Right Where She’s Always Been
January 3, 2013
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
It was between seasons for WNBA player Stacey Thomas. She sat in her Northwestern University basketball office, where she worked as the Wildcats' director of basketball operations, and listened to a message that she’d heard somewhere before.
“It was before a game in 2004, when an official for that night’s game – Marvin Sykes – stopped into my office and was chatting up officiating,” Thomas recalls. “He gave me recommendations for different associations, and various contacts, and that's when I actually registered and started reading rules books and studying mechanics.”
Suffice to say, basketball was her life. From her days as a prep standout at Flint Southwestern to a brilliant career at the University of Michigan, and ultimately to the sport’s pinnacle with a six-year career in the WNBA, Stacey Thomas had achieved hoops success beyond her wildest dreams.
Yet, it was two instances off the court – mere blips among the thousands of chance meetings and casual introductions in one’s lifetime – which steered Thomas where she is today. Ironically, it’s still on the basketball court.
The conversation with Sykes was the second moment, and it struck a familiar chord with a message she had heard years earlier as a collegiate player in Ann Arbor.
“The first time I ever thought about officiating was when I was playing at the University of Michigan. A little bug was put in my ear during the preseason when officials come in to talk about officiating, the rules changes, how the game is going to be called; that sort of thing,” Thomas recalls. “It was Patty Broderick (professional and collegiate official who currently serves as Coordinator for the Women's Basketball Officiating Consortium). And at end of that talk she told us how officiating could be a great career and a way to stay in the game.”
In the short term, however, Thomas had other ways to stay in the game. You could even say, she stole her way into extending her playing career. As a Wolverine, Thomas set a Big Ten Conference record with 372 career steals, 157 more than any player in U of M history. Her 1,556 points rank fifth in the Wolverine books.
Those numbers and her work ethic led to six seasons in the WNBA, highlighted by a championship with the 2003 Detroit Shock. Thomas played 175 games over six seasons with four teams. And, when her days in “The League” were done, Thomas’ skills took her overseas to stints in Sweden, Turkey and Latvia over three years.
All the while, however, Thomas had her sights set further down the road, for when the game stopped. As it turns out, it hasn’t stopped at all.
“As the years went by and I decided I was done playing, I thought about what I really wanted to do. I knew I wanted to stay in basketball,” Thomas said. “I was an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State in 2004; it was a good experience, but I liked the administrative job at Northwestern better.”
And, of course, there was always that officiating thing she’d heard about.
“While I was looking, I thought maybe I needed to really explore the officiating option,” Thomas said, and she now enters her sixth year as an MHSAA registered basketball official. “As involved as I was with basketball, it gave me the opportunity to stay in the game and be surrounded by the game. It’s a source of pride, and for me it’s the ongoing concept of getting it right and always striving to be better. I want to be professional, set goals and be the best official I can be.”
In other words, she approached officiating in the same manner she attacked opponents on the basketball floor. It’s still the game she’s known her whole life, just from a different perspective.
“As a player, I was around a lot of different coaches and a lot of different teammates, and they all have their own personalities. Understanding that really helped in the transition to officiating,” Thomas said. “You learn to pick your battles and to take things in stride. You can't take things personally. Some coaches try to rattle you by being vocal and boisterous, and others are sarcastic and joking. As a player or as an official you have to read personalities. Playing the game helped me learn how to react, speak to them, and communicate.”
At times, her fame comes into play as well. It’s not easy to hide when officiating in the same state where Thomas’ star began to rise, and coaches often remind her that she used to be on the floor reacting to, rather than blowing, the whistle.
“I am a very laid-back individual, and it takes a lot for me to get rattled, so I use that to my advantage. I might hear from certain coaches, ‘Come on, you played in The League; they didn't call that in The League,’” she laughs. “I just take it for what it is, whether they are trying to get under my skin, or be humorous. I know as an official to just let them have their say.”
The former prep all-stater who finished second in Michigan’s “Miss Basketball” voting as a senior in 1995, also was a three-time high jump champion and ran cross country at Southwestern. She hasn’t totally left track and field behind either, as she is a registered track & field/cross country official with the MHSAA as well.
Thomas, who now resides in Novi, regularly works boys and girls high school basketball in the Metro Detroit Area, and runs on Michigan’s community college circuit and at the NAIA level in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. The competitive fire that drove her as a player transfers to her uniform in stripes, as she eventually hopes to land NCAA Division I assignments.
“My playing experience helped me learn that you’ve got to pay your dues. You’ve got to work hard and have patience,” Thomas said. “I know that there are plays I have to still see over and over and over, so I will get them right on a consistent basis. I need to get to the camps, continue to learn the rules book, and my time will come. The more games, the more reps, the more situations, the more you learn.”
It’s a quality and regimen she tries to impress upon up-and-coming officials, and she also expresses that it’s important the many benefits of officiating aren’t lost in the quest for top games.
“I’ve developed so many friendships and made so many friends by getting into officiating. What better way to have an impact on a sport?” Thomas asks. “I tell people to have fun, enjoy it and work hard. Most of all, I always tell them being compensated is a bonus for doing something you love to do.
“Sometimes the younger officials get too caught up in what other officials are doing,” she continued. “Who’s got the big games, the pay rates, and so on. I played in The League, and I knew going in I wouldn't just come in and have the best games. You’ve got to put the time in.”
Thomas has noticed impatience not only among young officials, but in the playing ranks as well.
“On certain levels, the speed and physical nature of the game has increased,” she said. “There’s all this talent, but at the same time the players have become a little bit lazier compared to back in the day. Years ago, kids had more passion for the game, because nothing was given to them. They were better listeners to coaches, peers and parents.”
When Thomas shares the floor with today’s high schoolers, they are definitely getting her best effort and maximum attention. She understands what’s at stake, and what the high school game is all about. It’s why she accepts games nearly every night of the week during the season, and why she relishes those weeknights in the gyms.
“First of all, it's a special time in their lives, and it’s their turn to shine and to play at a high level and to be seen by their classmates and by the community,” Thomas says. “There’s nothing like that seven o’clock rivalry game, with a big crowd packing the gym, and it’s a close game and you are right there in the fire. It’s an adrenaline rush that pumps you up. Those are the games you strive for.”
Thomas has been on the floor for plenty of those games, and will have countless more in the future. That’s what makes it most special to know where she was this June when she could have been elsewhere. Thomas spent some time at the Healthy Kids Club in Detroit, helping director Mariah Lowson with basketball leagues for kids who ranged from 8 years old to high school age. Officials paid $20 to attend the camp and gain experience that will help them down the road. It certainly doesn’t hurt to see someone there like Thomas helping out.
“The nice thing is, it’s younger kids in the league, so young officials would not be intimidated,” Thomas said. “The motivation for them is to do well in these games, understanding that they can make money doing peewee leagues while continuing to learn. There were some kids as young as 13 or 14 years old, up to 17 years old, working games.”
And there was Thomas, right on the court as she’s always been.
PHOTO: Stacey Thomas drives to the basket as a member of the WNBA's Detroit Shock.
NOTE: This is the seventh installment in the series "Making – and Answering – the Call" detailing the careers and service of MHSAA officials. Click the links below to view others or the blue "Officials" tag at the top of the this story for the entire series plus other Second Half coverage on the subject.
Johnson Family Reunion: Tuesday will Bring Together Officiating Brothers, Coaching Cousins
By
Mike Dunn
Special for MHSAA.com
December 12, 2025
GAYLORD – What a night it will be.
The Big North Conference game this Tuesday between visiting Traverse City Central and host Gaylord has a coaching connection that will be a draw in itself. Central is led by former Gaylord hoops standout Luke Johnson, while Gaylord is coached by Luke’s cousin Justin Johnson – another past Blue Devils hoops standout who graduated in 1995 with school records for single-game, single-season and career 3-pointers.
Luke graduated in 1997 as Gaylord’s all-time leading scorer with 1,571 points and went on to play four years at Central Michigan University. He coached the boys at Elk Rapids for 14 seasons and is now in his second year coaching in Traverse City, where he is also an assistant principal at Traverse City East Middle School. Justin, owner and operator of the local Bulldog Painting business, is in his first year as the Blue Devils’ head coach after serving previously as the JV coach.
The cousins were Gaylord teammates on the storied 1994-95 team that captured the District title with a thrilling come-from-behind victory at the old Petoskey gym. They will be facing each other as head coaches on the hardwood for the first time – and Justin’s son Carter, a junior wing, is in his first year on the Gaylord varsity.
On top of that, the Johnson cousins will be coaching against each other in the gymnasium named after Luke’s grandfather Jim Mongeau. Ironically enough, the Jim Mongeau gymnasium was dedicated on December 16, 1994, the same day 31 years before.
If that was solely the storyline for Tuesday’s game, it would make for a memorable occasion.
But there is more to this story … much more.
Three brothers with whistles
As it turns out, the biggest storyline of this memorable night is the officiating crew.
Not only will Luke and Justin be facing off Tuesday with Justin’s son also competing on the floor, but the three men wearing the striped shirts with whistles around their necks will be Johnson brothers Tommy, Steve, and Dave. Tom is Luke’s dad, and Steve is Justin Johnson’s father.
Between them, there is more than 125 years of hardwood officiating experience: Tom is in his 50th year, Steve is in his 45th, and Dave in his 32nd season.
The brothers have worked together more times than they can count over the decades, though not as much in recent years. Tom has had his own crew of officials for a while. Steve and Dave have teamed with Charlie Lovelace to form their own crew.
Tuesday’s game in Gaylord will be the first time any of the brothers have worked a game coached by Luke or Justin.
And it very well could be the final time the three brothers officiate a game together. In fact, this is quite likely given the present circumstances.
Tom’s battle with cancer
Tom has inoperable pancreatic cancer and is undergoing regular chemotherapy treatments. Just the fact that he is still actively officiating this season is remarkable in one way, given his prognosis, and yet not remarkable at all for anyone who knows Tommy and the inner drive and mental toughness that is so much a part of his make-up – character traits he has exhibited since the glory days in the late 1960s when he was a star student-athlete competing for Gaylord in football, basketball, and baseball.
That inner drive and willingness to persevere continue to serve Tom well, especially during this challenging season of life.
As Steve said, “Tommy definitely has the Johnson gift of stubbornness.”
And Dave agreed: “Tommy is fighting this with everything he has. He’s gonna go down swinging, because that’s just who he is.”
Tom has been very open about his battle with cancer. He was diagnosed Nov. 13, 2023, and at one point his weight was down to 138 pounds.
Tom was at home in his favorite chair in February with wife Jenni tending to him – “My wife’s been a saint through all this and the best nurse I’ve ever had,” he noted – when he made a decision.
“I told my wife if I just sit here in this chair, I’m gonna die and I don’t want to just give in to this,” Tom said.
“I made up my mind right then that I’m gonna take the proactive approach to this. I’m gonna live till I die. People think I’m being funny when I say that, but I’m serious. I’m gonna live till I die. I’m not gonna sit out the rest of my life. It’s all in the hands of the good Lord, and He’s the One who’s gonna let me know when my time comes.”
Tom retired as a physical education teacher at Gaylord in 2007 but has continued to coach as well as officiate volleyball, basketball and baseball. Because of recent developments, Tom was initially going to give up coaching the Gaylord boys golf team last spring but opted to stay on, extending his coaching career that dates back 49 years at Gaylord and includes a long stint as the varsity boys hoops coach from 1987-97 and then 2003-07 in addition to being the freshmen football coach for a stint, the baseball coach, and, for the past 16 years, the boys golf coach.
“The golf kids were great to work with,” Tom recalled. “I had some limitations, and they accepted and adapted and it was actually a fun season.”
‘I want to be out there’
Fast forward to the present school year. It would have been easy for Tom to lay down his whistle, but he’s not ready for that. He officiated about 30 nights during the volleyball season, and that went pretty well. Now he plans to continue officiating basketball as long as he is physically able and knows he can still call a good game.
“I just want to be out there doing one of the things God has designed for me to do,” he said. “I still enjoy it. We set a goal at the start of the school year to get through the volleyball season first and make it to Thanksgiving, and we’ve met that goal. The next goal is Christmas. And we’ll set other goals after that. But in the meantime, I plan to stay as active as I can doing things I love doing.”
Tom plans to officiate the full basketball season, as God enables him. The one date he is especially looking forward to, though, is Tuesday, Dec. 16.
“It’ll be a great night,” Tom said. “I’ve reffed numerous games at ‘The Mong’ since it opened in 1995, but this will be a very special night not just for me but for all the Johnson family.
“I only hope in the midst of it I can communicate in some way how much I have appreciated the Gaylord community over the years and how much I’ve loved being a part of this community along with my family, and especially being part of Gaylord schools for so many years.”
Tom has quite a unique history with Gaylord basketball as a player and a coach. Tom played in the final high school game in the old community center during his junior year and played in the first game at the old gym that now serves as the middle school gym. He also coached the final high school game at the old gym during the 1994-95 season and coached the first game played at the newly-dedicated Jim Mongeau Gymnasium in January of 1995 against St. Ignace.
He also coached the amazing District championship game against favored Petoskey in its old gym packed to the rafters that March of 1995, a game that many still talk about to this day. The Blue Devils, with Justin knocking down the long ones and Luke distributing and driving through the lane, narrowly edged the excellent Petoskey team that featured Trevor Huffman and John Flynn.
Brennan Fitzek hit what proved to be the game-winning shot in the waning seconds, and Gaylord made a final stop on defense to secure the hard-earned trophy.
"We had some epic battles with Petoskey in those days," Tom said. "Petoskey had some great teams with Huffman and Flynn and a great coach in Dennis Starkey, who is still a friend to this day. It was tremendous competition."
‘I was just mowing’
It was Dave Johnson, the youngest of the brothers, who first had the idea of officiating the Dec. 16 game together.
“I was just mowing my grass one day soon after Justin was hired as the varsity coach and thinking ahead about the night when Luke comes from T.C. Central to play Gaylord,” Dave recalled. “Here you have the two coaches who are cousins from Gaylord facing each other in the gym named after their grandfather and Justin’s son playing for Gaylord on top of that. Wouldn’t it be cool if we three brothers could officiate the game that night?”
Dave dismounted the mower then and there and made phone calls to Steve and Tommy to see what they thought about the possibility. Then they contacted Luke and Justin and, before very long, everything was set in motion.
“The stars all aligned,” Dave said with a chuckle. “Justin and Luke were both on board with it, and they got the approval of their ADs. Everything that needed to happen for this to come together happened. It’s gonna be a great night and a historic night.”
When the family got together for a meal in September to celebrate Tom’s birthday, all the details about the Dec. 16 game were discussed. By the time the meal was over, everything was ironed out and everyone was in agreement.
“There’s so much nostalgia and history wrapped up in this one night,” Dave noted. “You have Tommy, the son-in-law of Jim Mongeau, in his 50th year officiating. To me, this night is really a tribute to Tommy and Jen and their lives revolving around Gaylord athletics.”
It will be a milestone night in another way.
“This will probably be the final time we three brothers have the chance to officiate a game together,” Dave said. “Steve is working through a knee injury right now, and my health is not what it used to be either. But if this is our final game as an officiating crew, we couldn’t have picked a better one.”
Steve’s knee has been giving him fits lately and, for the first time in 45 seasons, has caused him to miss some games because of an injury. He is hoping to recover well enough to return to the floor in January and resume a normal schedule.
There is only one game Steve will officiate in the whole month of December, and it’s the one game he wouldn’t miss for anything.
“I know it’ll be one of the best nights of my life,” Steve said. “How great it’ll be for Dave and I to get to work with Tommy again and to see all the people there. It’ll be a night for reflecting on so many memories and making some new ones.”
Looking forward
“I’m thrilled with how this has all come together,” Luke said. “This night will not only be a great tribute to my dad but to a family that’s been involved in Gaylord athletics for 50-plus years.
“If you include my grandfather, then you’re going back 70 years or more with Gaylord. I know my dad impacted a lot of lives as a teacher and a coach over the years, and my grandfather had the same kind of legacy before him.”
Luke is naturally excited for the game itself but more excited for the moment, especially given his dad’s health challenges.
“Obviously, the circumstances with my dad create a different perspective for the night,” he added. “My hope is we can just soak in the history and enjoy the moment and not let it rush by. We likely won’t have another night like this one.”
PHOTOS (Top) Brothers, from left, Steve, Dave and Tom Johnson – here at Gaylord High School – will referee the varsity boys basketball game Tuesday between Gaylord and Traverse City Central. (2) Cousins Luke Johnson, left, and Justin Johnson are the varsity coaches for Traverse City Central and Gaylord, respectively. (3) The Johnson brothers, here during their younger days, have a combined 127 yards of officiating to their credit. (4) Tom Johnson is in his 50th season officiating, a run filled with many memories including refereeing his grandson’s game at Elk Rapids (lower left). (5) This collage, from top left, includes longtime coach Jim Mongeau speaking with a Gaylord player during the 1960s, Tom Johnson coaching a player during the 1990s, and Luke now coaching. (Photos courtesy of, in part, RD Sports Photo and Photography by Joanie Moore, with others collected by the Weekly Choice and Charlevoix County News.)