Midland Boys Hoops Earns 'Football' Buzz
March 21, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND — Payton DeWildt is accustomed to pep rallies at school.
Just not during basketball season.
"It's just not something they do," the Midland High senior said. "Only when we play Dow, our crosstown rival."
And only in football.
"Midland High is known as a football school," said DeWildt, the quarterback on the Chemics' football team last fall. "When I was a freshman (on the varsity basketball team), the seniors were good. I said we've got to keep this winning tradition going and make Midland a basketball school, also."
In four seasons of basketball, DeWildt has known nothing but success, a concept that was foreign to a generation of hoopsters at Midland. The Chemics have won District championships in three of his four years after going 13 years without a title.
What sets this year's team apart is that it also added a Regional championship to the mix, the first for the Chemics since winning back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979.
Suddenly, basketball is a big deal at Midland, worthy of the treatment usually reserved for the football team. A pep assembly will be part of the pregame hype at Midland before the Chemics face Macomb Dakota at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Grand Blanc in the MHSAA Class A Quarterfinals.
"There's quite a buzz," said 14-year coach Eric Krause. "It was really nice to see the people very excited. In the past football has been there, but it was really cool to see guys getting recognized. You like to see the efforts being rewarded, so it's really exciting. It's nice to see some of the older members of the community who will come to games, no matter what your record, and to see the excitement in their faces."
For the players, there is a sense that they are making history.
"Definitely," DeWildt said. "We just won the first Regional Final since 1979. We're trying to make it one more game. We just want to prove we're one of the best teams to come through Midland High, so we want to make it as far as we can."
If Midland can topple second-ranked Dakota (25-0), the Chemics (17-6) will reach the MHSAA Semifinals for only the second time in school history. The Chemics reached the semis in 1970, losing 82-71 to Detroit Pershing. Midland made the Quarterfinals two more times in the '70s, losing 72-53 to Flint Northern in 1978 and 66-58 to Saginaw in 1979.
A major reason why the Chemics haven't lasted to the final week of the postseason is geography. They not only play in one of the toughest leagues in the state, but they have had to go head-to-head with Saginaw Valley League rivals in the tournament. In the last three seasons, the Chemics lost in the 2013 Regional Semifinals to a Saginaw team that made the MHSAA Semifinals, in the 2014 District Semifinals to a Mount Pleasant team that made the MHSAA Semifinals, and in the 2015 Regional championship game to a Saginaw Arthur Hill team that was the MHSAA runner-up.
It's tough to go deep into the tournament when so many nearby schools are capable of going all the way to the Breslin Center. The Valley has had 12 schools combine to make the MHSAA Class A Quarterfinals 137 times. Five Valley schools — all from Flint or Saginaw — have combined for 22 MHSAA Class A championships.
"You had to play in a league that is arguably the best public school league, some years, in the nation in the 1990s before I got into it," Krause said. "I don't mean to take anything away from what we're doing, but Flint isn't Flint anymore — not the way it was. Dave MacDonald is a good friend of mine who coached Midland Dow for over 30 years. He'd be over .500 most years, some years with 12 or 13 wins. The amount of pros he coached against, people just don't understand.
"I believe the Valley is one of the best leagues in the state. The difference is it used to be one of the best leagues in the nation."
To reach the Quarterfinals, Midland had to take down one of the two elite Saginaw programs for the first time in the postseason since beating Arthur Hill in the 1971 District Final.
The Chemics split their regular-season series with Saginaw, each winning on its own home court, so what happened when the teams met for the Regional championship shouldn't come as a huge surprise. On a night in which the tension was felt on the court and in the stands, Midland knocked off Saginaw, 60-56.
Midland held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before Saginaw rallied to grab a four-point lead. Midland finished the game on a 12-4 run.
"It was the best game I've ever played in my life, the most exciting game," said senior Matt Jarema, another four-year varsity player. "I can probably say that most of my teammates all said it was the most exciting game they ever played; it was something. We knew we were bigger and stronger than them. We knew we could beat them. That's what we came in and did."
The impetus for this year's Regional championship run was a tough loss to Arthur Hill in last year's Regional Final. Midland was within four points early in the fourth quarter before current University of Texas freshman Eric Davis scored 12 points in the final period to lead the Lumberjacks to a 66-52 victory. Arthur Hill went on to play for the Class A title.
"Ever since last year after that Regional Final loss against Arthur Hill, we knew this year we would win the Regionals and we'd be in the Quarterfinals," Jarema said. "Playing against Saginaw and Arthur Hill, they prepare us for pressure like no other. They get up on you. We believe their pressure is some of the best pressure we'll have to face each year to prepare us for this moment now."
Midland has won four postseason games but, much like its regular season, nothing has been easy. Three of the four games have been decided by four points or fewer.
The Chemics opened the postseason by beating Mount Pleasant, 49-48, taking the lead for good on Martin Money's layup with 34 seconds left. After a 58-37 rout of Saginaw Heritage in the District Final, the Chemics overcame adversity to edge Traverse City West, 61-59, in the Regional Semifinal at Gaylord. Center Kyle Johnson was nearly late for that game because of a flat tire, Krause was dealing with a flooded basement before leaving for the game, and West's cheering section dwarfed Midland's because of the travel. Then came the four-point victory over long-time nemesis Saginaw in the Regional Final.
And now a team that has lost six games is within one victory of playing in the Breslin Center.
"We're a very odd team," Krause said. "We know we can play with very elite teams, but we honestly can lose to a lot of teams that are levels below that elite level. We can lose to a lot of teams. Usually when you have teams go this far, that's not the case. We have a strange quality where if things aren't going well, we have to be ready for a close game. Sometimes that makes you not panic when the game is close, because you figure you're going to win the game. We're kind of an interesting team that way."
DeWildt returned from a shoulder injury for the postseason opener to lead Midland's tournament run. He is the only Chemics player averaging in double figures during the tournament, scoring 16.8 points per game.
The scoring is balanced after that, with Virgil Walker averaging 8.8 points, Garrett Willis and Johnson 7.3 apiece, and Jarema 7.0.
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. 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: Midland’s Virgil Walker drives past a Saginaw Arthur Hill player this season. (Middle) Payton DeWildt lines up for a free throw. (Photos courtesy of the Midland athletic department.)
Western's White Enjoys 'Special' Career
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
May 4, 2016
WALLED LAKE – Seeking a higher level of performance, many high school athletes have channeled their energy to one sport.
Many refer to this concentration as specialization – and Cody White, for one, isn’t buying it.
White, a junior at Walled Lake Western, is a three-sport athlete and he loves every minute of it. He plays basketball during the winter, baseball in the spring and football in the fall. During the summer he competes in AAU basketball, travel baseball, 7-on-7 football games with his Western teammates, and he participates in a few summer football camps.
White has played these same sports all throughout high school. His freshman year he competed in track and field, along with baseball. White hasn’t ruled out returning to track and field, in addition to baseball, as a senior – but this season he’s sticking with just baseball.
It’s a hectic schedule but, again, White wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I couldn’t see myself not competing in those sports,” he said. “I love them so much. I want to finish my senior year playing all three.”
White estimates that he’ll have two days off, away from sports, in June. In July he’ll take a week off, between his summer baseball team schedule ending and the start of football practice.
There’s no question White is driven, but it’s more than that. In some high schools, and with some coaches, playing multiple sports can be a challenge. There are some coaches who would prefer the students to play one sport and only one sport.
According to Western football coach Mike Zdebski, that isn’t the case at his school.
“We encourage them to play more than one sport,” Zdebski said. “For one, we want them to get their money’s worth. We have a pay-to-play policy of $425. You play one sport and it costs $425. You play three sports and it costs the same. And, two, playing other sports helps them develop other skills. In basketball you create space. In baseball you chase fly balls, and that helps with depth perception. Besides you get to work with other coaches and other teams.
“We’re lifting weights during the summer. If a kid is playing summer baseball or AAU basketball, if they have time they can come by and lift weights. And what we always tell them, if you’re tired let us know. You can take a break.”
Zdebski – whose team finished 12-1 last fall – was quick to point out some excellent athletes in the past, like former Kansas City Royals outfielder/Oakland Raiders running back Bo Jackson, who were multiple-sport athletes. And, more recently, there’s Luke Glendenning of the Detroit Red Wings. Glendenning was an all-state running back at East Grand Rapids.
When his high school career is done, White will play football in college. Two months ago he committed to sign with Michigan State this winter. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, White played receiver, defensive back and also returned kicks last fall. He played a big role in Western’s run to the Division 2 Semifinals.
During baseball season, White pitches and plays middle infield and right field. He plays the wing and shooting guard in basketball.
His interest in playing a variety of sports came at an early age and, as is the case with most children, a family member was the one who introduced White to athletics. Former NFL player and Detroit Lions executive Sheldon White is his father, but the first sport White played, at age 3, was baseball. Two years later he began playing football and basketball.
Sheldon White also played three sports at his high school in Dayton, Ohio, (Meadowdale High) and helps his son manage his busy schedule, particularly during the offseason.
“Growing up was a little different (for me) than the usual kid,” Cody White said. “Going to Lions games and just being around football all the time. I think I love the game more because I was around it so much.
“But I think playing three sports helped me, too. The twisting of your hips in baseball, when you swing the bat, you’re using different muscles. And all the jumping you do in basketball. You have to move in tight spaces.
“With football, you’re with the football guys. By doing all three you meet different people.”
Playing multiple sports has definitely been the right road for White to follow. And his busy schedule hasn’t hindered his work in the classroom.
White has a 3.54 grade-point average pending his grades for this semester.
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Cody White (right) runs away from a Midland Dow defender during their Regional Final this fall. (Middle) White works for a shot against Milford. (Photos by Teresa Presty.)