Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 12
February 19, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The girls basketball season has entered its final week, and teams are finishing historical runs and preparing to start anew Monday with the beginning of Districts all over the state.
Below are 10 teams that have been riding high of late, and for the most part all season.
1. Detroit Martin Luther King (17-0) – This team is making a strong argument to join the list of top-notch King achievers over the years, and beat Detroit Cass Tech 45-38 in the Detroit Public School League championship game.
2. Niles Brandywine (18-0) – Brandywine survived a small scare against Bronson with a 34-28 win and will be one of the most intimidating teams in Class C when Districts begin.
3. Marquette (16-3) – The Redettes have only one loss since falling to Brighton and Petoskey during opening week – to Houghton two weeks ago. But Marquette evened that series by beating Houghton on Thursday in the rematch, 58-55.
4. Clarkston (17-1) – A 50-43 win over Southfield-Lathrup capped a three-victory week and might be the best of an impressive run this winter.
5. Ann Arbor Huron (13-4) – Huron did lose to Clarkston last week, but has won 10 of its last 11 including beating reigning Class B champion Goodrich on Thursday, 55-53.
6. Burton Bendle (16-2) – Although the Tigers did drop their second game with New Lothrop this season, on Feb. 7, they won a rematch last week against Flint Hamady, 57-55, after falling to Hamady on Jan. 8.
7. Carson City-Crystal (16-2) – The Eagles are having one of their finest seasons ever, and last week’s 41-37 win over powerful Saginaw Nouvel is the best Carson City-Crystal win in recent (and perhaps distant) memory.
8. Pickford (11-6) – Save for a pair of losses to championship contender St. Ignace, Pickford’s other four losses are by a combined 19 points. The Panthers avenged one last week by beating DeTour 42-28.
9. Grand Haven (17-0) – The reigning Class A champion is closing in on a perfect regular season, about the only that that eluded the Buccaneers in 2011-12 when they finished 27-1.
10. Gaylord St. Mary (18-2) – Combined with last season’s regular-season finish, St. Mary is 37-3 over the last two and looks like a Class D contender again coming off a two-point loss in its 2012 Quarterfinal.
PHOTO: Detroit Martin Luther King's Antania Hayes was named Miss PSL last week and led King to the Detroit Public School League championship at Detroit Mercy. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit PSL.)
Michigan's Best Reach Higher at Milford
July 26, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP – Nearly 200 of the top high school basketball players in Michigan took part in the Reaching Higher experience during the last two weeks at Milford High School.
A total of 96 boys attended Reaching Higher on July 13, and 90 girls attended the July 25 session. The program, in its eighth year, again included instruction on the court and off.
Skill training and scrimmages followed presentations by speakers Carlton Valentine and Justin Jennings (former Michigan State and Purdue standouts, respectively) at the boys program and Nicole Elmblad (University of Michigan record holder) and Dave Ginsburg (longtime high school and college coach) at the girls session. An educational effort by the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, the Reaching Higher experience also included classroom sessions for parents and instruction from NCAA compliance officers.
Players invited to Reaching Higher were selected by a committee of BCAM members and received the opportunity to show their skills in front of college coaches representing all three NCAA levels and the NAIA. Coaches representing 27 colleges attended the boys session, and 19 colleges attended the girls showcase.
Click for photos from the Boys Reaching Higher and Girls Reaching Higher.
PHOTOS: (Left) Warren Cousino's A.J. Crawford looks for an opening while defended by DeWitt's Tanner Reha (106). (Right) Bullock Creek's Haley Heldt (98) searches for a teammate while Dearborn Heights Crestwood's Demi Rodriguez anticipates her next move.