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: 1/5/26
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 5, 2026
1. BOYS WRESTLING Top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central edged No. 4 Brighton by a point to win its invitational, which featured four of the top six ranked teams in Division 1 – Detroit Catholic Central athletics
2. BOYS BASKETBALL Stevie Hall scored his 1,000th career point and the game winner in Detroit Cass Tech’s 54-52 win over Cleveland Central Catholic at the Detroit Public School League Holiday Classic – Detroit Free Press
3. GIRLS WRESTLING LeRoy Pine River clinched the Montague Invitational with Kaylee Gibson’s win over No. 2-ranked Lowell in the day’s final match – Cadillac News
4. BOYS WRESTLING Division 2 No. 7 Freeland repeated as Saginaw County champion – Saginaw News
5. BOYS BASKETBALL Michael Lindquist became the second Greenville boys basketball player to reach 1,000 points, doing so during a 71-56 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Grand Rapids Press
6. GIRLS WRESTLING Bay City John Glenn won the championship at the Reed City Invitational by 30 points – Bay City Times
7. GIRLS BOWLING Rockford defeated reigning Division 4 champion Ravenna to clinch the Fruitport Invitational title – Rockford Athletics
8. ICE HOCKEY Division 3 No. 4 Houghton defeated Division 1 No. 7 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 5-1 and No. 5 Brighton 6-1 during a downstate trip – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
9. GIRLS BASKETBALL Saginaw Heritage handed DeWitt its first loss, 60-55 in double overtime – Saginaw News
10. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Spring Lake – ranked No. 8 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – set 34 personal records in winning its home invitational – Local Sports Journal
Also of note …
MHSAA Longtime Catholic High School League director Vic Michaels, a member of the MHSAA Representative Council for more than two decades, died at age 71 – Oakland Press
MEDIA The Detroit and statewide media communities are mourning the death of the Detroit News’ longtime prep sports reporter Dave Goricki – Detroit News
FOOTBALL Lansing Eastern hired Dan Boggan – the winningest coach in Lansing Sexton history – to take over the program – Lansing State Journal