River Rouge Star Wilburn Remembered
By
John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus
October 19, 2016
One of the captains from the legendary boys basketball teams of the early 1960s at River Rouge passed away earlier this month.
Ken Wilburn, 72, a forward on the 1961 and 1962 teams that were part of a since-unequaled streak in Michigan high school basketball – five consecutive MHSAA championships – accomplished what was thought to be the first triple-double in Finals history in the 1962 Class B championship game against East Grand Rapids.
Wilburn scored 26 points – 13 in the third period – to go with 15 rebounds and 11 steals in a 69-39 win, a game Coach Lofton Greene said “was his best ever.”
Wilburn would go on to lead Central State University (Ohio) to a 30-0 record and the NAIA national championship in 1965, when he was named the title game’s Most Valuable Player. He earned All-America honors and finished his career as the school’s scoring leader.
During a 13-year journeyman professional career, Wilburn played in the NBA, the ABA and in the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League/Eastern Basketball Association. He played on three championship teams in the EPBL/EBA and was a league MVP on two occasions.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ken Wilburn (25) poses with his teammates after the 1962 Class B championship game victory. (Middle) Wilburn works to gather a loose ball from an East Grand Rapids player.
Michigan's Best Reach Higher at Milford
July 26, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP – Nearly 200 of the top high school basketball players in Michigan took part in the Reaching Higher experience during the last two weeks at Milford High School.
A total of 96 boys attended Reaching Higher on July 13, and 90 girls attended the July 25 session. The program, in its eighth year, again included instruction on the court and off.
Skill training and scrimmages followed presentations by speakers Carlton Valentine and Justin Jennings (former Michigan State and Purdue standouts, respectively) at the boys program and Nicole Elmblad (University of Michigan record holder) and Dave Ginsburg (longtime high school and college coach) at the girls session. An educational effort by the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, the Reaching Higher experience also included classroom sessions for parents and instruction from NCAA compliance officers.
Players invited to Reaching Higher were selected by a committee of BCAM members and received the opportunity to show their skills in front of college coaches representing all three NCAA levels and the NAIA. Coaches representing 27 colleges attended the boys session, and 19 colleges attended the girls showcase.
Click for photos from the Boys Reaching Higher and Girls Reaching Higher.
PHOTOS: (Left) Warren Cousino's A.J. Crawford looks for an opening while defended by DeWitt's Tanner Reha (106). (Right) Bullock Creek's Haley Heldt (98) searches for a teammate while Dearborn Heights Crestwood's Demi Rodriguez anticipates her next move.