Whitaker Adds Scoring Milestone, School Record to Remarkable Hoops Rise
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
January 23, 2024
Braiden Whitaker traded sunshine for snow, oceans for Great Lakes and year-round football for basketball.
Despite not playing organized basketball until seventh grade, the Dundee senior has evolved into a 6-foot-5 beast on the basketball court and has the Vikings 13-1 and ranked sixth in the state.
“The passion he plays with is infectious to everyone around him,” said Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt. “He brings a lot of enthusiasm to the team. The other players feed off that.”
Whitaker has been outstanding all season, but never better than his record-setting performance last week for the Vikings at home in a nonleague game against Monroe Jefferson.
Whitaker came into the game needing 36 points to reach 1,000 for his career. In the fourth quarter, he started getting close. His teammates kept getting him the ball.
“It was a great feeling,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. They helped me out. I started off bad in the first quarter, so I knew in the second half it was time to go.”
Haselschwerdt said Whitaker’s teammates were cheering him on down the stretch.
“As he got closer, the team really wanted him to get to 1,000,” he said. “Hats off to Braiden and hats off to the team for being okay with that. It was a very special night.”
When Whitaker got his 1,000th point, he got emotional. He teared up as coaches, teammates and family recognized his accomplishment.
“It meant a lot to him,” Haselschwerdt said.
Only, he wasn’t done. After hitting another shot and converting a three-point play, he was only a couple buckets shy of the school’s single-game scoring record of 43 points. He got that a minute later, finishing with 44 in the 72-63 victory.
Dundee needed every one of Whitaker’s points to hold off Jefferson. The Vikings started the game missing one starter and during it lost two more to injuries. Jefferson scored 30 points in the fourth quarter and kept the game close.
“When you are 13-1, you are going to get everyone’s best shot,” Haselschwerdt said. “We know that. The kids have stepped up and adjusted their game.”
No one has adjusted his game more than Whitaker.
He grew up in Jacksonville, Fla., where football is king.
“Football is crazy there,” Whitaker said. “You play football year-round. Everyone does. That’s what I did. I was really into flag football at that time.”
In the seventh grade, however, Whitaker’s family moved to Michigan.
“We had family in the area,” he said. “Most of my mom’s family is from the area. My aunt moved into Dundee about a year before we moved up here. I didn’t know much about Michigan. I remember we were looking for a school to go to, and we chose Dundee.”
Whitaker never gave up football. In the fall he was one of the top receivers in Monroe County and has made a couple of unofficial college visits to schools wanting him to play football at the next level. Right now, his options remain open.
“We’re glad he’s here,” Haselschwerdt said. “He wants to go to college in Michigan. He’s got a great friend group. He’s a big part of Dundee life. He is kind of a rock star. Everybody knows him.”
Haselschwerdt said Whitaker has worked hard to rise to this level.
“Basketball wasn’t something he’s dominated since in the seventh grade,” the coach said. “He’s worked on his game. He’s grown by leaps and bounds. He’s become a great player, but it was a lot of hard work.”
Whitaker debuted on the Vikings varsity as a sophomore, averaging 10.1 points per game. Last year he increased that average to around 18 ppg and led the Vikings to a District championship by scoring 12 of his team's last 17 points in a 53-51 win over Ida, including a thrilling dunk in the final moments that sent the Dundee crowd into a frenzy. They mobbed him on the court after the win.
“Everyone loves him,” Haselschwerdt said. “His teammates, the students, the fans. Even the community. He’s that kind of kid. The community has embraced him.”
The previous single-game scoring record had stood since 1959. With this season just past the halfway point, Whitaker has his sights set on a league title, a long tournament run and, possibly, more records.
“Everyone likes breaking records,” Whitaker said. “It was a great feeling to accomplish that."
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Dundee’s Braiden Whitaker throws down a thunderous dunk. (Middle) Whitaker, left, with Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt. (Top photo by Mike Doughty; middle photo courtesy of the Dundee boys basketball program.)
Concord Basketball Celebrates Rare Feat: Foursome of 1,000-Point Scorers
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2026
Concord has a rich basketball tradition, but something has happened this year that no one could have predicted.
The Yellow Jackets have had four players – two girls and two boys – reach the career 1,000-point milestone.
“It seems like a pretty rare occurrence,” Concord athletic director Matt Lehman said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve never seen anything like it. There was a time where we’d go years without having one player do it. To have four players do it in one season is crazy.”
Senior Cierra Barrett started the avalanche when she reached the milestone just after Christmas against Adrian Lenawee Christian. Teammate Cierra Barrett grabbed a steal and fed Lehman with an assist to put her over the top.
A couple weeks later, during the same game, Concord seniors Connor Stevens and Jett Smith both scored their 1,000th points on back-to-back possessions during the Yellow Jackets’ win over Quincy. It was also Senior Night.
“It was a close game, too,” said Smith. “I got it, then the next time down the court, Jett got his 1,000th point. We called timeouts both times. It was pretty cool.”
Stevens went into the game needing just six points to reach 1,000. “I knew I should get it that game,” he said.
Smith needed a bigger night to accomplish it the same game – and he came through, pouring in 35 points in the Concord win.
“It was cool,” Smith said. “A lot of people said they’ve never seen that before.”
Barrett, who is also Concord’s all-time assists leader, has played for three coaches over her four varsity seasons. After a 4-17 season her freshman year, Concord has won 20, 22 and 20 games. This year’s team is 20-2 heading into the District Semifinals on Wednesday.
“I’ve had multiple coaches, and they all have had a different style,” Barrett said. “I’ve had to learn how to play in all of them. I think they each have given me something different I can use in my game.”
Reaching 1,000 points, she said, “wasn’t my focus, but once I knew I was close it became a goal.”
Lehman, the daughter of the athletic director, also was brought up to the varsity at the start of her freshman season. She said that season she wasn’t a big scorer.
Concord’s girls play an up-tempo offense, averaging 55.7 points a game. Lehman said the team plays tough defense, too, which sets up the offense.
“We score a lot in transition, off turnovers,” she said.
Reaching 1,000 points took a burden off of her, she noted.
“I was out for a lot of games last year, so I didn’t think I could get it this year,” she said. “Once I got there, it was kind of a relief. I was thinking about it so much. I just wanted to get it done and move on.”
Lehman thinks the Yellow Jackets are poised for a deep tournament run again. Last season they reached the Division 4 Semifinals.
“I definitely think we can make it there (again),” she said. “We have a lot of pieces.”
The Concord boys (20-4) put the finishing touches on their Division 4 District title Friday.
During his four seasons on the varsity, Stevens – also Concord’s all-time leading rebounder – said he’s grown as a player.
“I’ve gotten stronger and better,” he said. “I’m more aggressive now. That has helped my confidence, too.”
Smith said he’s always had a shooters mentality. He had 36 points in the District Final and is among the top scorers in his area. The success of this year’s team is no surprise, he said, given the bulk of the team has been playing together since middle school. The Yellow Jackets have won 67 games over the past four years.
“We’ve been talking about this since the eighth grade,” he said.
Concord boys basketball coach Marcus Gill said Smith and Stevens are polar opposites in terms of personalities, but they make it work.
“They couldn’t be more different dudes,” he said. “Jett is wired to score. From day one, he was wired to score. He never met a shot he didn’t like. Connor, he’s so unselfish it’s almost selfish. I tell him we need him to score more.”
All four players now have banners hanging up in the Concord gym recognizing their accomplishment. The athletic department also has a Wall of Fame outside the gym that all of them may someday join.
Gill summed it up: “It’s a special time for Concord basketball.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Four Concord basketball players have reached 1,000 career points this season – from left: Bradie Lehman, Cierra Barrett, Connor Stevens and Jett Smith. (Middle) Lehman brings the ball upcourt. (Group photo by Doug Donnelly. Lehman action photo courtesy of the Concord athletic department.)