Performance: East English's Kamari Newman
February 25, 2016
Kamari Newman
Detroit East English senior – Boys Basketball
Newman joined Detroit East English’s first boys varsity basketball team as a freshmen for the 2012-13 season and will graduate as the first all-time great in the young program’s history (the school opened in 2012 after the closures of Detroit Crockett and Finney). In his fourth and final opportunity, the 6-foot-4 guard led the Bulldogs to their first Detroit Public School League Tournament title to earn the Michigan National Guard’s “Performance of the Week.”
Newman scored 17 of his game-high 28 points during the first half of a 71-70 semifinal win over Detroit Collegiate Prep on Feb. 12, then scored a game-high 24 points in the 86-62 championship game win over Detroit Renaissance on Feb. 19 (East English had lost to Renaissance by four in a 2015 PSL semifinal). For the season, Newman is averaging 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and 1.5 steals per game for East English, which is 16-3. Not surprisingly, Newman has the school record for 1,591 career points and also with 193 3-pointers – which are enough to make the MHSAA’s career list in that category, and while he has at least two more games to play. Newman has been a strong shooter throughout his career, but said he's improved his rebounding and leadership most as a senior.
He also earned all-city honors in cross country in the fall and ran on that team all four years of high school along with a number of his teammates – he credits cross country with helping the basketball team train to play its uptempo style during the winter. Newman has signed to continue his basketball career at George Mason University in Virginia. He is unsure what we will study, but said the sciences are among his favorite and best subjects.
Coach Juan Rickman said: “He’s always worked hard. He likes to stay in the gym. That’s one of the biggest impacts he’s had with our program. He’s been the catalyst. When we started the (PSL) run, he made the conscious decision in his mind that he was done losing, coming up short. When the opportunity presented itself, he became more of a leader. He just didn’t want to lose.”
Performance Point: “It was a tough road. I just wanted to lead us there. We came up short (in the past), so many people were counting us out. I definitely didn’t want to come up short this time.
Best in Bulldogs history: “It means a lot, but I know I’ve got a whole lot of work to do. It’s going to be great honor (though), but we’re not done yet. The group of guys, we go so deep. That’s been my favorite part, just being around those guys. (My role) is just to push everybody, to lead, to their limit. I try to get the best out of all my teammates; they respect me.”
Had to be a Patriot: “Just the coaching staff (at George Mason), they were telling me basically what Coach Rickman tells me. They work extremely hard, and really they don’t have anybody to score the ball like that, so I want to go in there and help them where they’re struggling.”
Create like Curry: “Steph Curry; I don’t really watch him too much, because I’m not him. But sometimes I try to be like him. How quickly he gets it off, creates his own shot, that what I like about him. ... I want to get better at becoming the combo (guard), getting the ball when I need it, distributing it, seeing the floor on the defensive end and being more aware.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit East English’s Kamari Newman brings the ball upcourt during the Detroit Public School League Tournament. (Middle) Newman was the team’s leading scorer in both the semifinal and championship game. (Top photos courtesy of the Detroit East English basketball program, middle photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League/Bonnie Warmack.)
28-0 Surge Sends GR Catholic Central to Saturday
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
April 8, 2021
GRAND RAPIDS – At first glance, it might seem that the Grand Rapids Catholic Central boys basketball team had a relatively easy time in Thursday’s first Division 2 Semifinal against Ferndale.
It was anything but, and only came to fruition following a dominating fourth quarter that helped push the Cougars to an 81-55 victory over the Panthers at Van Andel Arena.
Catholic Central improved to a perfect 19-0 and will play either Pennfield or Bridgeport on Saturday at Breslin Center.
An up-tempo and competitive game turned into a lopsided ending as the Cougars scored an astounding 28 consecutive points in a span of seven minutes, six seconds from the end of the third quarter until late in the game.
“I thought our defense initiated a bunch of offense for us in that fourth quarter,” Catholic Central coach TJ Meerman said. “We rebounded a lot better, and coming out of half we knew they were going to make a push because that’s what they do. I’m proud of our guys, and our team defense and the way they shared the ball on offense tonight was a special thing.”
Catholic Central trailed 44-42 with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter, but scored the final six points of the quarter and opened the fourth with a 22-0 run.
Torrid outside shooting aided the spurt as the Cougars knocked down five consecutive 3-pointers at one point, including three from junior Jorden Brooks.
“We just came out and played hard in that fourth quarter on both ends,” said Brooks, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the second and was 6 of 11 from beyond the arc.
“I said to myself just keep shooting, and my teammates were setting me up for those 3-point shots.”
Brooks’ hot shooting helped Catholic Central on Monday in an upset of top-ranked Benton Harbor in the Quarterfinals.
“His play speaks for itself, and he puts in a lot of time in the gym and it’s shown all season,” Meerman said. “He’s been doing this for us all season, and he had a fantastic run on the offensive end, but he made an impact on defense by keeping his guy in front of him.”
Catholic Central, which lost to Benton Harbor in the 2018 Class B Final, held a 35-25 advantage at halftime as sophomore Kaden Brown was the offensive catalyst by scoring 14 of his team-high 23 points.
Ferndale, however, scored the first eight points of the third quarter to cut into the deficit and eventually grabbed the lead.
“This team doesn’t get down on themselves,” said junior Jack Karasinski, who recorded 19 points and had five rebounds.
“We took a timeout, regrouped and we kept pushing forward. This is a dream because as a sophomore we got this opportunity taken away from us, and we’ve had the hardest route so far I believe with the teams we’ve gone through. I think it has built our confidence.”
The Cougars also received stellar overall play from freshman guard Durral Brooks, who stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, seven assists, five rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.
“That’s what he does,” said Jorden Brooks, his older brother. “He’s a good defender, passer and finisher. He can do anything, and it’s crazy that he has three more years left. We just want to go out and hopefully give him his first state championship as a freshman.”
The fourth-ranked Eagles were making their first appearance in the Semifinals since 1985, and were hoping for a chance to win a championship for the first time since 1966.
Instead, they were unable to stop the offensive onslaught by the Cougars in the fourth quarter as they were outscored 33-11.
Ferndale led 44-42 at the start of Catholic Central’s run, then trailed 70-44 with 3:25 to play.
“I thought we did a poor job offensively, and we didn’t get back on defense,” Ferndale coach Juan Rickman said. “Brooks hit four or five threes, and I saw him do that against Benton Harbor. We didn’t execute in our transition defense and didn’t find him.
“The game just got away from us, and we gave up a lot of points to the three guys we wanted to keep from scoring. You never like to lose, so it’s just tough.”
Junior guard Jason Drake scored a game-high 27 points for the Panthers, but was held scoreless over the final eight minutes of the game.
PHOTOS: (Top) Jack Karasinski dunks two of his 19 points for Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Thursday. (Middle) GRCC's Kaden Brown works to get upcourt. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)