Kings of the Detroit PSL
February 23, 2012
The Detroit Martin Luther King boys basketball team came into this season riding high hopes – and high outside expectations too as many saw the Crusaders among teams to beat in Class A this winter.
And King made good right away, with a 10-1 start that included wins over Detroit Country Day and Bay City Western.
That made the Crusaders' Jan. 20 game at Detroit Pershing arguably the biggest in the Detroit Public School League this regular season -- and King's 87-78 loss to the Doughboys a letdown that spiraled into three losses in four games heading into the PSL Tournament.
“In retrospect, we look at it as almost a blessing in disguise,” King coach Pierre Brooks said. “It was kind of a reality check. We needed to go back to the drawing board, clean up some things as far as strategy. I think we peaked at the right moment.”
It’s tough to argue with that. King avenged that Pershing loss by beating the Doughboys 76-69 in Thursday’s PSL Final at Detroit Mercy’s Calihan Hall. The PSL championship is King’s first since 1999, and the performance earned the team one of Second Half's High 5s this week.
Climbing out of that downturn started with a team meeting. Brooks, for his part, didn't have to do much talking. The Crusaders have eight seniors, led by four-year varsity players Dennis Norfleet and Malik Albert. They were bent on finishing with a flourish instead of a disappointment.
And Brooks had a sound plan. King is known for aggressive man-to-man pressure defense. So in the tournament, Brooks put his team in a zone. That new look seemed to throw off opponents – the Crusaders won their four PSL Tournament games by an average of 10 points, and also avenged an earlier loss to Crockett by beating the Rockets 69-67 in a semifinal.
Albert, who leads the team scoring 23.1 points per game, had 29 in the final including 16 in the fourth quarter. Freshman center William Abbott, who averages 2.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, added 12 and 13, respectively.
Brooks, who also coached under Benny White for three seasons at King before taking over the program last winter, said his players have begun to come down from the celebration and refocus on their next goal. They host their Class A District beginning March 5. And on the other side of the bracket is Detroit Southeastern, which also beat King last month and in the District Final a year ago.
“We’ve got guys who have been on varsity the last four years … (and) they’ve been through it all in terms of highs and lows,” Brooks said. “They constantly talk about how they want to end their senior year. They’ve got that desire and passion.”
PHOTO courtesy of the Detroit Public Schools League.
Concord Basketball Celebrates Rare Feat: Foursome of 1,000-Point Scorers
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2026
Concord has a rich basketball tradition, but something has happened this year that no one could have predicted.
The Yellow Jackets have had four players – two girls and two boys – reach the career 1,000-point milestone.
“It seems like a pretty rare occurrence,” Concord athletic director Matt Lehman said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve never seen anything like it. There was a time where we’d go years without having one player do it. To have four players do it in one season is crazy.”
Senior Cierra Barrett started the avalanche when she reached the milestone just after Christmas against Adrian Lenawee Christian. Teammate Cierra Barrett grabbed a steal and fed Lehman with an assist to put her over the top.
A couple weeks later, during the same game, Concord seniors Connor Stevens and Jett Smith both scored their 1,000th points on back-to-back possessions during the Yellow Jackets’ win over Quincy. It was also Senior Night.
“It was a close game, too,” said Smith. “I got it, then the next time down the court, Jett got his 1,000th point. We called timeouts both times. It was pretty cool.”
Stevens went into the game needing just six points to reach 1,000. “I knew I should get it that game,” he said.
Smith needed a bigger night to accomplish it the same game – and he came through, pouring in 35 points in the Concord win.
“It was cool,” Smith said. “A lot of people said they’ve never seen that before.”
Barrett, who is also Concord’s all-time assists leader, has played for three coaches over her four varsity seasons. After a 4-17 season her freshman year, Concord has won 20, 22 and 20 games. This year’s team is 20-2 heading into the District Semifinals on Wednesday.
“I’ve had multiple coaches, and they all have had a different style,” Barrett said. “I’ve had to learn how to play in all of them. I think they each have given me something different I can use in my game.”
Reaching 1,000 points, she said, “wasn’t my focus, but once I knew I was close it became a goal.”
Lehman, the daughter of the athletic director, also was brought up to the varsity at the start of her freshman season. She said that season she wasn’t a big scorer.
Concord’s girls play an up-tempo offense, averaging 55.7 points a game. Lehman said the team plays tough defense, too, which sets up the offense.
“We score a lot in transition, off turnovers,” she said.
Reaching 1,000 points took a burden off of her, she noted.
“I was out for a lot of games last year, so I didn’t think I could get it this year,” she said. “Once I got there, it was kind of a relief. I was thinking about it so much. I just wanted to get it done and move on.”
Lehman thinks the Yellow Jackets are poised for a deep tournament run again. Last season they reached the Division 4 Semifinals.
“I definitely think we can make it there (again),” she said. “We have a lot of pieces.”
The Concord boys (20-4) put the finishing touches on their Division 4 District title Friday.
During his four seasons on the varsity, Stevens – also Concord’s all-time leading rebounder – said he’s grown as a player.
“I’ve gotten stronger and better,” he said. “I’m more aggressive now. That has helped my confidence, too.”
Smith said he’s always had a shooters mentality. He had 36 points in the District Final and is among the top scorers in his area. The success of this year’s team is no surprise, he said, given the bulk of the team has been playing together since middle school. The Yellow Jackets have won 67 games over the past four years.
“We’ve been talking about this since the eighth grade,” he said.
Concord boys basketball coach Marcus Gill said Smith and Stevens are polar opposites in terms of personalities, but they make it work.
“They couldn’t be more different dudes,” he said. “Jett is wired to score. From day one, he was wired to score. He never met a shot he didn’t like. Connor, he’s so unselfish it’s almost selfish. I tell him we need him to score more.”
All four players now have banners hanging up in the Concord gym recognizing their accomplishment. The athletic department also has a Wall of Fame outside the gym that all of them may someday join.
Gill summed it up: “It’s a special time for Concord basketball.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Four Concord basketball players have reached 1,000 career points this season – from left: Bradie Lehman, Cierra Barrett, Connor Stevens and Jett Smith. (Middle) Lehman brings the ball upcourt. (Group photo by Doug Donnelly. Lehman action photo courtesy of the Concord athletic department.)