#TBT: Hoops Titans Meet in Class A Final
July 26, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The talk of the 1998-99 high school boys basketball season in Michigan revolved around a pair of Class A stars who went on to meet in one of the most highly-anticipated MHSAA championship games in recent memory.
It’s been two decades since Lavell Blanchard led Ann Arbor Pioneer to a 54-47 win over Jason Richardson and Saginaw Arthur Hill, holding off the Lumberjacks’ third-quarter comeback attempt to claim the program’s lone boys basketball championship.
Richardson, who claimed the state’s Mr. Basketball Award just ahead of Blanchard earlier that week, had 16 points, nine rebounds and six steals in only 24 minutes of action with four fouls forcing him off the floor. Blanchard scored a game-high 29 points to go with 14 rebounds in his final prep game, staying on the court for all 32 minutes of the Pioneers’ victory.
Richardson played at Michigan State and then 14 seasons in the NBA, while Blanchard went on to University of Michigan and then played professionally in Europe.
This summer, Blanchard has found his way back to making an impact at the high school level. He was one of 30 first-year athletic directors in attendance at the MHSAA’s New Athletic Director Orientation Program at the MHSAA Office on Thursday and is readying to lead Manchester High School’s athletic department this school year.
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Lavell Blanchard, left, defends the rim as Jason Richardson drives during the 1999 Class A boys basketball championship game.
Be the Referee: Backcourt Violation?
January 31, 2019
This week, MHSAA officials coordinator Sam Davis explains an often misunderstood backcourt/frontcourt basketball scenario.
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Backcourt Violation? - Listen
Let’s test your knowledge of high school basketball rules with this you make the call:
During a jump ball, a throw-in or while on defense, a player jumps from the forecourt, secures control of the ball with both feet in the air, and returns to the floor with one or both feet in the backcourt. You make the call.
Is this a backcourt violation or does play continue? In this situation, a player may make a normal landing on the floor without regard to where his or her feet come down. It makes no difference whether the first foot down is in the frontcourt or the backcourt. There is no backcourt – or what some would call an over-and-back – violation, and play continues with a fresh 10-second count applied if necessary to advance the ball into the frontcourt.
Past editions
January 24: Required Hockey Equipment - Listen
January 17: You Make the Call: 10-Second Clock - Listen
January 10: Tripping in Hockey - Listen
January 3: Sliding in Basketball - Listen
December 27: Stalling in Wrestling - Listen
December 20: Basketball: You Make the Call - Listen
December 13: Basketball Uniform Safety - Listen
December 6: Coaching Box Expansion - Listen
November 29: Video Review, Part 2 - Listen
November 22: Video Review, Part 1 - Listen
November 15: You Make the Call - Sleeper Play - Listen
November 8: 7-Person Football Crews - Listen
November 1: Overtime Differences - Listen
October 25: Trickery & Communication - Listen
October 18: Punts & Missed Field Goals - Listen
October 11: What Officials Don't Do - Listen
October 4: Always 1st-and-Goal - Listen
September 27: Unique Kickoff Option - Listen
September 20: Uncatchable Pass - Listen
September 13: Soccer Rules Change - Listen
September 6: You Make the Call: Face Guarding - Listen
August 30: 40-Second Play Clock - Listen
August 23: Football Rules Changes - Listen