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: 3/11/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 11, 2021

The regular seasons for Winter indoor sports quickly are drawing to a close, and that means nightly league championship celebrations with the latest in girls and boys basketball, girls bowling, hockey and wrestling.

1. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Hartland finished a Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship run with a win over No. 5 Novi – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Girls Bowling: Brownstown Woodhaven downed reigning Downriver League champ Wyandotte Roosevelt 22-8 to clinch this season’s title – Southgate News-Herald

3. Boys Basketball: Linden downed Holly 56-21 to lock up a third-straight Flint Metro League Stripes championship – Flint Journal

4. Boys Basketball: Brethren downed Manistee Catholic Central 54-49 to clinch a share of a second-straight West Michigan D League championship – Manistee News Advocate

5. Girls Bowling: Whitehall completed a perfect run through the West Michigan Conference with a win at the league tournament – Local Sports Journal

6. Hockey: L’Anse Creuse Unified clinched the Macomb Area Conference Red title with a 7-0 win over Romeo – Macomb Daily

7. Boys Basketball: South Lyon East downed South Lyon 62-57 to clinch the Lakes Valley Conference championship – Oakland Press

8. Girls Basketball: South Lyon East also defeated South Lyon, 43-25, to clinch a share of the LVC girls championship – Observer & Eccentric

9. Wrestling: Midland swept Lapeer, Saginaw Heritage and Saginaw Arthur Hill to clinch the Saginaw Valley League championship – Midland Daily News

10. Wrestling: White Pigeon clinched the Southwest 10 Conference championship with wins over Bloomingdale and Cassopolis – Sturgis Journal

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Mancelona and Gaylord St. Mary will share the Ski Valley Conference title – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Wrestling: Bloomfield Hills downed Birmingham Seaholm to close out the Oakland Activities Association White title – Oakland Press

Wrestling: Division 3 No. 10 Remus Chippewa Hills swept Central Montcalm, Newaygo and Howard City Tri County to complete an outright Central State Activities Association title run – Big Rapids Pioneer