Lansing Catholic damns CHD to zone purgatory

With Mack McKearney having matriculated to Dartmouth, Okemos is down to one Division I guard on its roster, Butler signee Chris Harrison-Docks. Slow him down, and you may have a chance. Slow him Lansing Catholic Central did, and with the senior guard mired in their 2-3 match-up zone the Cougars got an impressive non-conference road win 63-56.Lansing Catholic forced and enticed Harrison-Docks into ...
Read more...

Capital City upset! Down goes Romulus

The nightcap of the Capital City Tipoff Classic was worth the wait Saturday, as Detroit Pershing knocked off Class A No. 1 Romulus at Lansing Sexton 67-52. It was a breakout performance for Darsean Woodson, Pershing's 5-8 sophomore point guard. He scored 15 points, making some amazing shots in the lane. 6-5 junior Martez "Melon" Walker led the Doughboys with 23 points. The lefty wing forward was b...
Read more...

Borderlands: Edwardsburg holds on beats White Pigeon

EDWARDSBURG - In the furthest reaches south in the state, Highway 12 runs parallel to the Michigan/Indiana border. It's not quite the US/Mexican border, no tunnels, illegal immigrants or drug war casualties piled up. Yet it is somewhat eerie. Like with Yoopers who are Packers fans, do they have duel loyalties here? Are they true Michiganders or Crypto Hoosiers? They're games are covered by the Sou...
Read more...

Fight the future: Tri-Unity puts down young NorthPointe Christian

Don't be fooled by the 75-65 final, it took all Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian could muster to come out of Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian with the win. Tri-Unity is the defending Class D state champion and ranked N. 1 again, while NorthPointe, with two sophomores and a freshman in its primary rotation, will be a team to deal with in Class C for the future. NPC, playing at home for an eager audien...
Read more...

Parallel 45 7th- and 8th-grade tryouts Sunday, Jan. 22
Bank Hoops - Parallel 45 AAU
Tryouts for Parallel 45's 7th-grade team are 3 pm Sunday, Jan. 22 at Bellaire High School. Tryouts for the 8th-grade team are 5 pm Sunday, Jan. 22 at Bellaire High School. There is a $10 tryout fee.
 
King survives a Mr. Basketball effort
Bank Hoops - High School

Any depression over the NCAA's capricious decision to evict the Holiday Hoops landmark from its rightful home, the Breslin Center, the epicenter of amateur basketball in our state, was alleviated Thursday night. In a venue that has played host to so many great high school games, Lansing Eastern's Don Johnson Fieldhouse, Detroit King and Bay City Western added another to the memory banks, with MLK surviving a Kevin Love-like effort from BCW's Matt Costello to prevail in overtime 73-72.

Playing just minutes from his future college home, and with his future coach Tom Izzo watching from Eastern's vast tower of bleachers, Costello turned in an epic basketball performance. He scored 34 points. Easy shots were few and far between, usually with at least two King defenders draped on him in the high post, but they fell for Costello 16-of-24 field goals. He played to his 6-10 frame on the glass with 25 rebounds and seven blocked shots. He is so big, talented and determined, Bay City Western has a chance whenever he's on the court.

Read more...
 
It takes a team, Dowagiac now 5-1
Bank Hoops - High School

DOWAGIAC - The orange sign in Dowagiac's student section with Dontel Highsmith's #3 said it was "Too Easy." No, kid. Basketball may be beautifully simple, but it's rarely easy. So there was no repeat of Highsmith's December 56-point game, no Wolverine Conference record, for Highsmith. A well-coached Three Rivers team made him work for everything and sometimes make him pay even if he did get it, before falling to what was likely Dowagiac's best overall team effort of the season 62-54.

Highsmith has rocketed up the rankings and coaches' recruiting lists thanks to the prolific December during which his explosive play eliminated concerns about what had been a lingering knee injury. That left him a healthy 6-2, 190-pound junior point guard whose playing resume is the strongest in the 2013 class, as it features a Class B state semifinal appearance and two years of national 17U AAU.

Read more...
 
C-Notes: Consortium, Crockett, Community win
Bank Hoops - High School

YPSI - Detroit Consortium continues to look like one of the top teams in the state, never mind Class C. They took out Chandler Park Academy and the state's best point guard, 63-52, Wednesday at Ypsilanti High. Two other "DCs" are state ranked, top 10 in Class B, and Detroit Crockett and Detroit Community did nothing to dissuade me they're that good. Crockett topped Milwaukee Marshall 64-45, while Community blew out Dearborn Heights Robichaud 60-35.

There's no better frontcourt in Michigan's than Consortium's. And that's without top 10 soph Justin Tillman, a 6-7 Willow Run transfer who unfortunately was no longer repping the polo shirt and tie bench wear. 6-6 senior Tre Tigner is a poor man's Cortney Scott; 6-6 senior Devondre Peoples makes the most of his minutes and is an impact defender; 6-8 senior Marin Mornar is taking a crash course in American basketball complete with dunks and technicals, scored 16, he'll be a bust out star in March; and 6-6 senior Vincent Hunter may wonder why the heck he's ranked behind Community's Bo Zeigler, after a familiar line of 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Read more...