Class A-B Preview: Recognizable Returns
March 18, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Plenty of familiar uniforms will be running the Breslin Center floor during Friday’s Class A and B Semifinals.
Only one team is seeking its first championship game berth – the other seven semifinalists have a combined 25 MHSAA titles.
And the familiarity doesn’t end there. Reigning Class A champion Bloomfield Hills Marian is top-ranked and played No. 2 Detroit Martin Luther King to a one-point win only three weeks ago – and they meet in a Semifinal. Capital Area Activities Conference Red rivals DeWitt and Haslett don’t meet this weekend because they play in different classes – but are representing their league well after sharing its championship.
Saginaw Heritage has a player whose dad made national headlines on the Breslin court, and Benton Harbor has a star who will join the Spartans upon graduation. Goodrich and Detroit Country Day are both regulars at Finals weekend, and back after a short time away.
All four Class A and B Semifinals will be played Friday, with all four championship games Saturday.
Semifinals - Friday
Class A
DeWitt (24-1) vs Saginaw Heritage (24-3), 1 p.m.
Bloomfield Hills Marian (24-1) vs Detroit Martin Luther King (24-1), 2:50 p.m.
Class B
Benton Harbor (20-5) vs Haslett (21-5), 6 p.m.
Goodrich (25-1) vs Detroit Country Day (20-4), 7:50 p.m.
Finals - Saturday
Class A - Noon
Class B - 6 pm
Class C - 4 pm
Class D - 10 am
Tickets cost $8 per pair of Semifinals and $10 per two-game Finals session. All Semifinals will be streamed live on MHSAA.TV on a pay-per-view basis. All four Finals will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit, the Class D, A and C title games on FOX Sports Detroit's primary channel and the Class B game on FOX Sports Detroit-PLUS. Free radio broadcasts of all weekend games will be available on MHSAANetwork.com.
And now, a look at the semifinalists in Class A and B. Click on the name of the school to see that team’s full schedule and results from this season. (Statistics are through Regionals Finals.)
Class A
BLOOMFIELD HILLS MARIAN
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 1.
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League Central.
Coach: Mary Cicerone, 32nd season (584-194).
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2014), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 51-42 over No. 7 Waterford Kettering in the Quarterfinal, 49-33 (Regional Final), 65-28 and 54-32 over honorable mention Farmington Hills Mercy, 47-36 over No. 3 Southfield-Lathrup in the Regional Semifinal, 50-49 over No. 2 Detroit Martin Luther King. 68-41 over Benton Harbor, 56-26 over Class C No. 3 Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
Players to watch: Brittany Gray, 5-11, sr. F (12 ppg, 4.9 rpg); Samantha Thomas, 6-0 soph. G (11.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.4 spg).
Outlook: Marian is the favorite to repeat after last season winning its first championship since 1998. The Mustangs are 67-7 over the last three seasons and lost this winter only to Chicago Whitney Young, by four points. Senior guard Kara Holinski (9.7 ppg, 3.3 apg) and junior guard Bailey Thomas (7.4 ppg, 3.7 apg, 3.1 spg) joined Gray and Thomas starting in last season’s Final, and senior guard Jaeda Robinson played the most minutes off the bench and adds another 7.4 points per game to the starting lineup.
DETROIT MARTIN LUTHER KING
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 2.
League finish: First in Detroit Public School League East.
Coach: William Winfield, 33rd season (687-55).
Championship history: Five MHSAA titles (most recent 2006), six runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 43-36 over No. 9 Grosse Pointe South in the Regional Semifinal, 43-36 (District Final), 66-53 and 53-49 over Detroit Cass Tech, 49-35 (Quarterfinal) and 68-34 over Romulus.
Players to watch: Janae Williams, 5-8 sr. G (15.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.3 spg); Malaysia McHenry, 6-3 F/C, sr. (10 ppg, 12 rpg, 2.1 bpg).
Outlook: King is making its first trip to Finals weekend since 2006 but hasn’t won fewer than 22 games since 2002 or lost more than one in a season since 2010. The lone loss this winter was to top-ranked Marian, by a point, making their rematch Friday the must-see game of the Semifinal round. No team left has as much size as the Crusaders; McHenry is joined in the starting lineup by 6-3 senior Leah Mathis, with 6-2 junior Jasmine Flowers filling in off the bench. Sophomore guard Alicia Norman adds 11.4 points per game. Williams has signed with Division I Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.
DEWITT
Record/rank: 24-1, No. 4.
League finish: Tied for first in Capital Area Activities Conference Red.
Coach: Bill McCullen, 19th season (357-78).
Championship history: Class C champion 1977.
Best wins: 48-43 OT over No. 5 Ann Arbor Huron in the Regional Semifinal, 65-53 over Kalamazoo Central in the Regional Final, 53-38 (District Final), 62-48 and 54-51 over Lansing Waverly, 51-47 over Class B No. 8 Haslett.
Players to watch: Claudia Reid, 5-7 sr. G (10.3 ppg, 6.5 apg, 2.6 spg); Abby Nakfoor, 5-10 sr. F (12 ppg, 5.3 rpg).
Outlook: A three-time Class B semifinalist (most recently in 2009), DeWitt moved up to Class A for 2011-12 and has this winter tallied the third-most wins of McCullen’s successful tenure. Reid is a four-year varsity point guard and with Nakfoor is joined by two more seniors in the starting lineup in guards Cayce Palmer and Maria Moss, with junior 5-10 center Lilly George the team’s third leading scorer at 8.2 ppg.
SAGINAW HERITAGE
Record/rank: 24-3, honorable mention.
League finish: Second in Saginaw Valley Association North.
Coach: Vonnie DeLong, second season (38-8).
Championship history: Class A champion 2002, runner-up 2001.
Best wins: 39-31 over No. 10 Flushing in the Regional Final, 50-31 over No. 7 Marquette in the Regional Semifinal, 52-38 (District Final) and 49-39 over No. 6 Midland Dow.
Players to watch: Allie Miller, 5-7 sr. G (9.6 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.4 spg); Jaela Richardson, 6-0 fr. F (8.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg).
Outlook: Heritage has stormed through the postseason, beating Dow after finishing second to the Chargers in league play and then downing Flushing after falling to the Raiders in overtime Feb. 24. No player averages in double figures scoring, but six score at least six points per game and four players grab at least four rebounds per. Richardson, the daughter of Philadelphia 76ers guard Jason, surely will carry some intrigue as she plays on her dad’s former college home floor.
Class B
BENTON HARBOR
Record/rank: 20-5, honorable mention.
League finish: Second in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West.
Coach: Lisa Harvey-Gondrezick, fifth season (69-46).
Championship history: Class A champion 2009, Class A runner-up 1984.
Best wins: 50-47 over No. 10 Plainwell in the Regional Final, 56-53 over Class A honorable mention Stevensville Lakeshore, 90-79 over Kalamazoo Central.
Players to watch: Kalabrya Gondrezick, 5-8 sr. G (17.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 8.1 apg, 2.8 spg, 1.1 bpg); Kysre Gondrezick, 5-9 jr. G (27.5 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 5.4 apg, 3.6 spg).
Outlook: Benton Harbor has steadily improved in five seasons under Harvey-Gondrezick, a former Benton Harbor standout, and has won 13 straight heading into this weekend. Her daughters are stars now; Kalabrya was a Miss Basketball finalist and will play at Michigan State, while Kysre is the team's leading scorer and rebounder and only a junior. Senior guard Dennee Brown adds 10.1 points and 1.2 blocks per game, and 6-1 senior center Gabrielle Dortch is one of two players 6-0 or taller in the playing group; she averages 9.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/rank: 20-4, No. 6.
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Coach: Frank Orlando, 34th season (710-110).
Championship history: Ten MHSAA titles (most recent 2009), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 47-39 over honorable mention Dearborn Divine Child in the Quarterfinal, 57-43 over No. 8 Haslett, 72-36 over Class C No. 5 Flint Hamady, 59-52 over Class C No. 10 Saginaw Nouvel.
Players to watch: Destiny Pitts, 5-10 soph. F (15.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 45 3-pointers); Kaela Webb, 5-6 fr. G (7.8 ppg, 2.1 apg, 2.1 spg, 28 3-pointers).
Outlook: Country Day has won 18 straight Regional titles but is making its first Semifinal appearance since 2010 – although this lineup seems to indicate a return to Breslin regular. Although the Yellowjackets start two seniors, they are the only seniors on the team, and there are seven underclassmen including 6-3 starting sophomore center Tylar Bennett. The losses came to three strong Class A teams and Class C contender Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
GOODRICH
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 2.
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference Red.
Coach: Jason Gray, 17th season (340-45).
Championship history: Class B champion 2013 and 2012.
Best wins: 57-40 over No. 7 Manistee in the Quarterfinal, 55-43 over No. 8 Haslett, 45-41 over No. 9 Frankenmuth in the Regional Semifinal, 50-48 over No. 1 Midland Bullock Creek in the Regional Final.
Players to watch: Tania Davis, 5-5 sr. G (19.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 5.7 apg, 2.9 spg ); Alexis Sevillian, 5-7 jr. G (15.6 ppg, 2.2 apg, 2.4 spg).
Outlook: Not that it required justification, but Goodrich has more than proved why it belongs back at Breslin and as the likely favorite. The Martians eliminated three top-10 teams and handed Bullock Creek and its trio of 1,000-point scorers its only loss this season. Davis was named Miss Basketball on Monday and teams with Sevillian for a dominating backcourt. Senior Isabella O’Brien provides plenty of presence to complement the star guards down low; she’s 6-2 and averages 9.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
HASLETT
Record/rank: 21-5, No. 8.
League finish: Tied for first in the Capital Area Activities Conference Red.
Coach: Bob Currier, sixth season (102-38).
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 48-38 over No. 3 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Quarterfinal, 63-56 over No. 4 Wayland in the Regional Final, 53-43 over No. 5 Williamston in the District opener, 55-44 over No. 4 DeWitt.
Players to watch: Makenna Ott, 5-10 sr. F (13.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg); Karson Tripp, 6-0 jr. F (11.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.5 spg, 1.4 bpg).
Outlook: The Vikings are one of the most intriguing stories this weekend; they made the Regional Finals in Class A last season, then moved to Class B with a senior-dominated lineup and high expectations but worked through a tough stretch midseason with Ott out with an injury. She’s back and the team has knocked off three top-five teams during the last three weeks. Ott and Tripp are the leading scorers, but hardly the only key contributors. Senior guard Kenzie DeCook averages 11.5 points per game and had 34 3-pointers entering the week, while senior guard Adrianna Stolicker is a captain with Ott and averages 10.3 ppg.
PHOTO: DeWitt guard Maria Moss goes up for a shot in the Panthers’ Quarterfinal win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of tcp-photography.)
Stuck Family Success Lives On at Charlevoix
February 3, 2017
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
CHARLEVOIX – Elise Stuck burst on to the scene with a 21-point, 11-rebound effort in Charlevoix’s season-opening win over Petoskey.
That was two months ago, but it was a harbinger of things to come.
Stuck, an athletic 6-foot-1 freshman, has registered seven double-doubles and one triple-double for the 9-4 Rayders, who are trending toward their best season since a 21-win campaign in 2008-09. Charlevoix was 3-19 a year ago.
The Rayders are achieving this with a lineup that features two freshmen and three juniors. Stuck – who “plays everywhere,” including the point – is the leader, averaging 18.7 points and 11 rebounds per game. She had 10 assists in a win over Gaylord last month.
“She’s the real deal,” Charlevoix coach Liz Shaw said. “She’s so fun to watch. She plays well beyond her years. One of her great attributes is passing. She sees the court so well. She makes everybody around her better. As a team, I think that’s why we’ve been so successful. And not only is she a great player, but she’s a great kid.”
Stuck struggled with her shot Wednesday in a 53-47 setback to Class A Traverse City Central. She still finished with 18 points (all in the second half) and eight rebounds. The Rayders could not contain Central junior guard Margot Woughter, who tossed in 27.
Shaw said Stuck’s struggle was an aberration.
“All players struggle, but great players figure it out,” she said.
Stuck, who turned 15 on New Year’s Eve, comes from a basketball family. Her parents, Erica (Hall) and Matt, combined to score nearly 4,100 points during their all-state careers at Manton. In fact, Matt is seventh in MHSAA career scoring with 2,449 points. He went on to play four years at Oakland University and two years professionally overseas. He’s now in his first season as the Charlevoix boys varsity coach. Erica’s 1,649 points rank second all-time at Manton. She’s in the MHSAA record book twice for hitting 15 free throws in a game.
But those feats are seldom discussed now. Their focus is on the present – and their kids.
And the kids keep them busy playing multiple sports. In addition to basketball, Elise competes in volleyball (honorable mention all-state), soccer and track. Her twin brother, Luke, who’s been battling injuries, plays basketball, football and baseball. Caleb, a seventh-grader, is also a basketball player, although baseball is his preferred sport.
“We always wanted them to love sports,” Erica said. “We’re super excited that they share that same passion.
“Otherwise,” she added with a laugh, “I don’t know what we would do.”
Elise is an emerging talent on the court. She’s a difference-maker, even though she’s still learning the nuances of the game. The more experience she gains, the more she’ll improve, her father said.
“I’m a dad and a coach so I always say she’s doing well, but she has a long way to go,” Matt said. “She has a very good athletic skill set. She’s tall, can run, can jump. She’s a good athlete who’s becoming a good basketball player.”
She’s also a leader.
That’s a role Matt didn’t have to take on when he was a freshman at Manton. Although he was a double-digit scorer on a team that reached the Class C Quarterfinals that season, the Rangers’ roster was stocked with strong senior leadership in Jeff Spalding, Cage Butcher and Chris Herndon. Spalding was an all-state guard.
By contrast, Charlevoix has just one senior on its girls roster this season.
“For me, the transition was easier,” Matt said. “I could just go play. Elise has had a bigger impact (as a freshman).”
Others have taken notice. Ron Stremlow, who coached Erica at Manton, compares Elise’s court presence to two former area standouts who went on to play at Michigan State.
“Elise is a Liz Shimek, Jasmine Hines type player,” Stremlow said. “She plays a different position, but she catches your eye as soon as the game starts.”
Stremlow saw Stuck play in a loss last month to unbeaten Kalkaska. He was not the only one impressed.
“Explosive,” Kalkaska coach Dave Dalton said in describing Stuck. “She can drive the ball, take it the length of the court, left or right. She’s big, strong, fast. She can play with her back to the basket. And she’s a really good passer.”
That’s why Shaw utilizes her all over the court, including the point.
“I don’t want to handcuff her,” she said.
Stuck’s game is still a work in progress, particularly on the perimeter. She acknowledges that.
“Coming into the season I had never played point guard or on the outside,” she said. “I was an inside player, and in crunch time I go to my inside game because that’s what I’m used to.
“I worked this summer on being able to take (defenders) one-on-one off the dribble. My outside shooting, shooting off the dribble, shooting under pressure, can definitely get better. That’s something I want to work on.”
Now that her players are settling into roles, Shaw said the Rayders “are getting better and better every game.” Abby Cunningham, a 5-11 freshman, has taken over at center, joining juniors Olivia Jeakle and sisters Rachel and Natalie Nesburg in the lineup. Shaw said last week’s 57-35 win over East Jordan was the team’s most “in sync” game of the season. Jeakle hit two 3-pointers early en route to a 14-point night. Natalie Nesburg chipped in eight points, six rebounds, five steals and five assists while Rachel added seven points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Cunningham is a close friend of Elise’s, and they have helped each other make the transition from middle school to varsity basketball.
“It’s fun to watch them have this kind of success together,” Erica said. “They love their team.”
Shaw is hoping this nucleus can help put Charlevoix girls basketball back on the map.
Charlevoix finished runner-up in the 2004 MHSAA Class C Final to Detroit St. Martin dePorres. That team was coached by Keith Haske, Shaw’s mentor. Haske is now at Traverse City St. Francis, where he led the Gladiators to the Class C Final last season.
Meanwhile, Matt, who runs his own construction company, took over the varsity boys job this season.
“I thought if I can help or contribute in any way,” he said, “why not?”
First, he had to make sure the added responsibilities wouldn’t drastically take away time from watching his kids play.
“Schedule-wise we decided as a family that it would work, that I wouldn’t miss any more games than I would have if I wasn’t coaching,” he said. “On Tuesday nights in our league (Lake Michigan Conference), the boys go one way, the girls the other. We were going to have to divide and conquer anyway.”
Stuck inherited a team short on varsity experience. The Rayders dropped to 3-8 after Wednesday’s night’s 58-45 loss to Gaylord.
But the coach sees improvement. He’s continually stressing fundamentals in practice, giving his players a base to become a better team.
Charlevoix has nine juniors on the varsity, plus a solid group at the JV level, so the future looks promising.
Luke, who has been dealing with kneecap tracking issues and a sprained LCL, returned to JV practice this week. The kneecap problem, he suffered last March, severely curtailed his baseball and football seasons. He was ready to go for basketball, but then sprained his LCL (lateral cruciate ligament) in gym class.
“He’s had a long year,” Matt said.
At 6-2, 210 pounds, Luke is a solidly built forward, whose strengths are rebounding and defense.
“He’s a pretty good leader on the court, too,” his father said. “He knows where everybody needs to be – and he’s pretty vocal. About four or five of those guys play travel ball together. It’s a good group.”
Luke was eager to get back in action.
“It was interesting to see the other side of the game (sitting out while injured),” he said. “But it was really (disappointing) to not participate, knowing that you could be out there (contributing).”
Matt and Erica have coached their kids over the years. Both coached the girls 8th grade team last year. Then, Matt and Boyne City’s Randy Calcaterra, a Wayne State grad who played against Matt in college, coached 7th and 8th grade AAU teams that their sons played on.
Getting a handle on that dynamic is not as easy as it sounds, Matt said.
“That’s the hard part of having parents that have played and are coaches,” he said. “Randy and I would always say that coaching is hard, parenting is harder and being a parent-coach is hardest.”
As a parent, Stuck said he’s applies a rule he learned from his father.
“I ask my kids: Do you want me to tell you one thing that you need to work on?” he said. “That’s the rule my dad had when I was going through school. If you want to hear it, I’ll tell you. I apply that same rule. If they want to open it up for more, we discuss more.”
Do they ask?
“They do,” he said.
“Sometimes they might regret it,” he added with a chuckle.
Stuck averaged 24.7 points a game in his 99 varsity starts at Manton. He was coached by Rene LaFreniere.
LaFreniere said the 6-4 Stuck was more than a scorer and rebounder.
“The thing people didn’t realize is that he was such a good passer,” LaFreniere said. “He would get double- and triple-teamed and would always find the open man.”
For as good a ballplayer as he was, LaFreniere said Stuck’s an even better person.
“Special person, incredible parents,” he said. “Humble, never gloated. It was like, ‘I’ve got a job to do.’ And he did it.”
Whereas Matt could use his size in the paint, Erica made her mark from the perimeter.
“She could shoot,” Stremlow said. “Her range was about 25 feet.
“Good upbringing, a coachable player, a team player who understood the game and really pushed herself. When I watch her daughter, I see those similarities.”
Erica, a math teacher in the Ellsworth school system, said the value of hard work was preached when she played.
“People always told me the harder you work, the more determined you are, that will determine how good you end up being,” she said.
The gym is still a home away from home for the Stucks. Countless hours are spent there on a daily basis.
It’s a lifestyle that works for the family. And they wouldn’t want it any other way.
“We don’t think anything of it,” Matt said. “We think of it as a regular day. We enjoy it. That’s all there is to it.”
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) Charlevoix’s Elise Stuck blocks a shot this season, her first in high school. (Middle) The versatile Stuck brings the ball upcourt. (Below) Matt Stuck, right, is Elise’s father and the Charlevoix first-year boys coach. (Photos courtesy of the Petoskey News-Review.)