Performance: White Pigeon's Claycee West
January 16, 2020
Claycee West
White Pigeon senior – Basketball
The 5-foot-8 senior guard scored a school-record 41 points during a 58-39 win over Marcellus on Jan. 7, breaking her previous single-game school record of 38 points scored as a sophomore to earn the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.” West also became her school’s all-time leading scorer Dec. 17 against Bangor, breaking her coach Brooke McClure’s career points record of 1,224, and West is since up to 1,308 after eight games this winter.
For the season, West is averaging 21.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.4 steals, 2.9 assists and a blocked shot per game. She has led White Pigeon to a 6-3 start after the Chiefs finished 8-13 in 2018-19 – after which West was named to The Associated Press’ Division 3 all-state team. She was an all-region selection as an outside and middle hitter in volleyball this fall, and a league, county and Regional champion as a track sprinter last spring. She also ran cross country during her sophomore year, when she was featured on Second Half for her multi-sport success. West will continue to play basketball after high school for Taylor (Ind.) University, which made the NAIA Division II national quarterfinals a year ago.
West fills her time outside athletics as well. She carries a 4.0 grade-point average and is tied for first academically in her graduating class – and will bring 32 college credits with her to Taylor. She also serves as her White Pigeon class president. West plans to study kinesiology at Taylor, in preparation for becoming a physical therapist.
Coach Brooke McClure said: “I have had the honor of coaching Claycee since she was a freshman. She has had a huge impact on our basketball program and not only that, but on me as a coach. Her work ethic and desire to become a better ball player has also inspired me to put more work into the game and become a better coach for her and her teammates. In small schools like White Pigeon, it is rare to have an athlete as dedicated and as hard-working, along with (having) tremendous athletic ability, to play for our school. She is so smooth and makes the game fun to watch. Sometimes she still surprises me when she does a certain move or makes a difficult shot. … She is such a good example on how to be a great leader. Even when things haven't gone her way, she has adapted and overcome any adversities she has encountered. We are truly lucky to have her be a part of our basketball program and our community, and I am so proud of the young lady she has become.”
Performance Point: “In the third quarter, I just shot the 3 a ton, and I couldn't miss,” West said of her 41-point performance. “I was just on target that game. It was close the whole time, so it didn't really feel like I was doing that much. I didn't notice I had that many until I hit 39 at the end of the third quarter. ... Coming in freshman year even, this was my goal, to break the (career scoring) record. I had a solid sophomore year, and then junior year too, so I knew coming into my senior year that it was going to happen. And so I wasn't really stressing about it, because the chances of it not happening were almost at zero. So this year I'm more focused on getting the team better, getting the team ready for when I leave. I've had a couple of big games this season, but that wasn't the focus. Just to break these records and be leading my team at the same time, that's the best thing ever ... to be able to accomplish my goals and accomplish team goals at the same time.”
‘When I leave,’ what I hope to leave: “I want (my teammates) to take the game into their own hands. For a while, they didn't know how to do that. They're so young, and someone's gotta step up and lead. I have a pretty competitive nature, and I want that to stir in them that they can accomplish anything that they set their minds to. Because they're an athletic group; they can play ball, but someone's gotta be leading that. And that's what I'm trying to instill. ... I'm a pretty vocal leader. When I see something, I say it. When it's time to be intense in practice, I let them know that's the time to be (their) best. In sprints, I'm trying to be the first one, and (I'm) coaching everyone to do their best. And just really being intense on the court, during games, during practice, building myself and others to our fullest potential. I think this year, it's starting to click.”
Play them all: “I think it's just the fact that (playing multiple sports) keeps me from getting burnt out on a single sport, and playing volleyball makes me better at basketball, and basketball does the same (for volleyball) in different aspects. It makes me all-around such a better athlete and just makes me compete at a higher level, I think. ... I'm very sad that these next four years I won't be playing volleyball. Track's a little different – it's not my favorite thing. But if I could, I'd play both (basketball and volleyball).”
I love to compete: “I love to win. Just to compete ... I've been raised all my life to be competitive. I get it from my mom. She's a very competitive person. She's instilled it just throughout life. I strive to be the best in anything I can be in at all, whether that be in school, in sports or life in general. My mom really pushes me to be that person. She's my volleyball coach now, and at a young age she was my coach too. I don't know if it was just her doing that or her interaction with me. She just holds me to a high standard and doesn't let me slack, and I appreciate that. She's always been a big part of volleyball and basketball for me; both of my parents have. … Not being able to play volleyball (in college) will be hard. But not being able to play with her is going to be even harder.”
President West: “I started off doing student council in middle school. And just leading – I love to lead. I love to make sure everything is done right. … It keeps me busy. It keeps me doing something active. I get to learn everybody's names. I get to know everyone, be part of everyone's life. I just really like to be that influencer, I guess.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Past honorees
Jan. 10: Seth Lause, Livonia Stevenson hockey - Report
Dec. 5: Mareyohn Hrabowski, River Rouge football - Report
Nov. 28: Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven swimming - Report
Nov. 21: Emily Van Dyke, Southfield Christian volleyball - Report
Nov. 14: Taylor Wegener, Ida volleyball - Report
Nov. 7: Carter Solomon, Plymouth cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Jameson Goorman, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Oct. 24: Austin Plotkin, Brimley cross country - Report
Oct. 17: Jack Spamer, Brighton cross country - Report
Oct. 10: Kaylee Maat, Hudsonville volleyball - Report
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) White Pigeon's Claycee West prepares to shoot a free throw against Bangor. (Middle) West pulls up for a shot just inside the 3-point arc. (Photos courtesy of the White Pigeon athletic department.)
200 Wins Later, Lusk's 'Yes' Still Paying Off as Hanover-Horton Surges
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
February 3, 2026
Joe Lusk has had to be talked into coaching a couple of times.
But that hasn’t stopped him from being a winner.
The Hanover-Horton girls basketball coach picked up career victory No. 200 last week when the Comets improved to 12-1 with a victory over Homer. It’s the best start to the season for Hanover-Horton since girls basketball transitioned from a fall sport to winter two decades ago.
“He holds his girls accountable and wants to get the best out of each and every one of them,” said Comets athletic director Chris VanEpps. “We are very lucky to have him here at Hanover-Horton.”
Lusk’s career spans two Cascades Conference schools – his alma mater Michigan Center, and Hanover-Horton for the past five seasons. He was also on the bench at Michigan Center when the Cardinals enjoyed incredible success under coach Scott Furman.
Lusk’s story isn’t the typical one about a high school athlete growing up wanting to be a coach. The Consumers Energy retiree, in fact, never considered coaching basketball until his daughter Courtney came home one day and told him he was coaching her team.
“She was in the fifth grade,” Joe Lusk said. “She told me there was a tournament at Vandercook Lake, she was playing and I was going to coach. I told her no way.”
That no slowly turned into a yes.
After coaching the youth basketball team for several years, Lusk was asked by Furman to join his varsity staff.
“He probably asked me 20 times,” Lusk said. “I kept telling him no. Ten years later, I was still coaching.”
Courtney grew into a varsity player and Lusk became an assistant coach.
“The joke at our house was she was either going to be a good basketball player or she was going to be in therapy,” Lusk said. “She would come home after a tough game and say, ‘Is tonight a therapy night?’”
Not much therapy was needed. The Cardinals went through a remarkable run during which they reached the MHSAA Finals twice and Semifinals another season before Courtney graduated in 2006.
Joe Lusk remained an assistant but, in 2012, Furman died, shocking the Michigan Center community. The ultra-successful coach had won more than 350 games during his career. Lusk took over the job, although he had reservations about becoming head coach.
Over the next nine seasons those reservations were put to rest as the Cardinals won 149 games. In 2018, they went 23-3 and made a run to the Division 3 Semifinals.
Lusk’s last season at Michigan Center was 2020-21. In June 2021, he was hired at Hanover-Horton.
“They found out there was an opening at Hanover and my wife (Cindy) and Courtney put together my resume and sent it in,” Lusk said. “They told me they were doing it. They wouldn’t let me quit (coaching).”
He was hired.
“Having an experienced coach like Coach Lusk is very important for our program,” VanEpps said. “His consistency and effort to make things better, not just for his teams, but for Hanover-Horton in general, give our younger staff someone to model themselves after. As for the girls on his team, he is stern but fair, which is something that can be lost on our younger generations.”
As for his current team being 12-1, Lusk knows the Comets have difficult games coming up. The Comets face Michigan Center (12-2) on Wednesday, Brooklyn Columbia Central (9-2) in a Cascades Conference West game in two weeks and state-ranked Concord in a nonconference matchup. Hanover-Horton also is in a District with powerhouses like Jackson Lumen Christi and Grass Lake. If the Comets win the Cascades West, they will likely face Grass Lake in the conference title game.
“We know the second half of our schedule is loaded,” he said.
Through it all, basketball remains a family sport. Courtney is the Comets’ junior varsity coach. Cindy keeps the scorebook for every game, something she has done for years.
“We are a basketball family,” Lusk said. “If Cindy didn’t do what she does, I wouldn’t be here today. She does a lot of work. For our juniors program, she keeps track of everything, all of the kids, what their shirt sizes are. If I had to do all of that, I wouldn’t be doing it. She loves basketball.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Hanover-Horton girls basketball coach Joe Lusk monitors the action during a game this season. (Middle) Lila Hamisfar (1) puts up a shot against Homer. (Below) Lusk carries balloons celebrating his 200th win alongside Hanover-Horton teacher and basketball parent Courtney Toteff. (Top and middle photos by Hannah Tacy/JTV. Below photo courtesy of Cindy Lusk.)