As Jamison Leads PHN's Win Chase, Stats Follow at Record-Setting Pace
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 12, 2022
There were plenty of factors surrounding Tyler Jamison’s recent record-breaking performance that made it special.
The Port Huron Northern junior scored 47 points against Troy Athens on Dec. 30, breaking the school’s single-game record, previously held by Northern legend and Jamison family friend Joel Whymer. The game was part of the annual St. Clair County Community College Holiday Showcase, which Whymer’s late father, Jim, played a crucial role in starting.
And all 47 points were absolutely necessary, as they came during a 60-57 win.
“It’s amazing,” Jamison said. “The Whymer family, they’re awesome, top to bottom. I love them all. Mr. Whymer passing away (in September of 2020) was difficult for all of us. To do it like that in a close game that we won, and in that atmosphere at SC4, it was awesome.”
As Jamison nears the midpoint of his junior season, he’s on pace to break more records at Northern and further cement his status as one of the program’s all-time greats. He’s averaging 30.7 points per game in leading the Huskies to a 4-3 start, which puts him on pace to break Whymer’s single-season points record of 623. Through Tuesday night’s win against Utica, Jamison has scored 834 career points, putting him on pace to surpass Whymer’s career total of 1,193, set in 2003.
Collecting records isn’t Jamison’s focus, however.
“I’ve watched his highlights, and he was ridiculous,” Jamison said of Whymer. “I haven’t really thought about it like, ‘Oh, I gotta get this number.’ My goal is to go out and do what it takes to win. Obviously, everyone wants to hold a record, but I’m not going to be out there taking extra shots in garbage time. If it’s going to happen, I want it to happen naturally, because that’s what Joel was doing. He wasn’t chasing points, he was chasing wins.”
Jamison was a varsity starter as a freshman, but he was surrounded by a veteran core that allowed him to ease into his role with the team.
“More than the basketball aspect, those guys were just awesome,” he said. “Every freshman on varsity is going to have ups and downs, and after games, those guys were just awesome to me. It was kind of like a big brother thing. They still text me and ask me how the games are going. And from the basketball aspect of it, I always had guys to lean on.”
In each of the past two seasons, Jamison’s role has grown. The 6-foot-5 guard became the team’s dominant ball-handler as a sophomore, and he’s proven he can do much more than score. He averaged 11.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game a year ago, and he’s once again pulling down nearly 10 rebounds per game this season.
“The mindset is always to be the best basketball player that I can be,” Jamison said. “I don’t think about, ‘Well, my role is this.’ I was just kind of working to be the best basketball player that I can be -- getting shots up, lifting. I’ve been fortunate that I have a lot of good players around me.”
His ability and production have caught the eyes of college scouts, and both Grand Valley State University and Saginaw Valley State University have offered him scholarships.
“It’s been a dream of mine to play college basketball my entire life,” Jamison said. “I’ve been very grateful for all the coaches that have recruited me. It means a lot to me. But I still have a long way to go.”
As Jamison climbs through the Northern record books, he’ll also put himself ahead of his uncles, Matt and Scott, who are among the program’s top all-time scorers. His father, Brian, has been the Northern coach for more than 20 years, and played on the 1990-91 Northern team that advanced to the Class A Quarterfinals – one of two teams in program history to do so.
“I’ve been in this program since, I believe, 1987, and I know so many of the guys that have come through, and (Tyler’s) in that room,” Brian Jamison said. “There have been so many good players here, so many accomplished people. He fits that mold of a great player and a great kid, and that means a lot. It’s been great to see him come through.”
Tyler said making his mark on the program he grew up with has been a dream come true.
“Ever since I’ve been I don’t know how old, I’ve been sitting on the bench, dribbling around and getting everyone waters,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘I can’t wait until I’m out there. I can’t wait until I’m in the blue and gold.’ It’s something that I really wanted to do, and it’s been great to be able to play with my friends. A lot of the guys on the team, they live in our neighborhood.”
His senior season could include playing with someone who grew up even closer – his younger brother Alex, who is in the eighth grade.
“I think it would be fun,” Tyler said. “I love Alex, and he’s a really good player. I think if I get the opportunity to play with him next year, we’ll make the most of it.”
While Brian Jamison stressed that Alex would have to earn the opportunity to play varsity as a freshman, he is on a path very similar to that of his older brother. Earlier this season, Alex set the Fort Gratiot Middle School record for points in a game at 53, edging his older brother by one. But Tyler is quick to point out one important difference in those games.
“But my team won, and his lost,” Tyler said. “I still say that I have the important record because of that.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Port Huron Northern’s Tyler Jamison (32) makes a move toward the basket against Troy Athens on Dec. 30. (Middle) Jamison pulls up for a jumper over a pair of defenders. (Below) The Northern junior dunks for two of his 47 points. (Photos by John Bowns.)
Baldwin's Back in Title Mix with High-Scoring Pair, Guided by Past Star Home Again
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
January 14, 2026
BALDWIN – Baldwin’s basketball team is off to its best start in years, thanks to a 1-2 backcourt punch that most teams can’t handle.
Senior Chase Dockery and junior Pierre “Pip” Johnson are lighting up the scoreboard for the Panthers, who are off to a 9-1 start at the regular-season halfway point and heading into Friday’s West Michigan D League showdown at Bear Lake.
“We realized this summer how special we could be,” said Dockery, a 6-foot-4 guard/forward who is averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game.
“Our secret is the way that we communicate and move the ball. We know that we can make a run this year.”
Baldwin, a small village in Lake County located on M-37, roughly between Grand Rapids and Traverse City, is known as a camping, fishing and hunting paradise for three seasons – with basketball taking center stage in the winter.
The community’s obsession with hoops is apparent when you check out the banners in Baldwin’s classic, old-school gym. One small section contains football, baseball and track banners, while the entire opposite wall is covered with boys basketball banners, highlighted by the Panthers’ Class D runner-up finish in 1959.
“Basketball is everything here; it’s all that we’ve got,” explained Johnson, the team’s leading scorer at 20 points per game.
Orchestrating the basketball resurgence is second-year coach Brandon Childress, one of the top athletes to ever come out of Baldwin and a first-team Class D all-state selection in both football and basketball during his senior year of 2014-2015. He also was named the state’s Division 4 Player of the Year in basketball as a senior.
Childress went on to play football, first at Central Michigan and later at Ferris State, then decided to return to his hometown to coach and also to work as Baldwin’s full-time college access and Promise Zone coordinator – helping kids prepare to go on to college and beyond.
“I come to school in the morning, and I’m a mentor and a coach to all of these kids all day long,” said Childress, 28, who also coaches baseball and football, the latter as an assistant to his younger brother, Braeden, the Panthers’ head varsity coach.
The old gym was rocking last Friday night, when Mesick rolled into town for a conference showdown.
Johnson, a lightning-quick, 6-0 point guard, was unstoppable driving to the basket, finishing with a game-high 28 points in the Panthers’ 61-50 win.
“My role is to be aggressive and to be able to go get a basket when we really need one,” said Johnson, who also averages six rebounds, three assists and three steals per game.
When Johnson does miss a shot, or is forced to give it up, Dockery is often there for a bucket.
The lanky lefty, who is equally comfortable shooting from behind the arc or battling inside, is a four-year varsity starter who leads the team in rebounding and also averages 2.7 steals and two assists per game. He was a key part of the Panthers’ conference and District championships as a freshman.
Baldwin finished 13-11 last year in its first under Childress, who took over from JJ Eads, who coached for five years and remains the school’s athletic director.
The Panthers returned all but one player from last year’s team, led by Johnson, a first-team all-conference choice, and Dockery, who was second-team all-league.
Childress said his team has already seen a variety of gimmick defenses designed to stop the Johnson and Dockery duo (with more to come), and he knows the key to his team making a postseason run will be the play of the supporting cast.
“With Pierre and Chance driving the basketball and drawing a lot of attention, our other guys will get open looks and we need them to knock those down,” said Childress, who made the Mid-American Conference all-academic team at CMU in 2016.
Junior Kyrce Cook (nine points) and sophomore Desafiar Lyons (eight points) both stepped up and took advantage of their opportunities against Mesick. Another key player is 6-4 senior Marcus Martin, who is returning from an injury and just getting back up to speed.
Baldwin’s only loss came against Blanchard Montabella (65-57) in the opening game of the Morley Stanwood Holiday Tournament on Jan. 2. The Panthers missed a staggering 13 free throws in the fourth quarter, but it was the team’s reaction to the loss which made an impression on their young coach.
“When we got back to Baldwin, they begged me to open the gym so that they could shoot free throws,” said Childress. “They shot free throws for two hours, then we went back the next day and played a much better game.”
Dockery and Johnson were the ringleaders of the night free-throw shooting session, and Childress said it’s their leadership and character which could push this team to the next level.
“Chance and Pip are both great individuals, nice kids and very good in the classroom,” said Childress. “They make my job a lot easier, because they hold everybody to a high standard.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Baldwin’s Chance Dockery elevates to put up a shot against White Cloud during a 63-41 win Dec. 2. (Middle) Pierre Johnson grabs a rebound against Oscoda during a 52-41 victory on Jan. 3. (Photos courtesy of the Baldwin boys basketball program.)