Starkey's Petoskey Ready to Shine Again
December 15, 2017
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
PETOSKEY – Dennis Starkey remembers it like it happened yesterday.
Thirty-five years ago, at the age of 23, Starkey made his varsity head coaching debut with the Boyne City Ramblers.
“The first game I coached was against the legendary Charlie Paige (Harbor Springs),” Starkey recalled. “I got it handed to me pretty good. I knew I had a long way to go after that ballgame.”
Starkey learned quickly. Now, starting his 31st season as coach of the Petoskey Northmen, the 58-year-old is among the winningest coaches in MHSAA history. His 536 career wins rank 18th all-time among boys coaches – with an average of nearly 16 wins a season.
Starkey should move up that list in the coming weeks as the Northmen appear poised for a promising winter.
Petoskey opened the campaign by capturing its Tip-Off Classic last weekend, beating Marquette 55-38 and Manton 66-57. Marquette won 20 games a year ago, while Manton was a Class C semifinalist.
“It’s a great start,” Starkey said. “We played two good teams. We have a lot of work to do, but we’re excited. This is a good group. These guys were really committed during the offseason. Hopefully, that will pay dividends.”
Petoskey was an uncharacteristic 12-8 a year ago. That squad was comprised of three seniors and nine juniors – and one of the key juniors, 6-foot-9 center Danny Kolp, was recovering from knee surgery.
“I’ve always said you win and lose with seniors,” Starkey said. “Our inexperience really showed last year. Luckily, we’re loaded with seniors this year. We’re hoping to get back to where we were before.”
The Northmen were 20-2 two years ago.
Motivation should not be a problem.
“We were pretty unhappy with how we did last year,” senior Joel Wilson, a two-year starter, said. “I expect a lot from this team.”
So does Kolp.
“(High school) memories last forever, and we want to make this a memorable senior season,” he said. “We want to reach our full potential. We have a high ceiling.
“We have the athleticism and skills to make a run in the tournament,” he added. “That’s our goal. Petoskey hasn’t been to a Regional (since 2012). We have a good chance to do it this year if we keep playing as a team.”
Petoskey, which returns four starters, put its size and balance on display last weekend. Seth Mann, a 6-5 guard, averaged 17 points in the two wins. Kolp, who has signed with Northwood University, came up big in the paint, averaging 16 points, six rebounds and two blocks. The athletic 6-4 Wilson contributed 13 points a game, and 6-5 Jake Lee 9.5 points. All are seniors, as is starting point guard Collin Kingma.
Petoskey not only used its length to its advantage – especially defensively and on the boards – but played with a focus.
“I think the biggest improvement thus far is mental,” assistant coach Kevin Starkey, Dennis’s son, said. “Even coach Hiller (Ryan Hiller at Manton) told me after watching the Marquette game that the guys looked locked in, ready to go. It’s visibly noticeable.”
Dennis Starkey started this season much like he has the previous 34, preaching a “team first” approach. From there, he addressed the standards his program is built on.
“It starts with being good students, good citizens,” he said. “If you have to fight issues that do not involve basketball, then you’re never going to be successful (on the court). Our guys have bought into a system that starts with everyone playing together, playing the way we expect and acting the way we expect.”
Starkey asks that his players, especially his seniors, take ownership of the team. As a reminder, after each practice, the coaches step away as the players huddle on the court to dissect that day’s effort.
“The one thing I’ve always enjoyed about coach Starkey is that he emphasizes it’s our team and we can make it how we want to make it,” Kolp, a three-year varsity veteran, said. “We’re not going to be as good if he’s the only one barking at us. He holds us accountable, and we enjoy that challenge.”
“He likes to say we’re all coaches on the court, that we should be coaching and learning from each other,” Wilson added. “He stresses that every day.”
It helps, of course, to have a team that’s already tightly woven. The seniors on this team have been playing basketball together since fifth grade and are “buddies” off the court.
On the court, Starkey clearly sets the tone, though.
“He’s not afraid to get in your face,” Wilson said. “He pushes you hard. But it’s all for the better.”
Petoskey has long been noted for producing disciplined, fundamentally-sound teams. That’s Starkey’s style.
“We try to play up-tempo as much as we can,” he said. “But we really rely on executing offensively and defensively in the half court.”
It’s an approach that runs deep in the system. Sean Pollion, Matt Tamm and Jason Miller all have 20-plus years coaching high school basketball at the school. Pollion is an assistant to Starkey, Tamm is now the JV coach while Miller just moved over to the girls program. In addition, Kevin Starkey and Jon Flynn, a star on the school’s two Class B Semifinal teams in the late 1990s, are assisting.
“That continuity means so much in high school basketball,” Dennis Starkey said. “Some programs have a hard time keeping coaches for extended periods. It’s been an advantage for us. It’s paid dividends.”
Starkey started honing his skills at Boyne City, serving a one-year apprenticeship under Bob Taylor, who went on to coach in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He replaced Taylor, who took the Lake Superior State women’s job, and then left Boyne City after a season to accept a head coach/athletic director position at Vanderbilt. It was there he met his wife, Karen. After three years, Starkey moved on to Petoskey. To this day, former longtime Petoskey athletic director Gary Hice calls it one of the best decisions he ever made.
Inducted into the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame in 2014, Starkey has coached teams that have won 17 Districts and four Regionals.
His 1996-98 squads featured guards Trevor Huffman, who later led Kent State to an Elite 8 NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002, and Flynn, Grand Valley State’s all-time leading scorer (2,220 points).
Starkey would later coach his sons, Kevin and Cory. Cory, who went on to earn all-state honors, played at Bucknell and then a year professionally in Ireland. After earning his master’s degree in international finance, Cory accepted a job with an investment company in Chicago. His boss? Former Charlevoix basketball standout Scott Friske, now a senior vice president at First Trust. Friske and Petoskey’s Damon Huffman, Trevor’s younger brother, were teammates at Brown. Another former Charlevoix Rayder, Jared Hunt, also works at First Trust.
“Basketball opened a door for (Cory) in the business world,” Dennis Starkey said. “He’s been blessed. When you’re involved in this sport, you have so many contacts. And a lot of the northern Michigan guys look after each other. It’s a real special bond they create, all because of high school basketball.”
But the story is not over. Trevor Huffman is also in Chicago and lives with Cory. Huffman is still involved in basketball.
“He’s using basketball as an adult workout platform,” Starkey said. “He has guys come in and they do drills, much like we do in practice. So instead of going to the gym and lifting weights and doing cross-training, his clients, most of them former players, use basketball as a form of exercise to become more fit.”
After graduating from University of Michigan, Kevin Starkey headed back north and took a teaching/coaching job at Manton, serving as an assistant to Hiller. The Rangers first game that season? Petoskey.
“That was bizarre, coaching against my dad,” Kevin admitted.
When Dennis Starkey retired as a physical education teacher, Kevin Starkey was hired to replace him. He’s now in his third year at the school.
It’s given Kevin a unique perspective on his dad. He played two years for him on varsity (2007-08 and 2008-09) and has now coached with him three years. When asked if he has a favorite story that encapsulates the type of person his father is, Kevin doesn’t have to think long.
“My senior year we were playing Charlevoix and I had just recently broken my hand,” he said. “It was my first game back. We didn’t know what to expect. When the game started, they were sagging off me because (the injury) was to my shooting hand. When I put up that first shot, I hit it. Then, all of a sudden, I hit five 3s in the first half. He never lets it go. It’s something I remember because he was so proud of me. It was my last (home) game and I was just trying not to air-ball it. Somehow, a few of them went in.
“Well, the next year when I came home from college – we sometimes watched old game films, or films of us growing up – he puts that game in first. He was like, ‘Man, that was so cool.’ I say that not because I need credit, but it was one of those things where he was more excited than I was for myself.”
That, Kevin added, is how Dennis is with his players. He wants the best for them.
This team is no exception.
Kolp, who has had two knee operations, is finally healthy. His last surgery was in June of 2016, and he missed the first six games a year ago.
“He really wasn’t himself - until now, to be honest,” Starkey said.
In eighth grade, Kolp landed awkwardly on his right leg, tore a ligament and dislocated his kneecap.
“They couldn’t do the full operation because I was still growing,” he explained. “Two years later I blew it out again.”
Kolp, who plans to go into an entrepreneurial program at Northwood, spent this past offseason working hard in the weight room.
“I was in there five days a week, lifting to improve my upper and lower body,” he said. “Now, during the season, I’m in there two to three times a week to maintain my strength. I feel good. Everything is coming together.”
Wilson, all agree, is the most athletic player on the squad. He was a first-team all-Big North Conference pick as a quarterback and outside linebacker in football. Several colleges have expressed interest, and he is visiting Central Michigan this weekend and will miss Saturday’s game with Zeeland East. Central Michigan is recruiting him as a preferred walk-on with plans to use him at tight end.
“It’s (disappointing) to miss the game, but I have a decision to make that will (affect) the next four years of my life,” he said.
Mann is the team’s top perimeter shooter.
“Seth is a skilled shooter,” Starkey said. “He has good size and length. I think he’s going to have a great year.”
Kolp agrees.
“With our size, if we get it into the post, and (opponents are) starting to play help defense from the backside, and Seth is in the corner, he’ll punish them for it,” he said.
It could be a special season.
Starkey, though, is not one to think too far ahead. He said the best advice he ever received was to “live in the moment, coach in the moment.”
And he knows there will be challenges ahead. There are no guarantees.
“As excited as I am with all the guys we have back, every coach in the league feels the same way,” he said. “Last year there was only one senior on the first and second all-conference team. It’s going to be a very good race.”
As for the future, Starkey, who credits a strong support system at home for his success, is not saying how much longer he’ll coach.
Kevin has an opinion, however.
“It’s something he’s really good at,” Kevin said. “I look at it like this: Don’t throw it away if you’ve still got it.”
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Petoskey coach Dennis Starkey huddles with his team during the season-opening Tip-Off Classic. (Middle) Joel Wilson (14) and Jake Lee share a celebratory moment. (Below) Senior Danny Kolp pushes the ball upcourt during the event. (Photos courtesy of the Petoskey News-Review.)
Hoops History Filled with District Stunners
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
March 9, 2018
The opinions expressed in the following are those of MHSAA historian Ron Pesch, and are not, necessarily, those of the folks who grant Pesch the chance to express them.
You are advised.
Life, sometimes, is unfair.
Despite healthy eating habits, lots of exercise, plenty of sleep, appropriate amounts of water, brain teasers, and blood pressure medicine – all those things that should, hopefully, extend a life – occasionally, our last breath arrives before the awarding of the gold watch or a trip to Disneyland.
The MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament, sometimes, is like life. And that’s the way it should be.
The postseason is where all teams across the state are rewarded with a second chance, regardless of regular season win-loss record. In the thrilling one-and-done playoffs, highly ranked foes can be next-door neighbors or distant strangers; known only via rumor, newspaper rankings, or in these high-tech times YouTube clips. A knockout punch, ousting a team from the tournament, is most often delivered by a “worthy” opponent.
From time to time however, the end of the road arrives when least expected, via defeat by a less talented team vying for a cherished brand. “Underdog,” “Long Shot,” “Dark Horse” and “Cinderella” are the Nike®, Addias®, Reebok®, and Under Armour® of the unknown and under-achieving. Each brand is worn with pride. Everyone, including sportswriters, loves a sleeper.
In Michigan, with minor alterations, the MHSAA basketball postseason functions much as it always has operated. Champions are rare – by design, only four teams can finish the season with victory. Logistics and economics mean a team’s toughest opponent might arrive anywhere along the path. Districts are established based on schools of similar enrollment size found in logical geographic boundaries. District champions advance to play opponents in defined regions, and Regional winners move on to the final three rounds to determine those four statewide MHSAA champions. The state’s largest schools battle for the Class A title, while the smallest chase the Class D crown.
Therein lies the beauty. The playoff experience for today’s athletes is very much the same as it was for their fathers, their grandfathers and their great-grandfathers. The next opponent is luck-of-the-draw, based on a district line, and beyond a team’s control. Come game time, a blown breakaway, a bricked or air-balled jumper, or a rimmed shot that doesn’t fall can mean dreams of trophies, medals and glory, vanish from view. Tournament time does not discriminate. End game can happen to anyone.
Just like in daily life.
Sometimes, the toughest challenges arrive quicker than we feel they should. Within can be heartbreak, and, often, our greatest lessons.
Beware – the tournament tipped off again this week, and more than 120 District titles will be up for grabs tonight.
The MHSAA Tournament pre-dates Disneyland by 30 years. After assuming administrative control of high school sports in the fall of 1924, the Association made a move to expand the annual boys basketball tournament from three classifications to four with the addition of Class D in 1926.
Five years later, beginning in 1931, the public schools from the city of Detroit exiled themselves from the tournament. A year later, the schools in the Upper Peninsula did the same. Those moves, recent research shows, came from a general philosophy by local and national education authorities that there was an over-emphasis on competitive athletics. In the city of Detroit, the move meant a departure from statewide competition that would last for more than 30 years.
“The elimination of Upper Peninsula schools from state competition was the recommendation of its two (seats) on the (MHSAA representative) council,” came the report from the Lansing State Journal. “They deplored the long distances involved in sending teams from that section to the state tournament.”
Certainly, the depth of the nation’s Great Depression was a force that also insured distinct peninsula tournaments, at least in the earliest years of the separation. So, from 1932 through 1947, the MHSAA sponsored both Upper and Lower Peninsula tournaments, and crowned titlists on both peninsulas.
In 1941, and for nearly 20 years, the state’s smallest schools christened their own Class E champion. By far, the overwhelming majority were located in the vast Upper Peninsula, so it was a U.P.-only tournament.
Thereafter, a few twists of fate combined with population demographics to alter the shape of the event.
The number of schools, as well as their enrollments, played into the scheduling of action. For many years, Class A schools (as well as Class B schools for a few seasons), didn’t begin tournament play until the Regional round. Classifications were based on enrollment, with the state’s largest schools playing in Class A. Since there were relatively few Class A schools, when compared to Class C or Class D, fewer postseason games were required to identify a state champion for schools in the upper classifications. During the 1953-54 school year, there were 75 Class A schools, all in the Lower Peninsula. In Class B, there were 180 schools, (including 17 in the U.P.), while Class C included 246, (18 across the Straits). There were 181 Class D schools in the Lower Peninsula, (with 21 schools each in Class D and Class E in the U.P.). Hence, the path to a crown was, at least statistically speaking, more challenging for a smaller school.
With the post-war baby boom, and the growing size of the suburbs around the state, the first Class A Districts were held 60 years ago, in 1958. With that, the chase became more equal.
In 1961, for the first time, a Class A District tournament was held above the Straits. Played at Sault Ste. Marie, it included four teams, “with two U.P. teams, Sault and Escanaba, competing against two Lower Michigan quintets, Alpena and Traverse City,” according to the Ironwood Daily Globe.
In 1962, Detroit Public Schools ended their self-imposed exile and rejoined tournament play. With the return of those 20 schools, the first statewide prep tournament in 32 years now included 749 teams. Class A included schools with 900 or more students, Class B with between 400 and 899 pupils, Class C 200 to 399 and Class D for schools with enrollments of fewer than 200 students.
Beginning with the 2018-19 school year, basketball will move to divisions versus classifications, where the number of schools competing for a division title is uniform.
No. 1 Goes Down
Devastating District Defeats
It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Every now and then, Michigan’s top-ranked teams fall in the opening round of the MHSAA tournament.
1952 – Class C - Muskegon Western Michigan Christian 39, Muskegon St. Mary 36
Given little chance of surviving opening night Class C District play at Fremont High School, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian “had to do it the hard way, coming from behind with a last ditch rally that had the overflow throng on the edge of their seats.”
Twice beaten by St. Mary during the regular season, the Warriors opened a surprising 13-5 lead through the first quarter, behind the shooting of Gordon DeKruyter and Dave Bolema. The two seniors would end the game with high-scoring honors at 14 points apiece.
“I don’t remember much,” said the 83-year-old DeKruyter, laughing at the thought that Christian’s 39-36 victory over heavily favored Muskegon St. Mary was being recalled some 65 years later. “I’ve always thought it was hard to beat a team three times in a season. I guess that’s still the same today.”
“We had some real good contests in the old 4C Parochial League,” added DeKruyter. The league included Christian, and three Muskegon-area Catholic schools – St. Jean, St. Joseph and St. Mary. “We didn’t have our own gym back then, so we practiced on a short court at Muskegon’s Froebel School. Our coach, Elmer Wolcott, went on to win a number of state championships.”
Christian’s early lead, however, evaporated as the game quickly evolved into a real battle. St. Mary closed the gap to a point, 18-17, before the intermission, and then appeared to grab control of the game, 25-18, following the break.
“The game has seen quite a transition since those days of the set-shot,” said DeKruyter, who later played at Calvin College, then refereed for 27 years. “The biggest is the 3-point shot. It’s amazing how much it has changed the game.”
Another Christian rally knotted the contest at 31-31. The Warriors then grabbed the lead 35-33, but again lost it, trailing St. Mary 36-35 with two minutes to play. Bolema responded with a basket, and combined with a stop on St. Mary’s next possession, the stage was set for a stall by WMC for the victory. However, an errant pass, stolen with 18 seconds remaining, put the game on the line. In the vanishing seconds, filled with the pressure, intensity and noise of a win-or-go-home tournament March, St. Mary’s layup, likely separating victory and defeat, rimmed the basket and fell out.
DeKruyter snared the rebound and added an insurance basket just before the final whistle.
The celebration would last until the Regional Final. Along the way, WMC vanquished White Cloud, another surprise survivor of opening day District madness, by a point, and Lansing O’Rafferty by three, before falling by eight points to Holt.
1955 – Class B – Buchanan 60, St. Joseph 57
“It took two years but Jim Letcher got sweet revenge for a foul committed late in the district final in 1953 which gave the Bears a one point victory,” wrote Ed Lukas in the St. Joseph Herald Palladium. “Last night at the Buchanan gym, Letcher poured in 30 points to lead his Buck teammates to a 60-57 upset win over the highly touted St. Joseph Bears …”
The top rated team in Class B by the Detroit Free Press, St. Joseph had beaten Buchanan in both regular-season meetings. The winner of this matchup was expected to emerge as District champion. Indeed, Buchanan did just that, but barely, with a 47-45 win over Dowagiac. The Bucks rode the victories to the state finals, their first trip to the title game since 1928, before falling to River Rouge, 51-48, ending the year with a 17-7 mark.
1965 – Class C – Fowlerville 59, Portland 58
“Fowlerville, which did not have a winning record during the regular season, came up with the first major upset of the state high school basketball tournament Thursday night by edging previously unbeaten and top-ranked Portland, 59-58, in a Class C district … at Sexton,” wrote Ernie Boone for the Lansing State Journal. “Greg Braun, who only had six points all night and just one in the final period when Fowlerville took over the lead, sank a free throw with five seconds remaining to provide the winning margin.”
Fowlerville’s tournament run ended that Saturday as Williamston sank six free throws in the last two minutes of the District Final to emerge with a 48-46 win.
1969 – Class D – Detroit All Saints 62, Wyandotte Mt. Carmel 60, OT
“A perfect season and dreams of a state Class D basketball title went up in smoke Wednesday night before 3,000 fans for Wyandotte Mt. Carmel,” said Hal Schram in the Detroit Free Press. “Winner of 15 straight games and rated No. 1 among state powers in its division, Mt. Carmel bowed to old tormentor All Saints, 62-60, in a frenzied overtime period.
“Mt. Carmel has lost only three games in two seasons. All three losses came at the hands of the Saints.”
Detroit All Saints, reigning Class C state champ and ranked No. 3 by Schram, grabbed the District title before falling in the opening round of the Regionals to unranked Ypsilanti St. John, 65-62. Bob Sutton led all scorers with 21 for St. John in what was the upset of the tournament to that point. The Saints finished the year at 18-2.
1979 – Class A – Detroit Northeastern 95, Detroit Murray-Wright 91, OT
“Crash!! Murray-Wright High became the first big casualty of the 1979 state basketball tournament Tuesday night when the highly favored Pilots of coach George Duncan fell before underdog Northeastern, 95-91, in overtime at Highland Park High,” wrote Schram in the Free Press, describing the mayhem of the opening round to the District.
“Murray-Wright went into the game champion of Detroit’s Public School League and rated Michigan’s No 1 Class A team. But its 19-game winning streak ended when Joe Rodgers hit four straight free throws in the final 25 seconds of overtime to give the Falcons their most prized victory of the season.
“The Northeastern victory rubbed out another whirlwind comeback by Murray-Wright, which had to score 34 points in the final period to tie the game. … With 1:11 left in regulation, Northeastern led, 85-78, but the Pilots tied it with seven seconds left on Anthony White’s basket.”
The likelihood of a rocky road to the title game for Murray-Wright was identified by Schram earlier in his write-up that accompanied his final regular-season ‘Top Ten’ rankings, a feature of the Free Press that dated back to the late 1940s. “There’s a dozen or so teams in Class A who could wind up with the big trophy. … Murray-Wright just might not get out of its own District where it has to meet and beat the likes of Northeastern, Highland Park or Northwestern.”
Much to the surprise of all the state’s prognosticators, unheralded Detroit Mackenzie, sporting a lackluster 13-7 regular-season mark, and preparing to celebrate its 50th graduating class that June, also got to celebrate its first basketball state title by downing Pontiac Central, 72-64, for the Class A crown.
1982 – Class C – Orchard Lake St. Mary 63, Redford St. Mary 55
“Orchard Lake St. Mary held off a late Redford St. Mary rally Monday night to defeat the No. 1 rated team in Class C, 63-55, in the first game of district play,” said Mick McCabe from the Free Press.
“Orchard Lake … jumped out to a 26-21 halftime lead despite the Rustics’ domination of the boards in the first half. Late in the third quarter, the Eaglets built up a 19-point lead but failed to deliver the knockout punch by missing a pair of wide open lay-ups before Redford scored the final five points of the period.”
Despite two losses – to Birmingham Brother Rice and Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher – The Associated Press and Detroit Free Press had ranked Redford St. Mary No. 1 in the state. With three losses – including a 79-77 defeat to Class A Detroit Cooley decided during the final 25 seconds – Orchard Lake St. Mary sat No. 2 in the Free Press’ final poll, while AP had the Eaglets at No. 4.
Orchard Lake led by 14 midway through the final frame, but Redford went on a 9-0 run to pull within five before running out of steam. Chris Howze scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field to lead Orchard Lake to victory. Following the win, the Eaglets tore through Class C mostly uncontested until the Semifinals. Trailing by as many as 17 in the first half, Grand Rapids South Christian, a final four contestant in the previous two years, capitalized on the loss of Howze to fouls with 5:57 to play. Able to cut the margin to three with 21 seconds remaining, the Sailors couldn’t complete the furious comeback, and fell, 66-63. Orchard Lake coasted to the crown Saturday, thumping unranked Reed City, 76-48.
1995 – Class D – Detroit Holy Redeemer 75, Detroit East Catholic 66
“Hamtramck St. Florian will host the state’s second-best (opening round District) game when Detroit East Catholic (No. 1 in Class D) and Detroit Holy Redeemer hook up again,” noted McCabe in his pre-tournament column in the Free Press. “In the (Detroit) Catholic League semifinals, East Catholic got off to a huge lead against Redeemer and then hung for the victory.”
(The state’s top District opener, referred to by McCabe, ended as expected. Detroit Country Day, ranked No. 1 in the Free Press Class B rankings, rolled to an easy 55-48 victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary, the state’s No. 3 team. Sophomore Shane Battier scored 28, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.)
McCabe had noted Redeemer’s senior guard Jimmy Reyes hadn’t played that well in the Catholic League final. Reyes certainly had his game in the rematch as he scored 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, to lead the No. 6-ranked Lions to victory. Sophomore guard Armelius Parker added 17 as Holy Redeemer began its march to the Class D title.
The rivalry between the schools would continue in the coming years. Redeemer would again knock East Catholic out of the postseason in the District Final in 1996. East Catholic extracted some revenge in 1997, downing the Lions in the second round of the District, en route to its eighth and final MHSAA basketball championship. Both schools would close following the 2004-05 school year.
1997 – Class C – Benzie Central 73, Manton 70
In the opening game of the District 91 doubleheader, played at Benzonia, senior Nate Myers bagged eight 3-pointers, including the game winner with eight seconds remaining, as Benzie Central downed unbeaten and top-ranked Manton in the Class C District opener, 73-70. Benzie had lost an 11-point lead over the final four minutes.
“The gym was unbelievably full,” recalled Bill Lynch, a former coach at Benzie Central. “Just a great crowd. As I recall, Manton didn’t come down early to practice in the gym. I thought that was a mistake.”
Following the victory, Benzie Central cruised to the Semifinals before falling to Three Oaks River Valley in a frenzied 67-65 thriller. Trailing by 14, River Valley rallied back and was up three, 65-62, when Myers again bagged a clutch triple with just 11 seconds remaining to knot the game. But Zac Robinson would emerge as the game’s hero with a lay-up with 3.1 seconds remaining that hung on the rim “for an agonizing split second” before dropping through the net, ending Benzie Central’s dream run.
2004 – Class A – Grosse Pointe North 66, Detroit Denby 51
“Out of all the teams, that was the one team I was really concerned with,” said Detroit Denby coach Ray Reeves to McCabe about the draw of his team’s opponent prior to its Class A District opener with No. 9 Grosse Pointe North. “We beat them last year by 14, but it was a tough game. We made them play our style, and it wore them down.”
His concerns were warranted. Trailing by six to open the final quarter, North’s Mark Bramos scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth as North toppled No. 1 Denby, 66-51, in Class A opening round District action.
“We saw them play Renaissance at Cobo, and that helped us a lot,” said guard Bryan Bennett, who scored 11 points for North. The Norsemen won the District, downing two more PSL squads Southeastern and Finney, but lost to eventual quarterfinalist Utica Eisenhower, 56-52, in their Regional opener.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Benzie Central’s Nate Myers drives between Three Oaks River Valley defenders in 1997. (Middle top) Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s Gordon DeKruyter in 1952. (Middle) Buchanan’s Jim Letcher in 1955. (Middle below) Fowlerville’s 1965 team. (Below) Detroit Northeastern’s Joe Rogers puts up a shot in 1979. (Photos courtesy of Ron Pesch.)