All Saints Celebrates on Big Screen
July 31, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Forty years ago, Bay City All Saints brought its hometown the first of two straight MHSAA boys basketball championships – which continue to stand as the only ones won by a Bay City school.
As part of the Class of 1974’s 40-year reunion this weekend, organizers will show the broadcast of that 71-59 victory over Detroit Servite in the Class C Final, on Friday at the downtown State Theater.
The team was coached by Russell “Lefty” Franz, who sits 14th in MHSAA boys basketball coaching history with 545 wins (545-215) at All Saints, Bay City St. Stanislaus and Pinconning achieved from 1953-1991. All Saints repeated as Class C champion under Franz in 1975 with a 79-69 win over Cassopolis.
The Bay City Times caught up today with three starters from that team who are expected to return for the showing of the game. Click to read more.
Rooting for Haske
Northern Michigan basketball fans and supporters from all over are cheering on Traverse City St. Francis boys basketball coach Keith Haske, who is battling throat cancer and seeking treatment in Houston, according to a report by the Petoskey News.
Haske has coached three boys teams to MHSAA Class C runner-up finishes – St. Francis in 2012 and Charlevoix in 2004 and 2001, and also coached at St. Johns prior to taking the Rayders job in 1998. He also coached the Charlevoix girls team to a Class C runner-up finish in 2004.
Click to read more about Haske and how to donate to his treatment.
Thanks, Gary Hice
The MHSAA welcomed 43 new athletic directors to East Lansing today for training as they take over their schools’ athletic departments.
An athletic director we’ll certainly miss is Petoskey’s Gary Hice.
Hice – an MHSAA Allen W. Bush Award winner in 2002 for his contributions to high school athletics – has retired after 30 years as his school’s athletic director.
Click to read more, again from the Petoskey News, about Hice’s service to his school and community.
PHOTO: The Bay City All Saints Class of 1974 reunion this weekend will include a showing of the boys basketball team’s Class C championship game win over Detroit Servite.
GPN's Braker Moving Full Speed Ahead on College Coaching Trail
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 11, 2023
Ariel Braker has never forgotten being a part of Grosse Pointe North’s Class A girls basketball championship team in 2008, but a couple of happenings in recent months have made her reflect even more on that title.
The first came in March, when Braker was hired as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball program at the University of
Minnesota. That brought a stark reminder of an oopsie when she was on a recruiting visit to Minnesota after the championship and while she was still in high school. having helped the Norse to the title as a sophomore.
“I left my (state championship) ring in the hotel here in Minnesota,” Braker said. “So I needed a new one.”
The second came in June, when Grosse Pointe North won the Division 2 girls soccer title.
Those Norse were coached by Olivia Dallaire, a teammate of Braker’s on the 2008 girls basketball title team.
“It was an interesting full circle moment of 'Wow, it really was that long ago,'” Braker said. “You have someone on your team now leading the school to a state championship in a different sport. It was pretty cool.”
A 6-foot-1 dynamo who could play every position on the court in 2008, Braker had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocked shots in a 58-46 win over East Lansing in the championship game.
That followed a 23-point, 20-rebound performance in a Semifinal win over North Farmington.
Braker was more than just a standout basketball player for North, however.
She was also a member of the volleyball team and an all-state high jumper for the track & field team, and being a three-sport athlete made her high school experience even better.
“It let me take a break from basketball, use other muscles and take my mind off of it,” Braker said. “The ability to be with different people, make different friends, and do different things was very helpful.”
During her senior year in 2010, Braker finished third in the state's Miss Basketball Award voting.
Braker signed to play college basketball at Notre Dame, where she played for legendary head coach Muffet McGraw.
During her tenure with the Fighting Irish, Braker was a part of three teams that won Atlantic Coast Conference championships and advanced to the 2014 national championship game.
After college, Braker decided she wanted to give coaching a try and landed at Western Texas College, a community college in Snyder, Texas.
It was there that the coaching bug really hit her hard.
“Those kids needed a lot of instruction and teaching,” Braker said. “You have to be willing to be patient and teach the game in different ways so it touches everyone. It was a growing year for me, but I was like, ‘I can do this.’ That gave me confidence.”
From there, Braker has gone on to assistant jobs at Lehigh, Oakland, South Dakota and West Virginia before being hired on to first-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit’s staff at Minnesota this past March.
Braker said that at all of her coaching stops so far, she’s tried to follow Michigan youth teams on the recruiting trail given her familiarity with the state.
She obviously hopes that familiarity will pay dividends in her new role at Minnesota if she needs to mine for talent in Michigan.
“There are some younger kids who are up-and-coming who could help,” she said. “I’m excited to get back home and be able to recruit them.”
When she does come back to recruit, it’ll likely join the lost championship ring in Minnesota and soccer success this spring as reminders of that magical ride to a basketball title with the Norse 15 years ago.
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Braker plays in the 2008 Class A championship game, and at right Braker coaches at University of Minnesota. (Below) Braker drives to the basket; she scored 15 points in the 2008 championship game against East Lansing. (Photos courtesy of the Detroit News and University of Minnesota athletics.)