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: 11/13/19

November 13, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The field of 128 was whittled to 66 volleyball teams still alive in the MHSAA Tournament as all but two Regional Finals were played Tuesday, with Divisions 1 and 3 producing the night’s loudest newsmakers.

1. Volleyball: Top-ranked Schoolcraft swept No. 5 Bronson, ending a four-season Class C/Division 3 championship streak for the Vikings – WWMT

2. Volleyball: No. 7 Bloomfield Hills Marian pushed top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy to a fifth set before the Marlins prevailed in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal – Observer & Eccentric

3. Volleyball: No. 4 Hudsonville got past No. 8 Grand Haven in five sets in a matchup of ranked Division 1 teams – Grand Haven Tribune

4. Volleyball: Honorable mention Pewamo-Westphalia swept No. 9 Morley Stanwood in a Division 3 Regional Semifinal – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

5. Volleyball: Honorable mention Lake Orion went five sets to upset No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in Division 1 – Oakland Press

6. Volleyball: Manistique came back from a set down to win the final two and get past Calumet in five in a matchup of Division 3 honorable mentions – Escanaba Daily Press

7. Volleyball: Unranked Hudson swept honorable mention Hanover-Horton to also move on in Division 3 – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Volleyball: Unranked Manton got past honorable mention Beal City in five sets, also in Division 3 – Cadillac News

9. Volleyball: Novi swept Brighton in a matchup of Division 1 honorable mentions, ending the stellar high school career of Bulldogs all-stater Celia Cullen – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

10. Volleyball: In Division 3, Vandercook Lake advanced to its first District final and saw two school records fall during a sweep of Bath – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Also of note …

Girls Golf: Okemos’ Allison Cui was named Miss Golf by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association – Lansing State Journal

Boys Soccer: The Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association named Aidan O’Connor its Mr. Soccer for this season – Grand Rapids Press