Photos: Top Shooters & Award Winners
March 26, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Girls & Boys Basketball Finals the last two weekends showed off many of the best teams and players who took the courts across Michigan this winter.
The championships also provided an opportunity to celebrate a few more accomplishments with the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan “Top Shooters Challenge” contests and MHSAA recognition for leaders past, present and future.
Below are photos from a number of events that took place during quarter breaks and halftimes at Van Noord Arena this past weekend and the Breslin Center two weeks ago.
Top Shooters: This season’s BCAM top shooters contests again recognized the sharpest from the free-throw line and 3-point arc. This past weekend at Calvin College, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Madi Stevenson won the 3-point contest with Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Sarah Stuart runner-up, while Saline’s Ella Stemmer won the free throw contest and Manton’s Abby Brown was second.
At Breslin, Mio’s Drew Hess won the 3-point challenge with Kent City’s Eli Carlson second. Zeeland East’s Clayton Dykhouse and Owosso’s Carson Bornefeld tied for the free throw championship.
(See photo above, clockwise from left: Girls free throw finalists, boys free throw finalists, girls 3-point finalists and boys 3-point finalists.)
30th Scholar-Athlete Awards: Farm Bureau and the MHSAA presented 31 honorees with Scholar-Athlete Awards during Boys Finals weekend (one honoree was unable to attend). This year’s selections were honored at a banquet and then on the floor during halftime of the Division 3 Final.
Miss Basketball & Mr. Basketball: Detroit Edison’s Rickea Jackson was recognized on-court as the Miss Basketball Award winner during Saturday’s Division 3 game before leading the Pioneers that evening to their third straight MHSAA title. Mr. Basketball Award honoree Romeo Weems accepted the trophy at Breslin as this year’s top senior on the boys side.
WISL & Forsythe Awards: Adrian Madison athletic director Kris Isom was honored Saturday as this year’s recipient of the MHSAA Women In Sports Leadership Award. The week prior, retired Negaunee and Brimley superintendent Jim Derocher and retired Buchanan, Benton Harbor, Comstock and St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic athletic director Fred Smith accepted Charles E. Forsythe Awards. All three were presented by Grand Haven Area Public Schools assistant superintendent Scott Grimes, who serves as president of the MHSAA’s Representative Council.
Battle of the Fans: Representatives from all three finalists from this year’s BOTF VIII – champion North Muskegon with Saginaw Heritage and Buchanan – took to the Breslin floor during the Division 2 Semifinals to receive their banners.
Hoopfest returns Thursday to Jenison
March 21, 2012
March Magic Hoopfest will return to Jenison Field House for this weekend’s Michigan High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Finals, marking the fourth year the event has run concurrent with the games being played at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.
A number of favorite attractions will return this weekend, including slam dunk (on lowered rims), 3-point shootout and rainbow shot areas where fans can come at any time and participate. Also returning is the Hall of History, showcasing championship games, life-size photos and display boards from throughout the MHSAA Finals’ near century-long run.
A large video screen will play a series of “Buzzer Beaters,” “Battle of the Fans” and other MHSAA-produced videos. Also, teams of boys and girls in grades 5-8 will play in the “JumpBall Jamboree” on two center courts.
Admission to the March Magic Hoopfest is $2 per person, and fans attending the MHSAA Boys Basketball Semifinals and Finals will be admitted free with their game tickets. Hours on March 22 and 23 will be 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.; the event is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 24. More than 12,000 fans attended the 2011 event. Jenison Field House, site of the Hoopfest, also was the site of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals for 31 years.
The March Magic Hoopfest is being conducted in a partnership between the Greater Lansing Sports Authority, a division of the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau; and the MHSAA, with vital support coming from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at Michigan State University. To find out more general information about the event, visit the March Magic Hoopfest Website at http://www.marchmagichoopfest.com.
“March Magic Hoopfest is a great partnership between the Greater Lansing Sports Authority, Michigan State and the MHSAA,” MHSAA Director of Brand Management Andy Frushour said. “The event gives fans at the Finals an opportunity to extend their championship weekend experience, and provides those who do not attend the Finals a small taste of the excitement.”
The Greater Lansing Sports Authority (GLSA) is a division of the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau. The GLSA’s mission is to be the leading voice of sports tourism in the Greater Lansing area and to promote economic growth by attracting a diverse range of sporting events to the region. The GLSA strives to enhance the quality of life for area residents through the development of local sports and fitness programs for all ages, and supports the continued development and maintenance of safe, high-quality athletic facilities.
"The March Magic Hoopfest sets off a great weekend of MHSAA tournament games and helps create a multi-day event which will involve the Lansing area and thousands of visitors coming to town," said Mike Price of the Greater Lansing Sports Authority. "If you're coming to the championships, Hoopfest is a destination to visit before and after the games; and if you're not coming to the games, Hoopfest is a fun, wholesome, inexpensive, family activity."