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.
Belding Invites Fans to 'Fill the Gym'
January 30, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Belding High School’s Redskin Arena was completed during the summer of 2012, a glistening gymnasium with seats the school colors of orange and black reaching from a sunken floor toward the domed rafters overhead.
Tonight, the school hopes to set an attendance record by filling those 2,250 seats – and standing-room capacity of 2,650 – for the first time in the building’s brief history.
Belding hosts Coopersville for boys and then girls varsity basketball games, beginning at 6 p.m. The “Fill the Gym” idea was hatched in part this fall during an MHSAA Sportsmanship Summit, said junior Greta Wilker, also a member of the MHSAA’s Student Advisory Council.
This fall’s Summits focused on crowd participation and featured stories of past Battle of the Fans participants that had helped build large community followings.
“We were trying to think of ways that we could get some of our lower levels involved as well as the community,” Wilker said. “So it originated as a ‘kids night’ where all of the kids from the elementary buildings would get in free.
“But then we decided to go bigger.”
Tonight, all who show at the door wearing a white shirt will get in free. Elementary teams will play at halftime, and the girls 2003 MHSAA Semifinals team and boys 2008 District champ will be honored. Alumni also will join the school's band for its performance.
Fans should have plenty to cheer on during the games well. The boys, after a tough start, have won two of their last four games, and the girls are 9-3 and in second place in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue.
“Our hope is that it reconnects the community with our teams by having a cool event,” Wilker said. “And that it gets our younger kids involved and excited about their future athletic careers at Belding.
“I’m really just hoping for a huge, awesome event where students and the community can have fun.”
PHOTO: Belding High School’s gymnasium, which has a standing-room capacity of 2,650. (Photo courtesy of Belding High School.)