Linked Up: 12/19/11

December 20, 2011

We've hit a bit of a slow spot with schools out for break and most contests reserved for holiday showcases and the like.

Here are some suggestions if you have some time for some reading between now and the start of 2012.

High school coaches try to bring basketball back to basics (Detroit News)

For most of the last decade, we've heard about the recessing of basketball fundamentals even among elite high school players. Enter Ben Kelso, Marshall Thomas and a number of other Michigan coaches who have pledged to end that trend. Tom Markowski tells us how the Metro Detroit Basketball Coaches Association aims to do so.

Lantzy retires after more than 4 decades as Ike grid coach (Macomb County Advisor & Source)

Utica-Eisenhower coach Bob Lantzy has been his school's only varsity football coach. He took four teams to MHSAA Finals and this fall became one of only nine state football coaches to win more than 900 games. He has retired after 41 seasons, and Kevin Lozon fills us in on the legacy.

Tabahn Afrik poised for greatness in pool for West Ottawa (Holland Sentinel)

The Holland area has its next big swimming star. Dan D'Addona introduces us to Tabahn Afrik, a freshman at Holland West Ottawa who qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 Finals in two events in his first meet this season.

High school basketball: History of class hoops is just that (South Bend Tribune)

"Hoosiers" made Indiana's former one-class basketball tournament known on a grander scale. But Indiana went to classes (similar to Michigan's) beginning in 1997-98. Al Lesar tells us how some in the state are attempting to revert to one class.

Today in the MHSAA: 2/21/25

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 21, 2025

1. BOYS BASKETBALL Traverse City West clinched a share of the Big North Conference championship with a 76-65 win over Petoskey as Lincoln Lockhart reached 1,000 career points, and Buckley’s Landon Kulawiak went over 2,000 in his team’s 65-34 win over Kingsley – Traverse City Record-Eagle

2. GIRLS BASKETBALL Tara Kurncz became DeWitt’s all-time leading scorer and helped the Panthers finish an outright title run in the Capital Area Activities Conference Red with a 58-36 win over Lansing Waverly – Lansing State Journal

3. BOYS BASKETBALL Mikey Carlson scored his 1,000th career point and Pentwater clinched the West Michigan D League title with a 70-42 win over Mesick – Ludington Daily News

4. GIRLS BASKETBALL Hemlock locked up a third-straight Tri-Valley Conference Blue title with a 49-38 win over Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary – Saginaw News

5. BOYS BASKETBALL Kingsford clinched a share of the Great Northern Conference title with a 72-60 win over Marquette – Upper Michigan’s Source

6. GIRLS BASKETBALL Bay City All Saints clinched a share of the Big Thumb Conference Red title with a 51-40 win over Owendale-Gagetown – Bay City Times

7. GIRLS BASKETBALL Addison Cullen reached 1,000 career points during St. Ignace’s 65-33 win over Brimley – MI Sports Now

8. BOYS BASKETBALL Sean Wesolek scored his 1,000th career point during Bay City John Glenn’ s 61-51 win over Gaylord – Bay City Times

9. BOYS BASKETBALL Linden’s Jase Becher reached 1,000 career points during his team’s 69-40 win over Owosso – WJRT

10. BOYS BASKETBALL Redford Thurston’s Daniel Winston III reached 1,000 career points during his team’s 66-62 loss to Roseville – Hometown Life