Sweet-Shooting Briggs, Talented Teammates have Muskegon Dreaming Big Again
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
January 10, 2023
Jordan Briggs put on another shooting clinic Saturday night in front of a packed house at Muskegon’s historic Redmond-Potter Gymnasium, repeatedly elevating and hitting 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers, making it look effortless.
While the Muskegon senior has certainly been blessed with plenty of God-given ability, there is so much more to his story.
To fully understand Briggs’ emergence as one of the state’s best pure shooters, you had to be in the gym this summer when there was no crowd, no opposing team, no coaches and no media – just Briggs and the school’s shooting machine.
The only sounds on those days were the squeaks of his shoes echoing off the walls, followed up repeatedly by the swish of a leather ball through nylon. Five-hundred made shots every day. No exceptions. No excuses.
“I love to shoot,” said Briggs, a 6-foot-1 senior who scored a team-high 24 points Saturday to keep Muskegon undefeated with a 62-51 victory over Ferndale in the finale of the three-game Muskegon Basketball Showcase.
“I never get bored, and I could do it all day. That work I’ve put in gives me and my coaches confidence to take those shots in games. I pretty much have the green light.”
He’s not kidding.
Late in the first half Saturday, Briggs had the ball on a 2-on-1 fastbreak when he suddenly pulled up and fired a 3-pointer, which just rimmed out. Muskegon coach Keith Guy, who loves his team to constantly attack the rim, clapped his approval.
“Jordan is a pure shooter,” explained Guy, whose team is 5-0 and 1-0 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green. “But he’s also crafty with the basketball. He can get other guys involved and he’s got it on a string, so that’s a nightmare for other teams.
“A lot of great shooters can’t hurt you off the dribble, but he can do both.”
Muskegon’s win Saturday was the 400th career victory for Guy as a head coach – with 191 in nine years at Muskegon Heights and 209 wins in 11 years at Muskegon.
Guy, whose tenure at Muskegon is highlighted by a Class A title in 2014 and two Mr. Basketball winners in DeShaun Thrower (2014) and Deyonta Davis (2015), has another team with the makings of a championship run and another Mr. Basketball candidate in Briggs.
Muskegon features two floor general-type point guards in senior David Day III and junior M’Khi Guy, along with a loaded front court with seven players standing 6-4 or taller, led by starting juniors Terrance Davis (6-6) and Stanley Cunningham (6-5).
A pure shooter like Briggs – a three-year starter who has committed to Wayne State – is something that Guy hasn’t always had, and might be what makes the difference in March.
Briggs had his best game of the season back on Dec. 28 at the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic at Reeths-Puffer High School. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was there to get a close look at recruiting target Durral Brooks of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, but it was Briggs who stole the show.
Briggs scored a game-high 35 points, including the winning bucket in overtime in an 81-79 victory.
“I just happened to catch fire that night,” said Briggs, who is a 4.0-GPA student and a National Honor Society member. “That was a great win for us and we’re rolling to start the season, which is great. But we want to keep it going and play our best basketball in March, when it really counts.”
In the Big Reds’ first league game Friday night at cross-town rival Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Briggs got in foul trouble and didn’t score in the first half. He made amends by scoring his team’s first 12 points of the second half (on four 3-pointers), as Muskegon pulled away for a 51-26 victory.
He followed that up with his 24-point performance against Ferndale and is now averaging 24 points, six rebounds and five assists per game.
Guy hopes that, led by Briggs, this year’s team is ready for a long run – literally.
Guy made all of his varsity players that were not on the football team run cross country this fall, and not just for conditioning reasons.
“It put them out of their comfort zones, which is a good thing,” explained Guy, who is also Muskegon’s athletic director. “Take Jordan, for example. Basketball is comfortable for him. I wanted to put him in situations that weren’t as comfortable for him so that he would learn how to adapt and handle being uncomfortable a little better.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon’s Jordan Briggs (2) pulls up for a shot at the 3-point arc during his team’s win Saturday over Ferndale. (Middle) Briggs makes his move toward the basket. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)
D2 Preview: Embrace the Unexpected
March 13, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Anything is possible during the basketball postseason, and this weekend's Division 2 bracket tells some of that story with at least a few surprises in contention for this season's championship.
But there’s no debating this weekend’s contenders haven’t earned their ways to East Lansing.
River Rouge has looked like a contender all along after making the Semifinals in 2018. Harper Woods Chandler Park was one of three undefeated teams in Division 2 at the end of the regular season but still had to get by New Haven, which was tied for the top spot in the final Associated Press poll. Hudsonville Unity Christian got here in part by defeating Benton Harbor, the other No. 1-ranked team when the playoffs began. And Ludington has pulled off the improbable – which we’ll detail below.
Division 2 Semifinals – Friday
Ludington (14-10) vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian (24-2), 5:30 p.m.
River Rouge (22-2) vs. Harper Woods Chandler Park (21-0), 7:30 p.m.
Division 2 Final – Saturday, 6:45 p.m.
Tickets cost $10 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session (Divisions 3 and 2). All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv and viewable on a pay-per-view basis. The Divisions 2, 3 and 4 championship games will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit’s primary channel, while the Division 1 Final will be shown live on Fox Sports Detroit PLUS. All four championship games will be streamed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and the FOX Sports app. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a glance at all four semifinalists. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through teams' Regional Finals.)
HARPER WOODS CHANDLER PARK
Record/rank: 21-0, No. 7
League finish: First in Charter School Conference
Coach: James Scott, fourth season (69-20)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 53-51 over No. 1 New Haven in Quarterfinal, 61-60 (OT) over Detroit Henry Ford in Regional Semifinal, 89-40 over Ferndale in Regional Final.
Players to watch: Andre Bradford, 6-3 sr. G (17 ppg, 4.0 apg); Tyland Tate, 6-6 sr. F (15 ppg, 8.0 rpg).
Outlook: Chandler Park followed up its first Regional title by earning its first trip to the Semifinals, stunning New Haven on Tuesday in one of the rare times an undefeated team likely was the underdog. But the Eagles have won two straight league titles and bring a balanced attack to Breslin. In addition to Bradford and Tate noted above, senior Derrick Bryant Jr. (12 ppg, 10 apg), sophomore Jayland Randall (13 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 spg) and senior Josh Diggs (11 ppg) all average double figures scoring – Randall off the bench.
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 24-2, honorable mention
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Green
Coach: Scott Soodsma, 27th season (430-189)
Championship history: Class B runner-up 1973 and 1963.
Best wins: 71-45 over Grand Rapids South Christian in Quarterfinal, 63-54 over No. 1 Benton Harbor in Regional Final, 58-49 (District Semifinal), 69-64 and 63-42 over honorable mention Holland Christian.
Players to watch: T.J. VanKoevering, 6-5 sr. F (13.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.1 bpg); Chandler Collins, 6-5 sr. F (10 ppg, 3.1 rpg).
Outlook: Unity Christian will play in its first Semifinal since 1973 riding a 20-game winning streak, and after upsetting reigning Class B champion Benton Harbor and then avenging an earlier loss to South Christian. VanKoevering earned an all-state honorable mention last season and is one of six players averaging at least 6.2 points under longtime leader Soodsma. The Crusaders fill their roles well; senior Noah Wiswary averages four assists per game to go with his 7.8 ppg, while another senior Ryan Takens had made 44 3-pointers entering the week and sophomore Zac Velthouse scores 7.5 ppg with nearly 46-percent success from 3-point range.
LUDINGTON
Record/rank: 14-10, unranked
League finish: Tied for third in Lakes 8 Conference
Coach: Thad Shank, 17th season (265-132)
Championship history: Class B runner-up 2017 and 1953.
Best wins: 65-32 over Alma in Quarterfinal, 49-32 over Escanaba in Regional Final, 50-40 over Standish-Sterling in Regional Semifinal.
Players to watch: Joshua Laman, 6-4 sr. F (15.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 58 3-pointers); Jayden Hathaway, 6-4 sr. C (5.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg).
Outlook: In a tournament filled with surprises, Ludington might be the biggest after entering the postseason with a 9-10 record. The Orioles had lost five of six entering the playoffs, but defeated five teams all with at least 13 wins to get back to Breslin for the second time in three seasons. Laman earned an all-state honorable mention last season and is sure to draw the most defensive attention. Senior Nathan Lange and junior Brayden Porter both add just over six points per game.
RIVER ROUGE
Record/rank: 22-2, No. 4
League finish: First in Michigan Metro Athletic Conference Blue
Coach: Lamonta Stone, seventh season (188-37)
Championship history: Fourteen MHSAA titles (most recent 1999), five runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 78-41 over Division 1 honorable mention Ypsilanti Lincoln, 66-61 over Division 3 No. 1 Flint Beecher, 83-64 over Division 4 No. 3 Southfield Christian.
Players to watch: Nigel Colvin, 6-1 sr. G (13 ppg, 50 3-pointers); Micah Parrish, 6-5 sr. G (12 ppg).
Outlook: Stone, who led River Rouge to the 1999 Class B title, returned this season for his third tenure as leader of the program and with experience also coaching for four college programs. His team has been driving hard after making the Semifinals a year ago, losing only to Benton Harbor and Detroit Martin Luther King and winning its five tournament games by an average of 23 points per. Senior Donavan Freeman adds 10 points per game, and senior Bralin Toney averages 4.8 assists and seven points per contest.
PHOTO: Ludington’s Nathan Lange gathers a loose ball during his team’s Quarterfinal win over Alma. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)