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.)
Youngest Salenbien Sibling Making Name as Family's Latest 1,000-Point Scorer
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
January 28, 2025
When Jaxon Salenbien was getting close to reaching the 1,000-point milestone for his career, he had some pretty good people to turn to for advice.
Salenbien is the third member of his family to reach 1,000 points. Both of sisters scored more than 1,000 points while also playing for Adrian Lenawee Christian and his father, Jamie Salenbien, is a state-championship winning coach.
“My dad has coached ever since I can remember,” said Jaxon, a junior. “My sisters were always playing. I just kind of flowed right into it. I’ve just always been around it. I’ve watched a ton of basketball. I think that’s helped.”
The talent certainly runs deep in the family.
Jamie Salenbien played high school basketball for Hudson and set the school’s single-game scoring record. His wife, Deborah, played in college.
Jaxon’s older sisters Dani and Bree both were all-state players at Lenawee Christian and led the team to back-to-back Class D/Division 4 championships. Dani scored more than 1,000 points before playing at Hillsdale College. Bree scored more than 2,000 points, won four straight Associated Press Class D/Division 4 Player of the Year honors and is now playing at Gonzaga. Jaxon’s older brother Tyler was all-state in football.
“I used to watch them; now they are watching me and cheering me on,” Jaxon said. “We always have supported one another. It’s harder for Bree since she’s so far away, but when she’s home, she comes to my games.”
Salenbien was an instant starter on the LCS varsity team as a freshman, scoring nearly 450 points. He had a knack for getting to the free throw line and was a dangerous 3-point shooter.
Last year he teamed with senior Brandon Summer – a 1,000-point scorer himself – to light up the scoreboard but was also a top-notch playmaker, dishing out more than six assists a game.
This winter, as a junior, Salenbien has been even more assertive with the basketball, shooting from the outside more often and driving with authority. He’s twice scored more than 30 points in a game, including 37 in an overtime win over Springport. It was during that game that he surpassed the 1,000-point milestone.
"Jaxon is not only super talented but also one the most dedicated gym rats I've ever coached,” Cougars coach Matt Summer said. “He is a great leader and a phenomenal teammate. His passion for the game is second to none. I'm super happy for him to hit this scoring milestone in his career."
That Springport win also was his first back in the lineup after an ankle injury forced him to miss two games.
“(The milestone point) had a weird timing to it because the game was so close,” he said. “They never said it over the PA system or anything because the game ended up going into overtime. I didn’t know exactly when I got it, but my coach told me.
“It’s a cool milestone to get as a high school player,” he added. “It was on my radar, but we just want to win as a team.”
Salenbien said there has been no magic formula to being more assertive on the basketball floor – he’s just playing the role on the team that an upperclassman should.
“Being an upperclassman, that’s what you are always going to do,” he said. “Taking control down the stretch is important for the junior and senior guards.”
The Cougars are off to a 12-2 start with a key stretch of Tri-County Conference games coming up. They lost their first TCC game recently to Petersburg Summerfield, which is 13-0.
The Cougars have excelled at 3-point shooting – averaging nearly 10 made triples a game.
“It’s so much fun,” Salenbien said. “Teams can’t key on one person. If they do, we have shooters everywhere.”
Jaxon is the youngest of the Salenbiens, who are all two years apart. He was in third grade when Dani started on the varsity. In fifth grade, his dad – who won 104 games in five seasons as the LCS girls varsity coach – coached him. Since then, his dad has been an assistant coach on several of his teams, including this year.
“When I was younger, he coached me in maybe fifth grade, but he’s never been my head coach, but always an assistant,” Jaxon said. “He’s always coaching me even if he’s not my coach.”
His sisters were definite basketball role models.
“Watching them has helped and just conversations we get to have,” he said. “Dani comes to pretty much every game now. Right before I reached 1,000 points, Bree and I had an hour-long conversation about things I need to work on and being coachable. It’s helpful to have those two to look up to on and off the court.”
Bree’s advice: Be coachable, be a leader and never think you can win a game by yourself.
His mom, who keeps the scorebook for LCS, offers her own advice – sometimes during games when he reaches the scorer’s table and checks in.
“We always say she’s the emotional support, and my dad is the basketball support,” Jaxon said. “She keeps me in line. She tells me to not complain to the referee and keep my head.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Adrian Lenawee Christian’s Jaxon Salenbien (24) pushes the pace bringing the ball upcourt against Blissfield. (Middle) Salenbien elevates to get a hand on a loose ball. (Photos by Michelle Sullivan.)