn, 72, a forward on the 1961 and 1962 teams that were part of a since-unequaled streak in Michigan high school basketball – five consecutive MHSAA championships – accomplished what was thought to be the first triple-double in Finals history in the 1962 Class B championship game against East Grand Rapids.
Wilburn scored 26 points – 13 in the third period – to go with 15 rebounds and 11 steals in a 69-39 win, a game Coach Lofton Greene said “was his best ever.”
Wilburn would go on to lead Central State University (Ohio) to a 30-0 record and the NAIA national championship in 1965, when he was named the title game’s Most Valuable Player. He earned All-America honors and finished his career as the school’s scoring leader.
During a 13-year journeyman professional career, Wilburn played in the NBA, the ABA and in the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League/Eastern Basketball Association. He played on three championship teams in the EPBL/EBA and was a league MVP on two occasions.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ken Wilburn (25) poses with his teammates after the 1962 Class B championship game victory. (Middle) Wilburn works to gather a loose ball from an East Grand Rapids player.