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: 2/16/26
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 16, 2026
1. BOYS BASKETBALL Brooklyn Columbia Central clinched its first league title in boys basketball since 1983, downing Michigan Center 59-56 in the Cascades Conference finale – WLNS
2. BOYS BASKETBALL Gobles clinched its first championship in 25 years with a 54-46 win over Galesburg-Augusta in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Central – Kalamazoo Gazette
3. BOYS BASKETBALL Detroit Martin Luther King finished a perfect run through the Detroit Public School League with a city championship-clinching 68-63 win over Detroit Cass Tech – Detroit News
4. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saline avenged its lone Southeastern Conference Red loss by defeating Temperance Bedford to clinch the league title – Saline Post
5. BOYS BASKETBALL Auburn Hills Avondale clinched its first Oakland Activities Association title with a 58-44 win over Clarkston – Oakland Press
6. GIRLS BASKETBALL Jackson Lumen Christi held on for a 48-36 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s to claim the Catholic High School League Bishop title – Oakland Press
7. BOYS BASKETBALL Onsted downed Ida 46-35 to wrap up a fifth-straight Lenawee County Athletic Association title – Adrian Daily Telegram
8. GIRLS BASKETBALL Holt defeated East Lansing 50-35 to secure the outright title in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue – Lansing State Journal
9. BOWLING Wyandotte Roosevelt’s girls and boys teams finished perfect championship runs in the Downriver League – Southgate News-Herald
10. BOYS WRESTLING Holland’s Andreas Valkema reached 150 career wins on the way to a second-place finish at his Division 2 District – Holland Sentinel
Also of note …
GIRLS BASKETBALL Detroit Renaissance downed Mumford 63-37 to win the Detroit Public School League city championship – Detroit Free Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Rockford, Grand Rapids South Christian, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Holland Christian all clinched shares or outright titles in the O-K Conference – Grand Rapids Press
GIRLS BASKETBALL Morenci’s Emersyn Bachelder and Adrian’s Ella Salenbien both reached 1,000 career points – Adrian Daily Telegram
BOYS BASKETBALL East Lansing downed Holt 71-36 to clinch the outright Capital Area Activities Conference Blue championship – Lansing State Journal
BOYS BASKETBALL Saginaw Heritage downed Mount Pleasant 58-29 to clinch the Saginaw Valley League North title – Saginaw News
BOYS BASKETBALL Center Line defeated Warren Mott, and a Marine City win helped the Panthers claim the Macomb Area Conference Silver title outright – Macomb Daily
BOYS BASKETBALL Royal Oak Shrine downed Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 41-28 to clinch the Catholic High School League St. Anne championship – Oakland Press
BOYS BASKETBALL Isaiah Theodile scored his 1,000th career point during Kalamazoo Central’s 85-46 win over Battle Creek Central – Kalamazoo Gazette
BOWLING The Division 2 No. 10 Fruitport boys finished a championship run in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver – MuskegonSports.com