Improved Dundee Enjoys Memorable Start
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 12, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Dundee boys basketball team has stacked up a pair of accomplishments already this winter – one to enjoy right now, and another to take pride in for years to come.
The Vikings, after finishing last season 10-11, are off to an 8-0 start this winter. The early run has included a 67-64 win on Dec. 15 over Onsted, last year’s Lenawee County Athletic Association champion.
The significance of that accomplishment is easy for players to get, especially since the majority of this year’s rotation went through the growing pains of last season. But the historic meaning of the win that came after Onsted probably will take some more time to sink in – even as it’s bound to be one of the most lasting achievements of these players’ careers.
Dundee’s 60-50 win over Carleton Airport on Dec. 20 was the 1,000th victory in program history, making the Vikings one of at least 12 in Michigan high school history to have reached that milestone and the first from Monroe County.
“I don’t think at their age they understand how big of an accomplishment that is – that you’d basically have to go undefeated 50 straight years to get to 1,000,” said second-year coach Jordan Bollin, who is in his 11th season total as a coach in the southeast part of the state. “We tried to explain it to them, and I think they do (get it more) now.”
Dundee is the Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for December in part for both headlining moments this season, pulling off its first five wins during that first month and seven of eight so far by double figures.
The Vikings are paced by six seniors, including four who start alongside junior Ben Miller, who also started last season as a sophomore and leads with team with 12.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. To make this season's jump, they put in the necessary time; Bollin said he held four-player workouts three times a week during the offseason, in addition to the players honing their skills during open gyms and over a busy summer.
Bollin also emphasized that while the program has undergone a system change – introducing a more free-flowing offense and shorter practices this winter – it’s maintained the same culture of toughness that exists throughout the community and is often most recognizable with the school’s best-known team – a wrestling program that has won three of the last four MHSAA Division 3 championships.
“I’ve coached at a couple places, and the kids at Dundee are tougher bred,” said Bollin, who graduated from Temperance Bedford, then assisted there and at Blissfield before coming to Dundee as an assistant three seasons ago. “I don’t know how to explain it. The parents do a great job of raising them. A lot of the parents played at Dundee, and it’s a well-versed culture there. It’s a very tough community … and it’s always ‘Yes coach. No coach,’ very respectful kids.
“The wrestling program sets the tone, and if our kids ever get tired or feel that our practice is tough, we ask, ‘Do you want to go wrestle?’ Tim (Roberts) is one of the best coaches probably in the nation, and they probably outwork any team in any sport in the state, and I can say that in confidence.”
It’s certainly worth noting that Dundee’s basketball program also is making this impressive run sharing winter athletes with that wrestling program in a school of just under 500 students. That might make the Vikings’ basketball depth notable as well; Bollin said in 11 seasons he’s never had a team with this many contributors, as six players have scored at least 13 points in a game. Senior guard Brayden Federer is another top scorer, pouring in 12 points per game while also serving as the leading lockdown defender.
For Dundee’s next game after winning 1,000, against Flat Rock on Dec. 22, the Vikings welcomed the school’s 1987-88 team that advanced to the Class C Semifinals and is considered the program’s best of all-time (Dundee’s 1937-38 team also made the Class C Semifinals, but no team has won a Regional title since 1988). Those past players were recognized with an on-court ceremony and visited the locker room before the game to meet the current players before these Vikings went on to a 44-30 win to close the month.
Bollin had an idea before this season that this team might be lined up for a special run too. So far it’s included a couple of meaningful accomplishments, and the Vikings hope they’re just getting started.
“We’re a starless team … and even in my second year, I’m improved as a coach. We’re prepared for anything they see, but a lot of it is on them,” Bollin said of his players. “People take it for granted, that experience, but it’s a big deal. These guys don’t get rattled much this year. Last year if a team switched defenses on them, it would set them back a couple of plays.
“(And) we’re a really close-knit unit, and they don’t let each other slack. It’s easy to coach when you have a team like that.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2016-17
November: Rockford girls swimming & diving - Report
October: Rochester girls golf - Report
September: Breckenridge football - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Dundee’s Tyler Turner looks to get past an Onsted defender during the Vikings’ three-point win last month. (Middle) Dundee players and coaches commemorate the program’s 1,000th win after defeating Carleton Airport. (Photos courtesy of the Dundee boys basketball program.)
Work Ethic Continues to Drive Van Dyk's Endeavors as Co-Owner of Family Farm
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 4, 2026
Matt Van Dyk’s work ethic was always easy to spot, even for those not spending every day at Imlay City’s basketball practices.
“The only way he could get out of work in the summer was for church or basketball, nothing else,” Imlay City boys basketball coach Don Gauthier said. “We would have summer league games in Flint or wherever we were playing, and he would show up five minutes before tip off, covered in mud, dirt, or whatever he was doing on the farm, and with no excuses, would come out there and play as hard as anybody. That work ethic, it was contagious to everybody else.”
That work ethic was born in the fields at Van Dyk Farms, grew through his time on the court for Imlay City and eventually Michigan State, and continues to serve him in his role as part owner of that same family farm, which serves as one of the largest produce suppliers in the eastern United States.
“I’ve had some phenomenal coaches in my life,” Van Dyk said. “My high school coach was Don Gauthier, and he really instilled work ethic into us. I think his favorite quote was, ‘Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.’ When I think about high school, just that work ethic of working hard every day really helped with being at the college level, but also with farming. And, really, I’ve been blessed to have role models that have all echoed that same mentality. My high school coach, my junior college (St. Clair County Community College) coach Dale Vos, and at Michigan State with coach (Tom) Izzo, plus my father, Doug Van Dyk.”
Matt Van Dyk, a 2012 Imlay City graduate, returned home to the 1,000-acre family vegetable farm after graduating with his agri-business degree from MSU in 2017.
While he’s officially one of the owners, he said his unofficial title is field operations, as he oversees planting, growing and harvest operations.
“I’m the person they call when something’s broken down, or they need to know what field to go into next,” he said.
Van Dyk has immersed himself in the Imlay City community since his return, joining the township board for a while, as well as his church council. He’s also giving back as an athlete, helping with the basketball program. His wife, Rachel, who played volleyball at MSU, was the varsity girls volleyball coach at Imlay City for three seasons and still works with clubs in the area.
“The Bible says that to who much is given, much is expected, and I’ve been given a lot, more so than I deserve,” he said. “The opportunity to play at Michigan State, not many people get that opportunity. For me, to be able to use that and give back is what we’re called to do. With the farm, too. I have the opportunity to work on a family business, and some people will say that you’re starting on second base – well there’s a lot that’s expected from me with this opportunity that I’m given. That is where my true worth comes from; it doesn’t come from personal success, it comes from what our team here at Van Dyk farms can accomplish.”
While Van Dyk describes his time at MSU as an opportunity he was given, the reality is it was one he fought long and hard to earn.
After becoming an all-state selection in Class B and Blue Water Area Conference MVP at Imlay City, he originally went to Hope College after high school but transferred to SC4 following one semester.
During his lone year there, he was named the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Eastern Conference Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-MCCAA and National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII All-Defense.
That earned him scholarship offers from in-state Division II programs, but he chose instead to walk-on at MSU and follow his dream of playing for the Spartans. At worst, he thought, he would graduate with a top-notch degree in the field he wanted.
Of course, he ended up with much more than that. After two years as a walk-on, Van Dyk earned a scholarship for his final season at MSU. He wound up playing in 53 games during his career, starting four during the 2016-17 season.
“I guess while you’re in it, it’s just work,” he said. “You put your head down, take it one day at a time. Looking back and seeing how there are no days off in life, you’re like, ‘OK, maybe that was pretty awesome what I did.’ I got to go to Italy, got to go to Madison Square Garden, got to play at Duke, got to travel the world.”
He also went viral.
While work ethic was what pushed Van Dyk to reach his dreams, he was also a remarkable athlete, possessing one of the best vertical leaps on the roster. That came out in a game against Ohio State his junior season, during which he threw down a massive dunk off an alley-oop. The play made the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10.
“That’s not my style of play at all,” Van Dyk said with a laugh. “Dunking, that’s what got me on the team, was my athleticism. But being flashy, that’s not my thing. It’s a funny way to work things out, and I’m forever indebted to Alvin Ellis for throwing it off the backboard.”
Now, as Van Dyk is back in Imlay City with his wife and two young daughters with another on the way in November, he’s putting his head down to better his family’s business and the community at large. All while continuing to set the right example for the next potential athlete willing to work for what he earned.
“They see him, and he played at Michigan State, and there’s his picture on the wall,” Gauthier said. “Most young kids have big dreams, and they have a guy right there in their hometown that did it. They look up to that. For the athlete and basketball player he is, he’s just a better person. He’s very humble, he doesn’t act big time toward anybody. That’s even more impressive.”
2026 Made In Michigan
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Matt Van Dyk puts up a jumper for Imlay City. At right, Van Dyk and his daughters enjoy a moment in one of his family’s fields. (Photos provided by Matt Van Dyk.)