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: 2/6/23

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 7, 2023

1. WRESTLING Gaylord ran its Big North Conference championship streak to 16 seasons – Petoskey News-Review

2. GYMNASTICS Rockford won the 17-team Canton Invitational, which annually draws the majority of Finals contenders – Twitter

3. HOCKEY Division 1 No. 5 Hartland handed Division 2 No. 1 Byron Center a 6-3 loss at the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase; Byron Center was the last undefeated team left in Michigan after Division 3 No. 1 Houghton and Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central also lost earlier in the weekend at the MIHL Showcase – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Fraser won its first Macomb County Invitational in 20 years, ending a three-season title run by Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 5 Macomb Dakota – Macomb Daily

5. WRESTLING Royal Oak claimed the Oakland Activities Association White title after winning the Blue the previous two seasons – Oakland Press

6. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD2 top-ranked Birmingham Groves edged No. 4 Seaholm to win the Oakland County Championship meet – Oakland Press

7. WRESTLING Division 3 No. 3 Algonac edged No. 5 Richmond to finish first at the Blue Water Area Conference Tournament – Macomb Daily

8. WRESTLING Clare repeated as Jack Pine Conference champion after winning the league title for the first time last year – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. WRESTLING Iron Mountain finished a repeat championship in the Mid-Peninsula Conference – Iron Mountain Daily News

10. WRESTLNG Wyandotte Roosevelt and Gibraltar Carlson shared the Downriver League title for the second-straight season – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

WRESTLING St. Clair in the Blue, New Haven in the Silver, Grosse Pointe South in the Gold, Division 1 No. 4 Macomb Dakota in the Red and Utica in the White won Macomb Area Conference tournament titles – Macomb Daily

BOYS BASKETBALL Port Huron clinched a share of the MAC Silver title with a 56-42 win over St. Clair Shores Lakeview – Macomb Daily

BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD3 No. 7 Dundee repeated as champion at the Monroe County Championship – Monroe News

WRESTLING Muskegon Reeths-Puffer claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship – Local Sports Journal

BOYS BASKETBALL North Farmington handed Muskegon its first loss, 68-55 at Aquinas College – MLIVE-Detroit

WRESTLING Stevensville Lakeshore locked up the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium