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: 1/31/22

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

January 31, 2022

1. GYMNASTICS Grand Ledge edged Rockford by 15 hundredths of a point to win the Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills Invitational – Coldwater Daily Reporter

2. WRESTLING Division 3 No. 1 Dundee took on both Division 2 top-ranked Lowell and Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, falling in both matches but only 36-28 to the Red Arrows. Division 1 No. 2 Davison defeated DCC by a point in another match at the event – Monroe News

3. GIRLS BASKETBALL Division 1 No. 10 Bloomfield Hills Marian earned coach Mary Cicerone her 700th career win with a 37-21 victory over Warren Regina – Oakland Press

4. WRESTLING Midland clinched its first Saginaw Valley League outright championship since 2009 – Midland Daily News

5. WRESTLING Division 2 No. 5 Stevensville Lakeshore was first and No. 9 St. Joseph second at the Greater Berrien County Invitational – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

6. BOYS BASKETBALL Division 2 No. 20 Battle Creek Pennfield’s Luke Davis scored his 1,000th career point during a 70-60 win over Jackson Northwest – Battle Creek Enquirer

7. WRESTLING Division 2 No. 4 Gaylord led the Northern Michigan Championships haul with three individual titles – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. GYMNASTICS The five-school Fowlerville co-op won the Jeanne Caruss Memorial Invitational team title – Spinal Column

9. WRESTLING Division 4 No. 4 Union City won the 18-team Evans-McGinnis Memorial Tournament – Battle Creek Enquirer

10. WRESTLING Division 2 No. 2 Whitehall improved to 22-0 in winning its Rick Champion Duals – CatchMark SportsNet