Breslin Bound: Girls Regional Preview
March 7, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It was not intentional that the five results from last week’s Districts highlighted in this week’s “Breslin Bound” report all came from Class A.
Rather, it’s an indication just how many contenders there appear to be in that tournament this season – and no doubt this week’s Regionals in the other three classes will provide similar excitement.
Below is a glance at those five District games that popped off the bracket most, plus a look at three Regionals of particular note in each class – all powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. East Lansing 48, DeWitt 47 – The Trojans avenged a one-point loss to the Panthers from the second week of this season in a matchup of Capital Area Activities Conference champions.
2. Bloomfield Hills Marian 47, Bloomfield Hills 45 – Marian ran its Class A District streak to six straight in this Final, handing Bloomfield Hills only its second loss and first since the first weekend in December.
3. East Kentwood 51, Grand Rapids Christian 49 – The Falcons also haven’t lost since the season’s first week, but just got past the Eagles in another Class A Final, this one a matchup of Ottawa-Kent Conference champs.
4. Farmington Hills Mercy 32, North Farmington 30 – North Farmington had a great season with 16 wins, but this Class A Final still had to be a bit of a scare for the Detroit Catholic League A-B champion.
5. Midland Dow 37, Saginaw Heritage 30 – This was a Class A District Semifinal, but matched rivals that had split during the regular season; both had aspirations of winning the MHSAA championship, and Dow went on to win the District.
Regionals at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold:
CLASS A
Dearborn Fordson
Dearborn (18-4), Detroit Martin Luther King (22-1), Livonia Churchill (9-14), Southfield Arts & Technology (18-4).
King has continued to turn away its share of tough opponents as it looks to return to the Class A championship game after finishing runner-up a year ago. The Crusaders could see two more this week; Dearborn also faced King in a Regional Semifinal last season and is two wins better than a year ago, and potential District Final opponent Southfield Arts & Technology has faced its share of contenders as well and has been considered one since the start of this winter. Churchill lost seven of its last eight to finish the regular season, but has gotten on the right track during the playoffs.
North Farmington
Farmington Hills Mercy (20-3), Hartland (22-1), Novi (17-6), Walled Lake Western (19-4).
With their only loss to King on Dec. 17, the Eagles are on a fantastic run and rightly should have dreams of their second Regional title in three seasons. They won a Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall title with Novi and Walled Lake Western also part of the bracket, although Hartland didn’t see either. As noted above, Mercy is the Detroit Catholic League A-B champ but had a scare in the District Final. Those two face each other Tuesday, with Western a KLAA division champion and Novi a runner-up on the other side of the bracket.
Zeeland East
East Kentwood (22-1), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (16-7), Hudsonville (17-6), Muskegon Mona Shores (19-3).
East Kentwood and Mona Shores both had District scares as well, East Kentwood’s against Grand Rapids Christian mentioned above and Mona Shores a one-point Semifinal win over rival Muskegon. They face each other in one Semifinal this week, while on the other side Hudsonville is looking to repeat its 2016 trip to the Class A Semifinals and Forest Hills Northern is on a six-game winning streak that has included multiple wins over the champion of its O-K White, Lowell.
CLASS B
Detroit Mumford
Center Line (16-7), Detroit Collegiate Prep (16-5), Detroit Mumford (16-7), Redford Union (14-6).
Mumford will start its pursuit of a repeat Quarterfinal trip with another strong Detroit Public School League team in Collegiate Prep, which has added six wins to its total from 2015-16. On the other side of a wide-open bracket, Center Line has won six of its last eight while making the Macomb Area Conference Blue-Gold Tournament championship game, and Redford Union has reversed course from last season’s 6-15 finish.
Frankenmuth
Corunna (14-9), Freeland (23-0), Ithaca (19-4), Saginaw Swan Valley (18-5).
Freeland’s run to the Tri-Valley Conference Central title included a one-point win over Swan Valley, a possible Regional Final opponent. The Vikings open with Ithaca, a Class C semifinalist last season, while the Falcons will look to keep their perfect run alive against a Corunna team that has improved from 9-12 a year ago.
Hamilton
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (22-1), Hamilton (22-1), Howard City Tri-County (15-7), Muskegon Oakridge (21-2).
Hamilton, Oakridge and GRCC all won league championships, and Tri-County was a co-runner-up. Oakridge’s losses came back-to-back in December, and it is undefeated in 2017 as it takes on Hamilton in a Regional Semifinal for the second straight season – and with the opportunity to see GRCC in the title game also for the second straight winter. Hamilton’s only loss also was in December, to Class A Hudsonville, and GRCC’s defeat came on opening night to Class A Mona Shores.
CLASS C
Adrian Madison
Ann Arbor Greenhills (17-4), Blissfield (21-2), Grass Lake (17-6), Michigan Center (20-3).
Grass Lake won the Cascades Conference with a sweep of Michigan Center by 10 (in overtime) and 24. But the Cardinals have won 11 straight. To get a rematch, they first must get by Blissfield, the Lenawee County Athletic Association champion and owner of an 18-game winning streak with losses this season only to Class A Utica Ford and Class B Bay City John Glenn. And don’t forget about Greenhills, which also has won 11 straight and 15 of its last 16 after also going 17-4 last winter.
Flint Hamady
Brown City (16-6), Flint Hamady (16-5), Harbor Beach (17-5), Sandusky (23-0).
It’s hard to believe Hamady hasn’t won a Class C title since 2010; the Hawks are always in the mix and have won four Regionals this decade alone. But this could be one of their greatest challenges at this level of the tournament; Sandusky is playing for its first Regional title since 1999 and has been barely challenged, with only Harbor Beach getting as close as 10 to matching the Redskins. Sandusky, Harbor Beach and Brown City finished in the top three spots in the Greater Thumb Conference East. Hamady has seen its share of top teams, however, with losses to four others that also celebrated District titles last week – Detroit Country Day, Goodrich, Detroit Edison and Flushing.
Homer
Bronson (16-7), Kalamazoo Hackett (18-5), Niles Brandywine (19-4), Schoolcraft (18-5).
None of these teams won league championships, a testament to the tough competition they’ve faced in prepping for the postseason. Brandywine finished third in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Red to Class B Comstock and Buchanan (which shared the title) and is seeking its third straight Regional championship and sixth in seven seasons. Bronson finished second in the BCS Blue and is seeking its first Regional title since 2002, and Hackett and Schoolcraft tied for second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley and are both seeking a first championship in this round of the tournament.
CLASS D
Adrian Lenawee Christian
Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner (20-1), Hillsdale Academy (16-7), Morrice (19-4), Pittsford (23-0).
It’s been quite a closing run for Pittsford’s veteran crew, who have won 50 straight since falling in the Class D Final in 2015. First up this week is Morrice, which has won 11 straight and shared the Genesee Area Conference Blue title, while on the other side waits a possible familiar foe – Hillsdale Academy finished second to Pittsford in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. The Colts begin Regional play with Mid-South Conference champ Rudolf Steiner, which lost only to Class C Whitmore Lake.
Kingsford
Bark River-Harris (15-7), Cooks Big Bay de Noc (10-12), Crystal Falls Forest Park (18-4), Painesdale-Jeffers (17-6)
A championship game between Skyline Central Conference West rivals Bark River-Harris and Crystal Falls Forest Park would be charged; the Trojans beat Bark River-Harris by 13 early but saw the league title slip away with a 13-point loss to the Broncos in the regular-season finale. Not that Jeffers, with 12 wins over its last 14 games, will go easily in its Regional Semifinal against Bark River-Harris. Big Bay de Noc finished last in the SCC East but beat the second and third-place teams to win last week’s District.
Marion
Custer Mason County Eastern (16-5), Fruitport Calvary Christian (20-1), Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (22-1), Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (18-5).
Sacred Heart, last season’s Class D runner-up, has dominated again with only a loss to Carson City-Crystal, and only the Eagles and Merrill have gotten within single digits of the Irish so far. Tri-unity, which like Sacred Heart fell to eventual champion Pittsford during last season’s tournament, is looking to return to the Quarterfinals for the second straight. Especially intriguing is Calvary Christian, which finished ahead of Tri-unity to win the Alliance League and is a one-point December loss to Class C Mason County Central from a perfect season but has never won a Regional. To get that opportunity, Calvary will first have to beat Mason County Eastern, which has righted itself after losing three of four at the end of the regular season.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, here against Beal City, plays this week in what could be one of the toughest Regionals in Class D. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Cancer Free, Haske Pulls Double Duty
March 3, 2016
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
TRAVERSE CITY – Keith Haske calls coaching basketball “therapeutic.”
It’s a term that now holds more meaning for the 58-year-old Traverse City St. Francis basketball coach, who is recovering from a stage four throat cancer diagnosis two years ago.
“When you’re coaching you just kind of lose yourself,” he said. “You don’t think about how you’re feeling or what you went through.”
Coaching has been a major part of Haske’s life for 32 years – 13 at St. Johns, 13 at Charlevoix and six at St. Francis. Even when he felt weak and tired last season, Haske continued as the boys coach, using an amplified headset at practice to lessen the strain on his throat.
His health, he said, is continually improving. He’s cancer free. His energy and strength are returning – so much so that he added to his workload this season by taking on the girls varsity coaching duties, too.
“When you go through this stuff you almost have a renewed energy,” he said. “Your body fights so hard to beat the cancer, and you go through so much suffering, that when you come out the other side things really don’t faze you as much.”
This is a time of the year that will test Haske’s stamina because his schedule is busier than ever. He coached three doubleheaders last week. With the girls reaching Friday’s MHSAA Class C District Final, he’ll coach five games in five days this week. It could be a repeat next week if the boys and girls advance along the tournament trail.
“I can’t tell you how much fun that would be,” Haske said.
Another tough District matchup awaits, though. The girls team (21-1) played Elk Rapids (15-6) on Wednesday and will next face host Glen Lake (20-2). The boys (12-7) will face Johannesburg-Lewiston (16-2) – the team that knocked the Gladiators out last season– in their District opener Monday.
It’s a challenging schedule. But Haske, who’s taken four teams to the MHSAA Finals, is accustomed to challenges. None bigger than his battle with cancer.
The diagnosis came the day after Easter in 2014. Haske, who kept physically fit, couldn’t believe what the doctor was telling him.
“I said, ‘There’s no way,’” he recalled. “I never smoked, never chewed tobacco, things you would attribute (to throat cancer).”
He wasn’t the only one stunned.
“Most of the team started breaking down crying,” senior Dylan Sheehy-Guiseppi remembered when Haske broke the news. “We were so shocked. We couldn’t understand how it happened to him.”
Neither could Haske’s close friends.
“Your first take is that it’s pretty devastating because you don’t know (what to expect),” Adam Wood, who played for and coached under Haske at Charlevoix, said. “Cancer can run the gamut as far as severity. The one thing I did know is that he would fight it as hard as he could.”
Haske took his fight to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He, and his wife Barb, spent most of the summer there as Haske underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatment.
It was on a return trip to Houston a few months later – he still goes back every four months for scans – when he learned he was cancer free.
“When I left (in July) they were still worried about one of the lymph nodes, whether they got it or not,” Haske said. “Sometimes it gets inflamed from the radiation, and they can’t tell.”
Turns out, it was inflammation. No cancer was detected.
On the way home, Haske received a call from principal Eric Chittle, who then revealed the good news at a school assembly.
“The whole student body went crazy,” Haske said. “It was cool.”
For Haske, the dean of students at the high school, it was a big hurdle to clear. But there was a side effect – Haske’s throat was still inflamed, and he struggled to eat.
“When I came back I went six months without eating a single morsel of food,” he said. “I lived on Ensure and ice cream.”
He ended up losing 53 pounds – and at one point inquired about a feeding tube.
“He (doctor) said, ‘You don’t need it. You’ve been through the worst. You’ll be all right,’” Haske recalled. “He was right. A couple weeks later it started to turn around.”
After the boys basketball season concluded last March, and as Haske’s health improved, the girls basketball job opened up. Haske had coached girls basketball at Charlevoix for three seasons, leading the Rayders to a 27-1 record and a Finals appearance in 2004. He stepped down when the girls season was switched from fall to winter.
St. Francis athletic director Tom Hardy thought about the possibilities and approached Haske, a member of the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame, about adding a second coaching job. After consulting with Barb, who he said has been “unbelievable” in his recovery process, Haske accepted.
Wood, who is now the boys basketball coach and athletic director at Lake Michigan Conference rival Harbor Springs, was among the first to call his former coach.
“He asked, ‘Adam, am I crazy?’” Wood said laughing. “My response was ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘I’ve been getting a lot of that lately.’
“For him to take that on was beyond impressive. It was all about the kids.”
What about physically?
“When I saw him this year I told him he looked great,” Wood said. “He said he felt great. The difference between this year and last is quite dramatic.”
Haske – who is mentoring two young coaches in the system, Tyler Sanborn and Stephanie DeNoyelles – said the casual fan might not even realize what he’s been through.
“If you were looking at me across the gym you wouldn’t have any idea,” Haske said. “If you get closer, I still have some swelling in my jaw, and I talk a little funny sometimes.”
But he’s enjoying every minute.
“The kids here are great, and that makes it so much easier,” he said. “You just don’t have many problems.”
The players are thankful to see their coach returning to his old self.
“He’s not only a basketball coach, he’s a mentor,” Sheehy-Guiseppi said. “He wants to make sure you’re taking care of stuff outside the game of basketball first. He really cares about you as a person, and he looks forward to helping you grow as a person.”
St. Francis officials adjusted Haske’s work schedule during the winter to accommodate his coaching, and Hardy had to work out arrangements with league members to schedule more varsity doubleheaders.
“All the schools were great about it,” Hardy said. “We have not had an issue with Keith having to be at two spots at the same time.”
Now comes the challenge of March Madness. And for the girls, that means a showdown with Glen Lake.
“They’re a lot like us,” Haske said, when asked about the Lakers. “They don’t have any one person you can key on. They have five or six girls that all share the ball and are dangerous. They’re tough in the paint and they can shoot. They’re very balanced, very sound.”
So are the Gladiators, who have won 19 in a row. Senior Annie Lyman is the leader, averaging 14 points, eight rebounds, five steals and five assists per game.
“She does it all,” Haske said. “She’s a tough, aggressive player.”
Juliana Phillips, a 6-foot-4 junior who has committed to play volleyball at St. Louis University, and 6-foot senior Lauren McDonnell also average in double figures.
Haske likes the growth he’s seen in his team.
“I think we’ve made great strides in understanding the system and what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We have some pretty talented kids. We have some size, some quickness, some kids who can shoot it. It’s a well-rounded team.”
The boys, meanwhile, are trying to find some consistency. Haske thought the Gladiators were turning the corner when Gabe Callery hit a mid-court shot at the buzzer to stun previously unbeaten East Jordan earlier this year. But St. Francis dropped three consecutive road games in February.
“A lot of it is shooting,” Haske said. “There are nights we just don’t shoot it well. When we do shoot it well, we’re a really good team.”
How good will be determined in March.
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) Traverse City St. Francis coach Keith Haske huddles with his boys basketball team during a game against Grayling. (Middle) St. Francis' girls team, here against Kalkaska, will play for a District title Friday. (Below) Haske speaks with a few of his players during a District game against Grand Traverse Academy. (Photos by Julie English.)