Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 9
January 29, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Only a month's worth of games remain before the start of MHSAA girls basketball District tournaments. And the teams that made this week's list of high performers surely have hit their strides.
A few have been on point since opening night. Most of the rest this week have suffered only close losses to top competition or have avenged one of their early-season defeats.
Results and overall records below are drawn from our MHSAA Score Center. Are either incorrect? Please help us make the necessary fixes after filling in this brief registration.
1. Reese (13-0) – The Rockets are weeks away from finishing their second-straight perfect regular season, and highly-touted Saginaw Nouvel, by 10 points, was only opponent to come that close.
2. Lansing Christian (13-0) – This might be the best Pilgrims team since it won back-to-back Class D titles in 2003-04; Lansing Christian has played a number of larger schools, and only four total have come within 10 points.
3. Farmington Hills Harrison (13-1) – The Hawks have won 12 straight since falling to Oxford by three on the last day of November; Harrison avenged that with a 48-27 win over Oxford last week.
4. Kent City (12-1) – This level of success is the norm for Kent City, and it's perfect since falling by two to Class A Muskegon in the Eagles’ opener.
5. Petoskey (11-2) – The Northmen have won eight straight since their last loss, to Cadillac, on Dec. 14; they avenged that loss with a 41-40 win over Cadillac on Friday.
6. Haslett (10-2) – Only DeWitt and Saginaw Nouvel, by a combined nine points, have slowed the Vikings this season; Haslett has won six of its last seven.
7. Portland St. Patrick (12-1) – The Shamrocks, Class D Semifinalists last season, have won nine straight with their only loss to Class C Pewamo-Westphalia on Dec. 11.
8. St. Clair Shores South Lake (7-4) – South Lake has won seven straight since opening 0-4; the Cavaliers’ most recent win also was Center Line’s first loss, 45-40.
9. Carson City-Crystal (10-2) – It’s tough to remember the Eagles won only two games two seasons ago; they've lost only two this winter, and already avenged one defeat, to Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
10. Dearborn Divine Child (8-2) – Divine Child’s 2-2 start included close losses to Nouvel and equally-talented Westland John Glenn. The Falcons have won the close ones too, with four wins by six or fewer points.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Harrison (yellow and green uniforms) has won 12 straight games, including this one over Detroit Consortium earlier this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
'Reaching Higher' Returns for 8th Year
July 7, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The annual Reaching Higher showcases of Michigan’s top high school basketball players will return for the eighth year beginning Wednesday, July 13, with the boys event and followed by the state’s top girls prospects taking the floor July 25. Both again will be hosted by Milford High School in Highland Township.
More than 200 athletes with aspirations to play at the college level will train and scrimmage under the tutelage of high school coaches from across the state and in front of college coaches expected to represent all three NCAA divisions, the NAIA and junior college levels. Coaches from 39 college basketball programs, including nine Division I schools, attended the 2015 Reaching Higher events.
An educational effort by the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, the Reaching Higher experience includes classroom sessions for student-athletes and their parents as well as on-court drills and scrimmaging. The events aim to give athletes a vision of what it takes to become a college basketball player and also succeed in college life.
Participants in the program were selected by a committee of BCAM members. The process began in December when local high school coaches submitted nominations to the selection committee. Participants were chosen in February.
A complete list of expected attendees can be found on the “Reaching Higher” page of the MHSAA Website. The boys event begins at 3 p.m. on July 13, with scrimmages running from 5:45 to 8 p.m. The girls event begins at 11:45 a.m. on July 25, with scrimmages from 2 to 4:25 p.m.
Speakers for the boys session include Carlton Valentine, a past standout at Michigan State University and MHSAA championship-winning coach at Lansing Sexton, and father of recent Chicago Bulls draft selection Denzel Valentine; and Justin Jennings, who starred at Grand Rapids Central and went on to play at Purdue University and professionally and currently is the assistant superintendent of special education for Muskegon Public Schools.
Former St. Ignace and University of Michigan standout Nicole Elmblad and Dave Ginsberg, executive director of the National High School Basketball Coaches Association, will speak at the girls showcase. Elmblad was a two-time captain for the Wolverines and finished her career in 2015 as the program’s career leader with 133 games played and 82 wins. Ginsberg has coached at a number of Michigan high schools and also was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Central Michigan University for 16 years.