Performance: Muskegon's Mardrekia Cook
January 27, 2016
Mardrekia Cook
Muskegon senior – Basketball
During her four seasons at Muskegon, Cook has contributed at every position and in a variety of ways. Her variety of skills and strength as a leader, in addition to elite talent, all were on display last week during one of the most statistically impressive two-game stretches of a memorable career – earning her the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Cook, a 6-foot point guard who also has played on the wing and in the post for the Big Reds, had 26 points and 22 rebounds as Muskegon came back from a 15-point deficit to defeat East Kentwood 50-47 on Jan. 19. She finished the week with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists Friday in a 72-27 win over Grand Rapids Union. Muskegon is 8-2 this winter and tied for second in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black, and 52-28 over her four seasons with two league and one District championship.
She averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds per game as a junior, when she went over 1,000 points for her career. This winter, she’s taken those contributions to another level, averaging 27 points and 16 rebounds per contest. After earning all-state honorable mention as a freshman and sophomore, Cook made the first team last season and is a likely frontrunner for the Miss Basketball Award, which will be given to the state’s top senior in March after a vote by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. Cook has signed to continue her career at Michigan State University and carries a 3.3 grade-point average. She is considering studying sports administration or sports medicine.
Coach Rodney Walker said: “She has taken the needed approach to learning on and off the court. She has accepted the responsibility of being a role model in the community and for future Lady Reds. She has learned how to play all five positions, and that has helped her understand the game. She has owned the responsibility of running our team as the primary point guard. … Mardrekia is one of the most caring, unselfish, and complimentary players for her teammates. And fans watching her play may not understand anything about her humble spirit! I truly believe that she has so much more room to grow. She has not reached her full potential yet. Once she attends Michigan State University, and matures, she will begin to transform into one of the most unbelievable players that we have ever seen in the girls game.”
Performance Point: “I just go out with the mindset of winning, willing to do anything to help my team win. I never really go into a game with a gameplan like, ‘Mardrekia, these games you could drop 50 points.’ A lot of people want me to make a statement and drop 50 – but if you can have 20 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists, I’ll take that over 50 points. Scoring just shows you can score; that shows you’re an all-around player. I didn’t have any idea that number (of rebounds against East Kentwood) was that high. After the game, our stat keeper came up to me and said I had a monster game. I just like to be all over the place (and) I love to rebound.”
Complete player: Walker noted how Cook combines strong ball handling skills with the ability to get to the basket, but also see the floor and get all of her teammates involved – products of a high basketball IQ. Cook’s favorites of her many skills are her ability to penetrate and rebound. “I’ve always had the strength of going to the hole and finding gaps. And rebounding, I can jump. I don’t even think I boxed out (against East Kentwood). I just out-jumped everybody. I can probably put my wrist over the rim; I’ve gotten a dunk down before.”
Watching and learning: “When you watch basketball, you observe all the spots. You have to have a high IQ, see the whole floor at times. Stephen Curry, Maya Moore, Kevin Durant … I just love them. I love that Stephen Curry isn’t that big – he’s actually really small – but he’s got so much heart, the definition of heart. Kevin Durant is an all-around player. He can push the point, he can shoot, play inside. And Maya Moore is not human for a girl; she can do everything and she’s won at every level.”
Spartans will: “I just love it there. A lot of people talk about family, but they don’t really mean it. But when I went (to visit MSU) around summer time, everybody – football players, volleyball players, basically every sport – was in the weight room mixed up, pushing together, wanting every sport to dominate.”
Big Reds rising: “I’ve never been so confident in my players. I see us going really far and I would love to play on Michigan State’s floor before I get there. Definitely my goal is to get there. We still have work to do, but I see us getting pretty far.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon’s Mardrekia Cook finishes a drive against Muskegon Reeths-Puffer. (Below) Cook directs the Big Reds’ offense as point guard, but has played on the wing and post as well during her high school career. (Photos courtesy of the Muskegon girls basketball program.)
Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 9
February 3, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re closing in quickly on that time of year when months of work will play out in girls basketball league championships and this winter – for the first time – seeding of the top two teams at the District level.
Much could be determined in league races this week – check out our “Can’t-Miss Contests” below, which include a sixth game because five just wasn’t enough to note all of the high-profile conference clashes that deserve mention.
We’re also less than two weeks from undertaking the seeding process in basketball for the first time – and need your help. The teams receiving those top-two spots in District brackets – for girls and boys – will do so based on success and strength of schedule, and it’s imperative for MHSAA.com to list all games played and correct scores for each. Know a score we don’t or realize a game is missing that should be added? Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected]. Every result affects multiples of others, and we thank you for your help in advance.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on those results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Cass Tech 68, Detroit Martin Luther King 43 – The Technicians clinched the Detroit Public School League East title outright by handing rival King its first loss.
2. Bloomfield Hills Marian 36, Farmington Hills Mercy 29 – The Mustangs moved into a first-place tie in the Detroit Catholic League Central by handing rival Mercy its first loss and after falling to the Marlins 46-34 on Jan. 7.
3. Midland Dow 52, Midland 33 – The Chargers avenged a 38-31 loss from Dec. 19 in a big way, handing the rival Chemics their first defeat.
4. Southfield Arts & Technology 59, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 47 – The Warriors’ tough schedule is paying off as they’ve won five of their last six games and handed Carman-Ainsworth its first loss.
5. Detroit Edison 54, Detroit Renaissance 52 – Edison moved to 12-0, but the Phoenix gave the Pioneers their closest in-state game in nearly two calendar years.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Battle Creek Lakeview (9-4) After winning 12 games both of the last two seasons, the Spartans are on pace to surpass that total by the end of the regular season. They also enjoy a slight lead in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East after avenging their opening-night loss to Battle Creek Central (10-3) with a 35-33 win Friday. Lakeview’s only two losses since an 0-2 start are to teams with double-digit wins, Portage Central (10-2) and Battle Creek Harper Creek (11-2).
Detroit Cass Tech (12-1) As noted above, Cass Tech is a league champion again after sharing the PSL Midtown title with King last season. LaTonya Tate, a star on Cass Tech’s 1987 Class A championship team, has built the program into a contender again. Its only loss was to Davison on Dec. 29 at the Motor City Roundball Classic, and Cass Tech also picked up a strong 46-40 win over Southfield A&T on Jan. 25
DIVISION 2
Cadillac (12-0) A 42-40 win a week ago over McBain provided one of the few scares of the season for the Big North Conference-leading Vikings. They’ve run their league winning streak to 16 after closing last winter in the Division 2 Quarterfinals – pretty impressive only a season and a half removed from a 3-18 finish in 2017-18. Cadillac can clinch the league title – at least a share, or outright – Friday against Traverse City West.
Ludington (11-1) Since falling big to Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (12-2) in its season opener, Ludington is unbeaten and nearly unchallenged with only two of those wins by single digits and those two games both against Division 1 schools. The Orioles hold a one-game lead on Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in the Lakes 8 Athletic Conference standings after sharing the title with the Warriors a year ago.
DIVISION 3
Pewamo-Westphalia (10-2) The reigning Division 3 champion had high expectations for this season and rightly so, bringing back most of its firepower from a year ago. The Pirates have celebrated two seniors scoring their 1,000th career points this winter and an early win over Southfield A&T. The losses were pretty strong too – to Grass Lake (12-1) and Division 1 East Lansing (12-1). P-W could meet Grass Lake again in a Semifinal at Breslin.
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (12-4) After falling to P-W in overtime in a Division 3 Semifinal last season, the Gators are sticking to a winning gameplan. They’ve played 12 of 16 games against teams with winning records and seven games against teams with double-digit wins. They beat two of those 10-win teams over the last two weeks – Royal Oak Shrine Catholic and Jackson Northwest – and their three in-state losses were to Division 1 Ann Arbor Huron (12-2) and Brighton (11-1) and Division 2 Harper Woods Chandler Park (7-6).
DIVISION 4
Camden-Frontier (13-1) Even with just one loss, Camden-Frontier probably was considered just a notch below undefeated Pittsford heading into last week’s matchup – plus Pittsford had beaten C-F at least 17 times in a row (which is as far back as MHSAA.com data goes). But the Redskins came away with a 54-34 win and moved into a first-place tie with the Wildcats in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. They meet again Feb. 17.
Deckerville (10-3) The Eagles entered one of the biggest small-school games in the state last week battling history as well as an unbeaten opponent – and owned the night. Deckerville avenged a 41-28 loss to Kingston from Dec. 16, handing the Cardinals their first loss this season and first league loss since 2013-14. The win also put Deckerville into a first-place tie with Kingston in the North Central Thumb League Stars.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Macomb Dakota (13-1) at Grosse Pointe South (10-3) – Dakota leads the Macomb Area Conference Red with two more wins than South, but South handed Dakota its only loss, 49-46, on Jan. 17.
Tuesday – Michigan Center (10-3) at Grass Lake (12-1) – Grass Lake won the first meeting 51-46 on Dec. 18 and can edge closer toward the Cascades Conference title with a regular-season sweep.
Thursday – Brooklyn Columbia Central (12-1) at Ida (12-2) – This could nearly decide the Lenawee County Athletic Association title as BCC looks to hold off Ida for the second straight season and won the first matchup 44-36 on Jan. 7.
Thursday – St. Ignace (10-1) at Sault Ste. Marie (11-1) – The Blue Devils are hoping to take back a share of first place in the Straits Area Conference after losing it to the Saints in a 40-37 nail-biter Dec. 20.
Friday – DeWitt (11-2) at East Lansing (12-1) – The Trojans lead the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue by a game over DeWitt thanks to a 62-38 win over the Panthers on Dec. 20.
Friday – Fremont (9-4) at Big Rapids (12-1) – Fremont’s 39-33 win in the first meeting Dec. 20 was Big Rapids’ only loss, and remains the reason Big Rapids trails only Fremont in the Central State Activities Association Gold.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Deckerville handed Kingston its first loss of the season last week, and first league loss since 2013-14. (Photo by Jackie Salowitz.)