Burney's Bites

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2010-02-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

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Will He or Won't He?

2010-02-08T01:44:00.001-05:00

Will he or won't he? That is the question that four lucky college coaches are awaiting the answer to in regards to where Birmingham Detroit Country Day All-American senior point guard, Ray McCallum, Jr. will decide to play his college hoops and in turn, if they will end up landing his much-coveted services. Sean Miller at Arizona, Billy Donovan at Florida, Ben Howling at UCLA, and Ray's dad's, Ray McCallum, Sr. at the University of Detroit-Mercy, are the quad of coaches jockeying to sign DCD's dazzling floor general - 21 ppg, 6 apg, 6 rpg, 3.5 stls per game so far this season.

Alright, I've waited long enough, standing idly by holding my tongue, it's time for Burney to drop some knowledge and perspective and give you prep recruiting fiends my very own prediction on what school "Big Play Ray" will end up selecting and signing with in April.

From Burney has been told from his various sources, this recruiting derby is a two team-race. Thus, you can throw out Howling at UCLA and Donovan at Florida. The street is talking and the word is that McCallum has it narrowed down to either Wildcat U at Arizona and going to play for dear old dad at UofD-Mercy at legendary Calihan Hall.

Having personally spoken to Ray about AZ back in December, I could tell he was very high on young and spunky Wildcats head coach Sean Miller. The pair related well on his visit down to 'Zona late last year and McCallum has an obvious respect for Miller's experience-factor and his skills as a "pitchman". Miller point-guarded a very good Pitt team back in the late-90s-early-80s and had tremendous success with his stable of guards in his previous coaching life at mid-major powerhouse, Xavier in Cincinnati. He is also known as a magnetic recruiter who develops solid personal relationships with the kids he coaches.

Now that said, much to my surprise and contrary to what I had anticipated earlier in the recruiting process, U-of-D-Mercy is a real contender in this recruiting race, possibly even the front runner at this point in time. I've personally spoken to more than one prep prospect being courted by McCallum, Sr.'s up and coming Titans program and they have all told me the Mercy staff is telling them the younger McCallum is 99 percent committed to signing with his pops.

If that's the case, the push to get the program back to the heights it once achieved under Perry Watson last decade and current sports broadcast icon, Dick Vitale back in the mid to late-1970s is about to get a heck of a lot stronger. Second if McCallum actually did end up at Mercy and took the Titans to the possible success scouts equate his talent with, he could easily wind up being a local college hoops legend, enshrined in the hallowed annals of Motor City bball history along other UofD greats like Dave De Busschere, John Long, Terry Tyler, Terry Duerod, Jermaine Jackson, and Rashad Phillips. McCallum, Jr. could bring a serious jolt of electricity back to Calihan Hall and with that, most-likely an exciting buzz surrounding the Titans program not felt around here in over a decade and in reality probably dating back as late as the Vitale era when Calihan was the hottest ticket in town.

To play devil's advocate, a decision like that – McCallum, Jr. selecting UofD – would be a huge risk. He would be putting it all on the line to go help out his dad turn Mercy into a winner and in turn probably get his pops a top tier D1 job. And if it fails, if he goes there and doesn't elevate the program to the heights expected, it could be a disaster of epic proportions. He could end up falling under what I call, "The Lavell Blanchard Quandary" or more aptly titled, "Great player-Bad Program Quandary." Mark my words, if Blanchard would have gone to MSU instead of UofM a decade ago, he would be making a living in the NBA right now. He might not be a star or a starter, but he'd be in the league crafting out a role as a poor man's Shane Battier-type. But he didn't. Blanchard went to Ann Arbor got stuck with a pair of horrendous head coaches inside a highly-dysfunctional program and wound up having a forgettable but very solid college career because of his surroundings and thus never got a real chance to get drafted.

So that's what I know as of right now. And with that, I'm going tell you what I think he's going to end up doing. Personally, I think he'll wind up inking with Miller and Arizona. I don't think Ray likes the Midwest and prefers a warm weather environment to play in evidenced by his three choices not coached by his dad. Plus, as confident Ray is as a ballplayer, I don't think he wants the extreme pressure and certain immense-anticipation and expectation that would accompany the commitment. Not that he couldn't handle it, because I think he could, but I just don't think he wants it. He just wants to play without having deal with distractions, which playing for his dad at UofD would be full of.

I don't foresee this being an easy decision, but I think it's what he will do and I think its ultimately what's best for his future career. Would I be surprised if he went the other way and decided to take on the Big Enchillada and sign with Mercy? Not at all. Either way, I wish Big Play Ray the best of luck on both his college decision and all his future endeavors.

Instant Feedback - Friday Frenzy

2010-02-06T02:57:00.000-05:00

I am in serious awe of Hazel Park's inside-outside tandem of Wesley Ellis and Dakota Ogles, These two have been, as L.L. Cool J once said, "Doing it and doing it and doing it well," ever since the beginning of the season. The 10-3 Vikings are off to their best start in quite a while and sit in second place in the OAA Blue with a 6-2 conference record. On Friday night, Ellis (a prolific passer with a season-high of 16 dimes) sank the game-winner in the closing seconds of the HP's 82-80 victory over a tough-as-nails Farmington Hills Harrison team and Ogles went ITZ for the second time in two weeks, matching his season-high of 37 points. Ogles was also a beast on the boards, collecting 13 rebounds in the win.

PONTIAC- ARE U FREAKING KIDDING ME? BACK-T0-BACK 35-FOOT 3-POINT SHOTS - Juwaan Moody to tie it up and De Brian Lewis to win it at the horn - TO DOWN C-TOWN AT THE BUZZER! WOW, AREN'T HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AWESOME!

Oak Park apparently has West Bloomfield's number this season, as the Knights boys hoop squad took down the Lakers for the second time in the 2009-2010 campaign, punking the WB in its own crib, 68-63. Jalen Crawford continued to impress the college scouts with his play by dropping a 21 point, five assist, five rebound performance on the host-Lake show. Burney has to admit, while watching Crawford as a junior last season, he didn't think much of his opportunity to play at a formidable D1 school at the next level. Upon further review however, Burney sees how very wrong he was and after seeing him play on a number of occasions this season, Burney is convinced that Crawford is a bonafide college hoopster. Don't sleep on the Knights Kenny Harper either. Harper is versatile and a "go all out, all the time" type of player that could also end up helping some form of program – whether small-time D1 or big time D2 – at the next level.

Walled Lake Central's front-court of Joe Zurbrickas and Jake Paulson are playing like modern-day high school versions of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. Paulson tallied 22 points and 20 boards in the Vikings, 54-48 overtime win against crosstown-foe Walled Lake Western on Friday night. Denny Butcher's Vikes are 12-2.

Don't look now but Farmington's boys basketball squad is starting to round into shape and with Friday's 53-47 road win over Birmingham Groves the Falcons are riding a two-game win streak. Farmington's victory also raises its record above the .500 mark at 7-6. Jason Wilson, a two-sport star who also excels on the football field as a wide receiver and defensive back, has been coming into his own this season and put in a game-high 18 points for the winners.

And finally what about RH Adams, avoiding the letdown and triumphing over GP South by double-digits on Friday night. Adams beat a then-undefeated Seaholm squad on Tuesday and could have been prone for the fall, but came out strong against South and ran away with it thanks to Junior forward Andrew Hammett, who scored a career-high 31 points and hauled down 11 rebounds. Senior Connor Boyle, a steadying presence in the Adams backcourt these past two seasons adding 10 points and four assists, the Highlanders improve to 10-3.

Instant Feedback - Friday Frenzy

2010-02-06T02:48:00.000-05:00

PONTIAC - ARE U FREAKING KIDDING ME? BACK-TO-BACK 35-FOOTERS - Juwaan Moody to tie and De Brian Lewis to win - TO BEAT C-TOWN IN THE FINAL 4 and a HALF SECONDS, DON"T U JUST LOVE PREP BASKETBALL!!!!!!

Mowed Down

2010-02-05T15:40:00.000-05:00

Please, don't get me started on what happened to Southfield's Maurice "Big Mo" Davenport earlier this week. Oh, alright, if you insist:

This kid got the shaft with a capital "S" in the recruiting process by those "winners" over in Ypsilanti at Eastern Michigan. Thanks a lot, Ron English and Tyrone Wheatley! Or shall I say, thanks for nothing guys and see ya at the bottom of the MAC once again over the next few years when I play my ass off and perform at the highest level for my new team, Wayne State U. The situation that development in regards to Davenport's recruiting process tells you all you need to know about the state of the EMU program. These former Wolverine "class acts", offered Davenport a scholarship back in October, which he accepted (and in turn informed all the other D1 schools that were recruiting him to stop – which they did), and then pulled it away from him in the hours leading up to signing day on Wednesday for no good reason at all.

And did Wheatley – who recruited him – or English, the Lloyd Carr-endorsed sideline general who leads the beleaguered Eagles program, have the human decency to call and inform Davenport of their decision to pull their offer off the table and leave him hanging in the wind sans parachute?. Of course not, that would have been the professional thing to do. That's how things are done at well-run, well-disciplined, classy programs – which are few and far between these days, as well as ever, for that matter. Davenport, a relentlessly-aggressive fullback-linebacker, with a heart of a champion and the will of a warrior, had to call the EMU football office himself to be informed why none of his recruiters had been returning his calls and that he no longer had a place on the Eagles 2010 roster. The EMU staff even had the audacity to tell Davenport that one of the reasons the scholarship offer was being taken away was due to him "not playing up to his capabilities." REALLY,? Cause that statement couldn't be more false. Davenport played like a man possessed in the Bluejays run to a district title last fall and helped Southfield advance all the way to the Division Two Final Four in 2008. His leadership, effort, and playmaking were major reasons for his team's recent successes. To say there was some sort of drop off in his play, is ridiculous and downright offensive. It's obvious to me the Eagles coaching staff didn't properly complete their due diligence in regard to Davenport, fell in love with some JUCO they perceived as a better fit for their recruiting class and then used a BS excuse to blame him for the entire ordeal. What a bunch of sleaze balls!!!

Way to go, Coach English, you've done your program and mentor, Carr, very proud. Why don't you just go kick a dog or push an old lady carrying a walker into oncoming traffic while you're at it? All sarcasm aside, I truly hope that they way you and your program treated such a great kid like Davenport, is the exception rather than the rule and that this type of behavior isn't becoming the status quo in Ypsilanti these days. If it is the norm, than the school's AD needs to do some serious re-evaluating of whether or not they want English roaming the sidelines on their behalf in the future.

Recruiting Round Up

2010-02-05T02:31:00.001-05:00

This has been a very special week for the great number of Metro Detroit student athletes who got the opportunity to sign National Letters of Intent and accept scholarships to play sports at the next level.

Although each signing is special in their own right, there are a few notable signings that I want to write a couple things about:

First off, freshly-anointed head coach Matt Mitchell's new regime at Grand Valley State got a few late-additions to its 2010 signing class in the form of a trio of gridiron gladiators from Oakland County. Justin Davis of Southfield-Lathrup, Sam Welch of Walled Lake Western and John Westfall of Milford all got in on the Laker party at the last-minute and all three are great lands for Mitchell's first incoming recruiting class. Davis is one of those multi-purpose athletes with a "high-ceiling" in the development department, a kid who will probably end up being a better college player than he was a prepster. Welch is an old fashioned gun slinger behind center and one of the most prolific passers ever in the history of prep sports in Walled Lake. Unfortunately Welch's team had a sub-par season this past fall and that probably cost him a shot at a D1 ride. Nonetheless, Welch has the chance to be a special player at the next level and Mitchell's offense is practically a perfect fit with Welch's skill set.

Word on the street is that Devon Bailey will be joining his high school teammate, Taylor Calero (upstart Defensive End/Linebacking prospect) at Michigan State next year as a preferred walk-on. Before an injury plagued senior campaign, Bailey had several mid-major D1 schools interested in giving him full rides. In the end, however, things might turn out the best for Bailey without the initial scholarship in hand, but at a major DI school like MSU, a program that needs added depth at the running back position……er if things go well, Bailey could very well work his way onto the field and into some carries, if not a larger role all together, in the next few seasons in the EL.

It was nice to see local soccer studs Lake Orion's Derek Schrauben and RH Adams' Joey Dillon both ending up with scholarships that will allow them to keep getting their "kicks-on" in college. Schrauben, whose a major reason why the Lake Orion hoops team is doing as well as it has been doing this season, inked with Western Michigan on Wednesday morning and Dillon signed with Georgtown. Dillon helped lead the Highlanders to a magical season on the field in 2009.

Dillon's classmates at Adams Jordan Sanders, Nick Di Miro, and Matt Rea, each landed themselves with spots on college rosters next year too. Sanders and Di Miro, who I personally believe could easily be mid-major D1 offensive lineman if given the shot, penned with Saginaw Valley State and Northwood, respectively. Rea, a rugged fullback/linebacker combo, will be suiting up for the Quakers of University of Penn.

Speaking of Ivy League football, DCD's Jason Ray, a hard-playing and highly-intelligent linebacker/safety/tight end, has chose Princeton as his destination to go play college football. In his first year on the varsity hoops squad this season, Ray has been an integral reserve post player for the nationally-ranked Yellowjackets.

Injured hand and all, OLSM multi-talented playmaker, Gary Hunter, was offered and accepted a scholarship from the University of Dayton. Hunter sparked the Eaglets special teams unit as a lethal return specialist and anchored the team's secondary from his cornerback spot, in their '09 run to the state finals at Ford Field.

Its A Mad Mad World

2010-02-04T16:41:00.000-05:00

MADISON MAULS STERLING HEIGHTS FOR NON-CONFERENCE 'W'

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

MADISON HEIGHTS

The scoreboard in the Madison Heights Madison gymnasium was malfunctioning on Wednesday night, in stark contrast to the Madison boys basketball team, which was functioning at the highest of levels in its non-conference showdown with a considerably taller Sterling Heights squad. Utilizing a frenetic transition game and some sticky defense, the Eagles trounced the visiting-Stallions, 72-49 and dialed up their overall record to a not so shabby 10-2.

In a game which had a scrimmage-like feel to it as a result of the defective scoreboard requiring the score to be tallied by hand with a plastic number display and time intervals to be shouted out by officials every three minutes, Madison surged in front of a physically-bigger Sterling Heights squad and never looked back.

Leading the way for the Eagles was sophomore sensation, Damon Bozeman, who put in another supreme outing for Madison on both ends of the floor by posting his sixth double-double of the season. Bozeman scored a game-high 22 points, while hauling down 11 rebounds. He also played very strong defense against a larger Stallions' front court, helping limit Sterling Heights 6-9 center Adam Ring to just six points and five rebounds.

"I just love playing the game of basketball," said Bozeman, a second year varsity letterman following the triumph. "Everything is going well for us as a team right now and we need to ride that momentum as far as we can. We can't get cocky. If we keep preparing and playing hard, we'll be okay."

Madison's mini, yet mighty backcourt of seniors R.T. Merritt and Ashton Curd, gave their opponents fits all night long too. Merritt finished with 11 points, six assists, and five steals. Curd joined Bozeman in the double-double department, by contributing 10 points, 10 dimes, and four steals.

"I can't tell you how much fun it is playing with R.T. and Ashton," Bozeman said of the two guards who routinely feed him the ball on the break so he can finish with the deuce. "They're both like big brothers to me. They've showed me the ropes these last two years. When we get in the open court together, we're dangerous. They set me up and let me make plays. I owe them a lot of credit for the kind of season I'm having."

Tevin Washington, another super sophomore forward like Bozeman, made it into double figures with 10 points and added five boards.

Going ahead 36-27 at halftime, the Eagles brought down the proverbial hammer midway through the second half, outscoring Sterling Heights 18-6 in a key stretch of the late-third and early-fourth quarter. In a sign of things to come, Madison opened the second half on an 8-0 run courtesy of two hoops apiece by Washington and Merritt.

The Stallions weren't dead yet though and made a ploy to get back into the game, responding with an 8-0 run of their own. After Julius Wade drained a 3-pointer and Ring slammed one home off a well-executed in-bounds play, Sterling Heights had the Eagles' lead trimmed down into single digits, at a score of 44-35.

Taking their opponents' scoring barrage in stride, Madison closed out the quarter in dominating fashion, running and gunning to a 52-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Back-to-back fast break baskets by Bozeman and Curd's twisting, double-pump lay-up off a steal ended the quarter's scoring onslaught. It didn't stop there, either. The Eagles kicked-off the game's final stanza with a 6-0 run that effectively took away the Stallions spirit.

Two more Bozeman buckets via the transition game made it 58-37 and Curd's floater in the lane ratcheted up the lead to 63-41 with 5:12 remaining.

Sterling Heights was led in the scoring column by Wade's 11 points. The loss moves the Stallions overall record to 5-7 on the year.

Eagles head coach, Steve Rhoads, in his first year on the job, likes the direction his team is headed in. "We play unselfish basketball and make the extra pass and that's why we're winning," he said. "We try to play quick, without hurrying, as the expression goes. There were still a little too many turnovers this game for my liking but we'll get that corrected in practice. These guys love to play the game and they play it with energy and enthusiasm. We're at a good place right now and hopefully we'll continue to get better."

A legend in local coaching circles since the 1970's, Rhoads is back on the sidelines after a 10 year absence from the head coaching ranks. Rhoads retired from his successful 30-year tenure at Berkley in 2000 after coaching such future professional athletes like Bruce Flowers (NBA-Knicks) and Aric Morris (NFL-Tennessee Titans). Brought out of retirement as an assistant coach in 2005 by ex-player, Brian Canfield, who had just taken over the program at Madison, Rhoads was on the bench for five consecutive conference championships and a district title win in 2008. Upon Canfield's departure last spring, Rhoads was hired as the Eagles new head coach and as evidenced by the current record hasn't let his team miss a beat.

"It feels good to be back," Rhoads said. "It's a different setting and a new community environment, but I embrace that. I look forward to helping bring the community and team together and keep building something special here just like we did in Berkley back in the day."

May-Day

2010-02-04T02:08:00.001-05:00

DRAGONS & MAYO STAY HOT, FIRE OFF WIN AT TROY

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

TROY

Lake Orion's Alex Mayo is a survivor. Two seasons ago as a sophomore, Mayo, a soft-stroking 6-foot-2 swingman, was a top reserve on a very good Dragons varsity hoops squad that featured All-Stat superstud and current Oakland University forward, Drew Maynard. Then the bottom fell out. Last year was an all-out disaster. With Maynard graduating, starting point guard Anthony Fields – who should be a senior this year – bolting to the PSL and Detroit Southeastern, head coach Jim Manzo resigning and starting guard Jeff Heath deciding not to come out for his senior year due to wanting to concentrate on his college football career, Lake Orion stumbled to a paltry four-win campaign.

This year, on the other hand, has been a whole different story. Led by Mayo's high-scoring ways and a boatload of rugged role players, the Dragons are in the process of fighting it out for a conference championship. Mayo was at it again on Tuesday night, recording a game-high 25 points and propelling Lake Orion to a hard-fought 60-59 road victory over Troy. The win sends the Dragons into a three way -tie with RH Adams and Stoney Creek for second place in the OAA White Division.

The comeback-win raises Lake Orion's overall record to 8-4. After starting the season 1-3 under first year head coach Mike Shafkalis, the Dragons have now won seven of their last eight contests. Adams, Stoney Creek, and Lake Orion each stand at 5-2 in league play, one game behind first place Birmingham Seaholm (11-1, 6-1), who got upset by Adams on Tuesday.

Eight of Mayo's 25 points came in the frantic-paced fourth quarter which saw the Dragons rally back from a 6 point-deficit. Also a wide receiver on Lake Orion's highly-vaunted football team these past two seasons – in '08 he played in Ford Field in the Class A state title game – Mayo is averaging 17.5 points per game so far this year.

Behind the play of the Colts' painfully-potent "May-December"-combo of senior captain and all-conference forward, Bobby Wunderlich (set to play football next year at Grand Valley State) and freshman phenom, James Young, Troy staked claim to a 34-28 halftime lead and a 48-45 advantage after three quarters of play, but failed to hold on at the end. Two straight baskets by Mayo put Lake Orion on top 60-55 with under 90 seconds left on the clock. However, the Colts made it interesting late, scoring two straight hoops to get within one possession down and securing an opportunity for a game-winning shot in the game's final seconds. Coming out of a timeout, Wunderlich's shot at the buzzer fell just short and Lake Orion took home the 'W.'

Wunderlich scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Young scored 15 points by way of sinking 5-of-7 3-point shots and corralled seven boards to headline Troy's offensive output for the night. Sophomore point guard Evan Mahone contributed 10 points and five assists to the Colts effort. Troy drops its overall record to 5-8, 2-5 in the conference.

Besides Mayo, Lake Orion also got top of the line performances from senior guard Derek Schrauben (a D1 soccer recruit) and senior center Ian Monk. Schrauben tallied 13 points for the Dragons and Monk, patrolled the paint with poise and passion to the tune of six points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Hail Mary

2010-02-03T02:35:00.000-05:00

PALAZETI'S WISH COMES THROUGH AT LAST MINUTE

It came down to the wire, but Novi Detroit Catholic Central's mega-fullback/human bulldozer, Niko "Big Poppa" Palazetti has finally secured himself a more than well-deserved D1 college football scholarship. Palazetti, a 6-foot-2, 250 pound battering ram of a ball carrier who is as classy off the field as he is volatile on in, was offered and accepted a full ride to Michigan State University on Monday, wrapping a bow on what will go down as one of the best seasons for a Oakland County running back in quite some time. When it was all said and done and the CC state championship banner had been raised, the Shamrocks' consummate workhorse had rushed for over 1400 yards and 25 TDS. In the state title game at Ford Field – a 31-21 defeat of a high-powered SH Stevenson squad led by the state's all-time leading passer in Jason Fracassa – he pummeled the competition for 145 yards on the ground and two big time scores. Oh, yeah, let's not forget about his stalwart effort in the trenches helping spark an exceptional CC defense and his outstanding leadership displayed in the huddle, in the lockeroom, and in the class room (Big Poppa is "NOTORIOUS" for getting his "book on" as well as getting his "TD on" to the tune of a 3.5 gpa). He will sign his official National Letter of Intent on Wednesday morning at the CC campus off Wixom Road in a ceremony which will include his all-state teammate, Mike Kinville, a Shamrocks linebacker slated to ink with Central Michigan.

This is a great story about a great kid. Before the 2009 prep football campaign, Palazetti only had a few offers to play college ball and they were all from D2 and D3 schools. His monstrosity of a senior year on the gridiron got some of the bigger college programs in the area talking and then, eventually lurking in his direction. At first, MSU and Michigan both floated the idea of brining Palazetti into their respective programs as a preferred walk-on. However, as the clock clicked down to the wire in the 2010 recruiting game, Spartans head honcho, Mark D'antonio, decided to offer Palazetti an all out full-ride. To say D'antonio and the Sparty faithful got themselves a diamond in the rough would be a gross understatement. Mark my words, you're going to be hearing about this kid at the next level and in a major way. He's got that "X-factor" intangible as a player that transcends numbers and rankings and that trait will make him successful in East Lansing. His will to achieve is colossal and it shines through in the way he plays the game – inspired, steely-eyed and with high-impact.

Prior to the big boys smarting up, Palazetti was knocked for his lack of speed. HELLO, MCFLY. IS THERE ANYONE HOME? (Back to the Future reference). Of course, he lacks speed. He's a bruising fullback, he's not supposed to be fast. But what he is, if not speedy, is a hard-blocking, gutty grinder of a ball-toter and a true throwback of a football player in general. Basically, the kind of guy you want on your team when you're battling out for the Big Ten title every year (which is where Sparty will hopefully be soon under the D'antonio regime). Just think, Mike Alstott with a little more of an instinctive nose for the end zone. That's what this kid is and will be in college if given the opportunity. Congrats, Big POPPA! You've earned every bit of success you have received this last six months and in the process, done Burney proud. Now, Go know' em dead in Spartytown over the next four years!

Boys Hoops Rankings

2010-02-02T01:27:00.001-05:00

OC Top 10

1 Birmingham Detroit Country Day (12-1) – The 'Jackets have been playing well with 6-11 junior center Amir Williams out of the line-up and his return could come as early as the team's huge game with Ohio-powerhouse Columbus Northland on Saturday night in Saginaw at Delta Community College. If Williams makes it back on the court for the Northland game, Saturday will act as a true test and a barometer of how Keener's Kage Krew match-up with the nation's elite of the elite.

2 Clarkston (8-2) – Senior forward Matt Kamieniecki can hurt a team so many ways. He's a beast in the post and if overplay his interior game, he'll step out and knock down the outside "J" or back-breaking 3-pointer. He plays extra-hard on defense too!

3 Birmingham Seaholm (11-0) – The Maples' "CrazyFreshCool Cuz Connection" of Richaud Pack and Shawn Conway are the best "1-2 punch," in the county, bar none. Burney wishes he could see the Seaholm hoopsters have a showdown or two with a couple top teams from the OAA Red just to see how the Maples would fare. Well, I guess I'll have to wait to the Regionals.

4 North Farmington (7-5) – Not many players in the whole state can stake a claim to being as consistently en fuego as the Raiders' Kyle Vinales. This kid can drop a 30-spot in his sleep ( that's how good of a scorer he is). Chris Stewart only scored one hoop last Thursday night against Southfield, but it was arguably the most important hoop of the entire game – a game-winning fastbreak lay-up off a feed from Vinales, who had just swiped a Southfield pass.

5 Southfield (8-4) – Head coach Gary Teasley's batch of Bluejay ballers have hit a few bumps in the roads as of late, but Burney has no doubt that the Brundidge Bunch will be back in top form very soon.

6 Pontiac (5-6) – You can't stop the Phoenix's Juwaan Moody, you can only hope to contain him!!!! Jamal Barr is underrated, he'll hurt you if you don't pay attention to him. Jabari Martin is one of the hardest working guards in the area.

7 Waterford Mott (9-2) – John Schaeffer and Devontay Green are on the verge of reaching a collective Swagger Level of two hundred thousand trillion!!!!

8 Birmingham Brother Rice (7-5) – Junior Warriors small forward Joey Alessi is no longer a rising star, he's officially gradutated to a full-blown hoops superstud under the tuteledge of Rice's grizzled coaching staff. Kevonte Martin-Manley has been living large, residing at the corner of Awesome and Amazing ever since his return from injury in early-January.

9 a. Holly (10-2) – Transfer shooting guard Josh Fugate – in only his fourth game in the Red and White – finally got back into the swing of things, banging home three trifectas on his way to a season-high 13 points on Friday night in a Bronchos' win. Thomas "The L-Train" Lovachis is AS ADVERTISED, to say the least!

9 b. Novi Detroit Catholic Central (7-5) – CC head coach Billy Dyer is a genius motivator and a very overlooked, yet always dangerous sideline tactician no matter what hand he's dealt in terms of player personnel. The Shammies are the hardest working team in the state! Like Van Wilder might say, "Write that down!"

10 a. Walled Lake Central (10-2) – Justin Kucera has that Boom Boom Pow lately and the Vikings are going to ride the inside-outside tandem of him and Justin "The Brickhouse" Zubrikas as far as they can – Which if you ask Burney, will be very far! Great sports year for boys sports at Central and that makes Burney happy!

10 b. Novi (10-2) – The Wildcats are picking up steam and beginning to look as good as last year's 16-4 team. Brandon Rydzewski has looked very solid in the backcourt for Novi after returning from a separated shoulder suffered as a quarterback with the 'Cats football squad this past fall.

10 c. Southfield Lathrup (6-6) – Burney's telling some of the Midwest's smaller D1 programs to not sleep on Chargers forward Bryan Coleman, a long, lanky, and physically gifted lefty who is smooth inside and out, as well as has a huge growth ceiling on the hardwood.

Ray of Light

2010-02-01T01:50:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't been checking the box scores in the paper, Birmingham Detroit Country Day's resident football star, Jason Ray, has been excelling on the basketball court this season while playing his first season on the Yellowjackets' nationally-ranked varsity hoop squad. Ray, who will be going to play college football next season in the Ivy League (he has a number of offers and will make an announcement on his final decision this Wednesday on National Signing Day) logged an impressive double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds on Friday night in the 'Jackets 73-50 defeat of Orchard Lake St. Mary's.

Although he's only about 6 foot one inch tall, Ray is adept at playing in the paint and mixing it up with opposing team's larger power forwards and centers. He's active and scrappy and provides an energetic and grit-infused spark off the bench. The transfer of Urban Bingham to North Farmington over the summer opened up a spot in the bball team's playing rotation. A one-time starter on the Junior Varsity squad as a sophomore two years ago, Ray, coming off an all-state senior campaign on the gridiron, decided to step in and fill the void.

"He missed the game and we were more than happy to welcome him back into the program earlier in the school year," said Country Day's 32^nd year head coach, Kurt Keener, in an interview back in late-December. "Not many athletes in all of Oakland County work as hard as Jason does, whether it's in football or basketball. He's the consummate team player and the ultimate dirty work guy. His presence in our line-up and in our lockeroom has been a tremendous lift."

On opening night against Holly on the road in a very hostile environment and playing in his first organized basketball game in almost two years, Ray looked like a savvy veteran the minute he came into the game for Keener's 'Jackets in the second quarter. When it was all said and done, DCD came out of Holly with the win and Ray had a rock solid outing of six points and five rebounds in his first career varsity action. With an injury bug hitting the team's frontcourt over the past few weeks, the senior pepper pot reserve has proved just what the doctor ordered and has played dutiful in the absence of starters Amir Williams and Kenny Knight and ace sub-Carter Elliott, who have all missed recent time.

The emotional leader of the Country Day football team's defense the past two years, Ray was a playmaker whether he was lining up at safety, linebacker or on the other side of the ball as a shifty and hard blocking tight end. Behind his leadership, the Yellowjackets advanced all the way to the Class B state championship game in 2008 for the second year in a row and then last fall, they took home their third straight district championship. Needless to say with his choice of college destinations, this kid is a winner in the classroom too! Here's hoping "The Ray Bomb" is a major reason Keener and the DCD'ers are able to claim the program's eighth state title in March. Before he goes off to college, Ray has been selected to participate in the annual Michigan Coaches Association East-West All-Star, this July at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Over a dozen other OC ballers will be joining him on the East squad in a few months

They Are:

Justin Cherocchi (Brother Rice), Dequan "DJ" Cook (Farmington Hills Harrison), Rob Feeman (Clawson), Dana Harris (MH Madison), Bryan Haslinger (Clarkston), Gary Hunter (OL St. Mary's), Matt Judon (West Bloomfield), Mike Kinville (Catholic Central), D.J. Lynch (AH Avondale), Jordan Sanders (RH Adams), Mike Schiano (WOLL), Ben Walker (Lake Orion), John Westfall (Milford), Bobby Wunderlich (Troy)

The East squad's coaching staff will also have a little OC flavor. Clawson's Jim Sparks will don the headphones for the Eastsiders and coach the 'Jackets "Ray Bomn" as well as the others for the week of practice on campus at MSU and in the game which will be played in front a slew of college recruiters.

The Young Colts

2010-01-31T02:22:00.001-05:00

The future is bright for the Troy boys basketball program and longtime head coach Gary Fralick. First off, the Colts, coming off an 18-6 season where they won a district championship, have possibly the best freshman in the state in 6-4 (and still growing)dynamo wing James Young. To say Young has been amazing this season, would be an understatement. On a team laced with veteran talent like Damon Brown and Bobby Wunderlich, Young as stepped to the forefront and quickly developed into the Colts number one option on offense – a role he shares with Wunderlich, a true workhorse in the paint. His breakout was early in the season when he had back-to-back games of 25 points and 15 rebounds. One of those games was against county thoroughbred Clarkston and Ball State-signee Matt Kamieniecki. Then on Thursday, he put in another colossal effort in a rivalry game against crosstown foe, Troy Athens, by scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 boards in a Colts 'W.' Expect Young to develop into a major league D1 recruit who will almost certainly end up going down as one of the greatest Troy bballers ever. It will definitely be fun and exciting to watch his progress over the next three and a half seasons.

Sophomore point guard Evan Mahone is another fast rising star for Fralick's gang of gritty hoopsters. Earning a starting spot at the beginning of the year, Mahone has been an injection of energy and hot shooting running the offense for a still work in progress Troy squad – the Colts are 5-7. This kid goes hard every play and is the definition of spunky on the floor. Against Athens, Mahone knocked down five 3-balls on his way to 15 points. Lurking in the shadowns is Maceo's Baston's son, an eighth grader expected to step into a role on the varsity for the Colts next season. Baston himself prepped in Dallas, Texas before coming to play his college ball at Michigan, where as a senior center and co-captain he helped lead the Wolverines to the 1998 Big Ten Championship. Drafted by the Bulls in the second round of the '98 NBA draft, he has spent considerable time in the NBA as well as playing ball with multiple teams overseas.

One More Valley Guy

2010-01-30T18:14:00.001-05:00

Let's not forget about Darris Sawtelle, a behemoth of an offensive lineman who prepped at Birmingham Brother Rice, and is also in the fold for the new Mitchell-regime at Grand Valley State. A high school All-American in his days under legendary Rice football coach head coach Al Fracassa, Sawtelle graduated from Rice in 2007 and started his college playing career in the SEC at Tennessee. After redshirting in the fall of '07 and missing time in '08 due to injury, Sawtelle left Planet Rocky Top last May when current USC coach, Lane Kiffin, took over the Volunteers program. The 6-6 320 pound tackle is the grandson of former Detroit Lions all-pro defensive lineman, Darris McCord, who as a member of the Lions infamous "Fearsome Foursome" (along with Alex Karas, Roger Brown, and Sam Williams) helped lead the franchise to its last NFL World Championship in 1957. McCord was an All-American in the early 1950's at Tennessee and Sawtelle initially wanted to follow in his footsteps playing in Knoxville. Following a meeting with Kiffin in Kiffin's first few days on the job – Kiffin has recently left the Vols' program to go head the glitzier and glammed-out USC Trojans football team in the fall-out resulting from Pete Carroll leaving South L.A. for an NFL job with the Seattle Seahawks – ,Sawtelle decided that Tennessee was no longer the place he wanted to spend the remainder of his college days. With ole' grandpa signing off on his choice to leave the Vols, he made the switch to GVSU this past summer.

"I'm coming to Grand Valley because I like the coaches, I know guys on the team and it's a winning program," said Sawtelle in the wake of his transfer. "and there are not many things I like more than winning." "Other Division I schools called (after I left Tennessee), but I don't want to sit out a year, I want a chance to compete and I like I said before, I like the idea of coming to a place that wins a lot,"

The Lakers have won D2 national championships four times since 2002.

Valley Guys

2010-01-30T02:37:00.001-05:00

Two former OC prep football stars have decided to leave Division 1 ball and finish off their respective collegiate careers with D2 power, Grand Valley State. Kyle McMahon, formerly of Eastern Michigan and Norman Shuford, formerly of Akron, have both enrolled in classes this semester at GVSU and will both be eligible to suit up for the Lakers immediately. McMahon, a quarterback, who prepped at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and will be a senior this fall, is expected to compete for the first string signal calling job. A part time starter for EMU last season, McMahon will benefit from his experience as a field general at the D1 level. He threw for 1752 yards and nine TD's, while rushing for 240 yards and 2 TD's in three seasons in the Eagles program. Shuford, a running back and defensive back in his two seasons (one a redshirt year) with the Zips, prepped at Farmington Hills Harrison and will most likely make the full-time switch back to toting the ball on offense when he puts on his new Black and Blue Lakers' uniform. He will most likely be in the mix for ball carrying duties as soon as spring practice gets started up in just a few of months and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

On the college signing front, it looks like two more county prepsters from the gridiron have found homes at the next level. Expect CC's Mike Kinville to ink with Central Michigan and West Bloomfield's Aaron Foster to pen with Bowling Green when signing day comes around this upcoming Wednesday. From his spot at linebacker, Kinville was a captain for the 2009 state champion Shamrocks and helped spearhead a defense that will probably go down as one of the best in state history. He has all the tools – size, strength, and work ethic - to make it as a solid, if not outstanding, MAC baller. Foster, a long and lean, wide receiver and defensive back, is a great land for the BG'ers. His spot on the school's recruiting roster might have opened up when Kevonte Martin-Manely decided to back-out of his offer and commit to Iowa. That said, BG got itself a super talent. Versatile on both offense and defense, Foster is also a very good kick and punt returner.

Prospect Primer - A Grand Excursion

2010-01-29T02:04:00.000-05:00

A slew of local prep football talent is slated to sign national letters of intent with their respective college selections on February 3 – which is this upcominh Wednesday. Oakland County will be sending its share of players to very well-respected, big time D1 programs, but a number of the area's best high school gridiron gladiators look to be ready to ink with the state's top D2 school, Grand Valley State, a national small school powerhouse built to prominence early last decade by current Notre Dame head coach, Brian Kelly.

West Bloomfield's Cameron Fields and Matt Judon, Clarkston's Dakota Bender, Troy's Bobby Wunderlich, and Farmington's Marco Iaderosa are all said to be sold on signing with the GVSU Lakers and new coach Matt Mitchell next Wednesday morning.

Fields is a super-burner with innate shiftiness who will play WR and help significantly in the Lakers' return game. Judon, Fields' teammate at WB, is a jet-fast linebacker/safety with a serious nose for the ball and penchant for monster hits that could jump in immediately and help out the GVSU 'D'. If all goes as planned, both Fields and Judon will have shunned mid-major D1 offers to sign with the young and energetic Mitchell's new regime. Bender will either be used back at his prep position as a running back/scat back or be asked to transition to defensive back. Wunderlich, Troy's QB as a senior, will return to the safety spot he earned a team-high 8 picks as a junior with head coach Gary Griffith's Colts. Iaderosa will use his heavy foot and try to eventually win the Lakers placekicking and/or kick-off duties.

Other OC'ers currently playing with the GVSU Black and Blue:

Dominique Darden (Groves), Demarco Donaldson (S-Lathrup), Derrell Heygood (S-Lathrup), Charles Hill (Hazel Park), Suave Lavallis (OL St. Mary's), Ricky Thomas (OL St. Mary's), Mark Morrison (Seaholm), Danny Richard (West Bloomfield), Bryan Thomas (South Lyon), Edwin Vushaj (WL Western), James Wojciechowski (Birmingham Brother Rice).

According to the newly-revamped Scout.com Michigan prep rankings, Oakland County boasts four of the state's top 30 college recruiting prospects. OL St. Mary's Robert Bolden, a fire-armed and fleet-footed QB heading to Penn State this summer, is ranked the highest of the bunch, "signing" in at Number 4 overall. Southfield Christian's Taylor Calero, an under the radar raw talent projected as a defensive end in the college ranks and committed to Michigan State, comes in next at Number 19. Bolden's teammate, the Number 20th ranked recruit in the state, Ernest "The Furnace" Thomas, is a quick and instinctive safety, originally committed to going out west to UCLA, but who has since had a change of heart and re-opened up his recruiting process. Rumors are that Michigan and Michigan State (possibly Notre Dame too) are in the late-stages of jockeying for Thomas' services. Thomas, who split time quite proficiently at the running back position his senior year last fall, has a father who played in the NFL in the 1980's and seems to have a very high ceiling for future growth. Finally, Birmingham Brother Rice's Kevonte Martin-Manley, on his way to Iowa by way of an early-verbal commitment to Bowling Green, checks in as the state's Number 29^th ranked-recruit. The consummate two sport star, Martin-Manley (named all-state twice) is currently in the midst of having a spectacular senior campaign on the hardwood, leading the Rice hoops squad in the scoring department for the second straight year.

In other related recruiting news, 6-2 WR Montrell Robinson of Southfield-Lathrup has backed-out of his verbal commitment to Central Michigan to follow former Chippewa head coach, Butch Jones, who recruited him to Mt. Pleasant, to Cincinnati , where Jones' was recently tapped as the Bearcats new sideline general following Kelly's departure to Notre Dame.

Blood On The Tracks

2010-01-28T01:58:00.001-05:00

The OAA Red is a bloodbath this season. The "Red Zone" is always a top echelon and extremely competitive boys basketball conference, but the 09/10 campaign has been especially rough and rugged with parity reining amongst a cadre of Metro Detroit's best and brightest hoop squads. Although the race for the CHSL crown may end up being just as tight this year, the talent from floor to ceiling in the OAA's top tier division is far superior. When it all shakes out at the conclusion of the season, the fiercely combative OAA Red could easily wind up being the best conference in the entire state.

It might be a cliché, however it couldn't be more accurate to say every game is a war and there are no nights off for every team, top to bottom. Oak Park and Avondale, supposedly the weakest of the star-studded bunch of county cage powers in the conference, are both capable of beating any team they face in league play. The re-charged Knights of Oak Park led by up and coming first year head coach, Denolious Burkes, dropped their first six games of the season (all non-conference affairs), yet have taken three of their next five with all three wins coming against conference stalwarts – West Bloomfield, Southfield, Southfield-Lathrup.

North Farmington, who lost to both West Bloomfield and S-Lathrup, just beat conference leader and perennial conference king, Clarkston, 42-40, last Friday night on the road in the very tough to win Wolves Den. The Raiders are a very deceiving 6-5. 4 of NF's five losses have come via buzzer-beaters from the opposing team. In three of those affairs, Kyle Vinales went for 40 points. C-Town is 8-2 and ranked number 8 in the state according to the AP. Southfield is sizzling this year behind the Blue Jays excellent corps of juniors (Brundidge, Barnes, and Owneu) and a steady group of role players (Atterberry, Kelly, Floyd, Brown, Ware) that play their tails off. West Bloomfield is always dangerous cause of great coaching an outstanding front court – Larry Johnson, Spencer Parker, David Pool. Despite starting the season slow, Pontiac is starting to gain steam with two straight convincing wins against North Farmington and West Bloomfield.

And then there is the high-caliber of individual prowess that takes place in the Red.

This season the OAA Red boasts a roster of some of the best prep players in all of Michigan:

Carlton Brundidge (Southfield) committed to Michigan as junior

Matt Kamieniecki (Clarkston) signed with Ball State

Roy Marble, Jr. (S-Lathrup) signed with Iowa

Desmond "Pee Wee" Barnes (Southfield) mid-major D1 recruit as poing guard

Bryan Coleman (S-Lathrup) mid-major to small D1 recruit

Jalen Crawford (Oak Park) mid-major to small D1 recruit

Kyle Vinales (North Farmington) signed w/d2 power G. Valley St, but had d1 offers

Urban Bingham (North Farmington) mid-major to major D1 recruit as power forward

Juwaan Moody (Pontiac) mid-major to small D1 recruit as combo/lead guard

Anthony "The Ant" Adams (Pontiac) mid-major to small D1 recruit as point guard

Other players getting looks by college programs:

Larry Johnson, Jr (West Bloomfield)

Spencer Parker (West Bloomfield)

Ray Tillman (Avondale)

Tony Harris (Avondale)

Marcus Hardy (Clarkston)

Patrick Owenu (Southfield)

Meritocracy

2010-01-27T18:32:00.001-05:00

MADISON CLIPS FERNDALE IN FINAL SECONDS COURTESY OF EAGLES' MERRITT

By Scott M. Burnstein

MADISON HEIGHTS

Madison Heights Madison junior point guard R.T. Merritt proved his merit on Tuesday night in his team's monumental comeback effort. Leading an energetic rally back from trailing virtually the entire game, Merritt's free throw with five seconds remaining propelled the host-Eagles past Ferndale, 64-63.

Merritt finished with 10 points, five assists, and three steals. Sophomore Tevin Washington led the Madison scoring attack with 15 points. Ashton Curd, Merritt's backcourt mate, registered 13 points and four assists. Damon Bozeman, another talented sophomore on the Eagles roster, recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Madison moves its record to 7-2 overall. Ferndale goes to 8-2 with the loss. Senior guard Shawn Amiker led the visitors with 25 points. Amiker is one of the more underrated players in the county and it showed while he helped Ferndale claim a 38-29 halftime lead and a 54-56 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

But just as Amiker might be under-valued in area hoop circles, so are Merritt and Curd, often lost in the sea of Metro Detroit's outstanding stable of little men this season. The pair spearheaded the furious Eagles' comeback effort that culminated in Merritt's game-winning free throw. Inspired by Merritt's momentum-seizing antics, Madison stepped up big on defense on the following possession and didn't even let Ferndale get off a potential game-winner of its own prior to the final buzzer. The Eagles backcourt has been getting it done on the court in a major way for the past three seasons. Although Merritt and Curd are only juniors, they have both played on the school's varsity team since they were freshman. Last year, Madison won the MAC Gold league title with a 15-6 overall and two seasons ago the Eagles took home a leauge crown and a district championship.

There's little time to celebrate for the Eagles after the climatic 'w', however, as first year head coach Steve Rhoads (30 year sideline veteran over at Berkley prior to taking the Madison gig), and his crew must start preparing immediately for their crosstown throwdown with Madison Heights Lamphere on Friday.

Winning Ways

2010-01-27T02:10:00.001-05:00

On the heels of Country Day's loss on Saturday night, the city of Birmingham is home to the two final undefeated boys basketball teams in Oakland County – with DCD being located in Birmingham, the city had three unblemished squads as of just a few days ago. Class A public school, Birmingham Seaholm is 10-0, while Class D private school Birmingham Roeper is 11-0. These two sets of hoopsters have a bit in common too. Each team is led by a standout senior and both squads took home wins on Tuesday night to keep their respective records perfect. Seaholm, whose high-powered offense is headlined by all-state swingman Richaud Pack (committed to Florida International), demolished crosstown foe Birmingham Groves, 73-32. Roeper, a fundamentally sound and defensive minded bunch, with four year starter and two year all-conference stud point guard Ryan Zinser at the helm running the team's offense, defeated arch rival Auburn Hills Oakland Christian, 47-32. Pack dropped 24 points in the Maples 'w' and Zinser recorded his standard sizzle of 18 points (11 of 12 from the free throw line) and seven assists in the Roughriders road victory. For much of the last decade, the two Birmingham schools played an annual non-league game against each other. That is not the case this season and that is very unfortunate for all OC hoop heads, because it would have been a good match-up.

Hazel Park's Dakota Ogles was ITZ (In Tha ZONE) all night long Tuesday in his team's marathon throwdown with Hamtramck. Ogles had a monster outing, netting 37 points and hauling down 17 boards in the Vikings 88-86 down to the wire-victory over Ham-Town on the road. Ogles is a major reason why HP is 8-2 and one of the front runners for a OAA Blue crown as we sit right now. Hot-shooting Gamal Algahim, Zach Schultz, and rock solid point guard Wesley Ellis are all playing big for the Vikes this season.

Shouts go out to Country Day, who bounced back from Saturday's loss with a hard-nosed comeback win on the road at Taylor Kennedy on Tuesday. The Yellowjackets, taking some lumps of late while missing the services of the soon-to-return 6-11 Amir Williams, fell behind by a t halftime, but rallied in the second half for the 63-56 win, Senior Ray McCallum topped the Yellowjackets in the scorebook with 18 points, sinking a flawless 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. Junior power forward Carter Elliott was integral in the 'W' for DCD, reaching double digits in scoring for the first time in his varsity career and notching a well deserved double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook also rebounded from a tough loss on Saturday with a hard fought, 51-45 win Tuesday night on the road at Livonia Clarenceville. The Cranes scored a meager 28 points in a loss to Roeper on Saturday. Almost doubling that total on Tuesday, Cranbrook was led by junior Sterling Morrow's game-high 20 points. Sterling's big brother, Steven, added 11 points for head coach Shane Finney's Cranes, who improve to 6-4 on the year. With the Metro Conference set to disband at season's end, Cranbrook is preparing for a move into the Catholic League in 2011.

A couple of quality wins were in the cards for Novi Detroit Catholic Central and Madison Heights Madison on Tuesday evening as well. CC downed Orchard Lake St. Mary's 63-47 behind another great outing from its junior duo of Shea Kettner and Kyle Cooper. Kettner scored a game-high 19 points and Cooper 14 points and eight boards to lead coach's Bill Dyer's grit-laced group of ballers. Madison won it at the last second at home over Ferndale. Trailing almost the entire contest, junior shooting guard Ashton Curd sank a game winning free throw with under five seconds remaining to lift the Eagles to the dramatic 64-63 win. Tevin Washington headed Madison's scoring attack, putting in 15 points, while Ferndale's Shawn Amiker's tallied a game-high 25 points.

Balancing Act

2010-01-26T14:52:00.000-05:00

SOUTHFIELD SPREADS IT AROUND IN MUCH NEEDED ROAD WIN

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

ROCHESTER HILLS

With a chance to break a two game-losing streak hanging in the balance, Southfield's boys basketball team, used a balance attack to gain a thoroughly efficient road win on Monday night. The Bluejays went into the quite unfriendly confines of the Rochester Hills Adams gymnasium and came out with a 67-58 defeat of the host-Highlanders in OAA crossover action in a game that kicked off the week's prep hoops action.

Southfield's inside-outside combo of all-state guard Carlton Brundidge and fast-rising junior big man Patrick Owenu, combined to wreck havoc on the undersized Adams defense. Brundidge (verbally committed to Michigan as only a junior) scored 14 points, dished five assists, and corralled six rebounds and Owenu put in 14 points, hauled down 10 boards, and blocked three shots to lead the winning effort. Joshua Brown added eight points and Landon Atterberry recorded a solid game of a six points, five rebounds, and two blocks.

Needing a victory in the worst way after dropping back-to-back games to Clarkston and Oak Park last week, the Bluejays got it improve to 8-3 overall. The county's leading scorer last season as a sophomore with a 25 point per game average, Brundidge has sacrificed his prodigious point mongering for the better of the team this season. Although his scoring average is down, his team's record is up – last season the 'Jays hovered around the .500 mark all year long – as is his assist and rebounding totals. This development tells you all you need to know about what a warrior this 6-2 human sparkplug and future Maize and Blue'er truly is.

Adams, coming off a win over crosstown rival Rochester in a game played on the campus of Oakland University on Friday night, falls to 7-2 on the year. Senior guard Connor Boyle paced the Highlanders with 14 points and four assists.

Junior guard Jordan Littleson scored 13 points (3-of-5 from 3-point distance), eight of which came in the a frantic fourth quarter which saw Adams storm back from almost two dozen down to cut the Bluejays lead to just six points with less than three minutes remaining.

Keeping pace with the athletically-superior Bluejays in the first nine and a half minutes of the game, the Highlanders stumbled in the late second quarter and found themselves down 33-20 at halftime. A frenetic and energized Bluejays defense held Adams to a mere five points throughout the entire second quarter. The Highlanders outscored Southfield 23-17 in the game's final stanza of play.

The Southfield lead ballooned to as big as 23 at 48-25 midway through the third quarter. Down but not out, Adams started to shoot itself back into the game and used a spunky defensive spurt to significantly chop into the Bluejays advantage on the scoreboard heading down the stretch. Littleson's third triple of the game at the 2:46 mark of the fourth quarter made it a two possession game at 57-51. Led by the cold as ice, Brundidge, Southfield stayed strong and finished the Highlanders off at the free throw line. Brundidge, Owenu, Brown each hit multiple big time free throws in the closing two minutes to seal up the win for the Bluejays.

Southfield returns to the court on Thursday when the Bluejays are set to host North Farmington, a squad riding some serious momentum following its win over # 8 in the state-Clarkston on the road Friday night. Adams will travel to Lake Orion on Thursday night for its next game action.

Boys BBall Rankings - Week of The Rebound

2010-01-26T02:22:00.001-05:00

OC Top 10

1 Birmingham Detroit Country Day (10-1) – 'Jackets will rebound from their first loss of the season – experienced Saturday on the road at Kalamazoo Central – in resounding fashion with a beatdown of Taylor Kennedy on Tuesday night – Mark It Down!. Kenny Knight, Lee Bailey, and Carter Elliott deserve credit for doing all the dirty work that doesn't necessarily make it into the stat sheet when teammates Ray McCallum, Amir Williams, and Chris Fowler get most of the headlines for high-flying 'Jackets.

2 Clarkston (8-2) – Sophomore sensation Nick Tatu should get the words "Coldblooded Assassin" tattooed on his shooting hand, cause this kid's stroke from the outside is so so deadly!

3 Southfield (8-3) – Southfield's dynamic duo of a backcourt in Carlton "Captain Amazing" Brundidge and Desmond "Pee Wee" Barnes, are just too good. These two outwork almost everyone they go up against. They GO that HARD. BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!!

4 Birmingham Seaholm (9-0) – The Maples very own "Big Punisher", wing forward Shawn Conway, is a freak of nature on the basketball court and the football field.

5 North Farmington (6-5) – A defensive-gem of a win over a tough-as-nails Clarkston team on the road says a lot about the Raiders second semester prospects. Transfer Big Urb Bingham is a beast in the paint. He can step out and hit the 15 footer too. The Raiders four buzzer beating losses will only help to harden the team's resolve as the season goes into the stretch run.

6 Pontiac (5-6) – Wow, just when I was about to count the Phoenix down and out, they come through with two huge momentum building wins last week against North Farmington and West Bloomfield. Way to go, men!

7 Waterford Mott (8-2) – Get busy my main man, Emmanuel Simpson!

8 Holly (8-3) – You cannot stop the Bronchos "L-Train", Thomas Lovachis, you can only hope to contain him. Holly has three legitimate "number one" options on offense, in Lovachis, Lance Hopkin, and Justin Fowler.

9 Birmingham Brother Rice (6-5) – Don't let the record deceive you, the Warriors have won six of their last seven and have looked mighty good doing it. Kevonte Martin-Manley has hit the zone for the past two weeks and is shooting the ball unbelievably well. Joey Alessi is a rising star and Drew Holinski and Adam Gorski are the lunch pail guys that make the proverbial Rice wheel go round. Rice has legit chance at taking home the CHSL crown when things are all said and done in March on the floor at Calihan Hall.

9 Walled Lake Central (8-2) – Justin Kucera is so superbad on the hardwood, he could change his name to just Cera and tell everybody he is the brother of "Superbad" star Michael Cera.

10 (a) Novi (8-2) – Wildcat junior forward Samier Ozier has got that Boom Boom Pow that has all his opponents in the KLAA jocking his style!

10 (b) Southfield-Lathrup (4-6) – Roy Marble, Drew Gilchrest and company will get it together before season's end and be dangerous going into tournament play in March.

10 (c) Ferndale (7-2) – Don't sleep on the Eagles and while you're at it, don't snooze on Ferndale's crazy def cage connection on the court that is the backcourt of Jody Hill and Shawn Amiker. Can you say OAA-Blue championship?

Bumped Off

2010-01-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

DCD TAKES IT ON CHIN, FALLS FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

KALAMAZOO

Encountering its first bump in the road in what has so far been an early-season route-fest, the Birmingham Detroit Country Day boys basketball team had its victory train derailed on Saturday night in a dogfight with a spirited Kalamazoo Central squad on the road. The game, played in front of an overflow crowd of more than 3,000 spectators at the Maroon Giants' Zuidema Gymnasium, ended with Kalamazoo Central pulling the 74-64 upset win over the highly-touted Yellowjackets.

Both squads were playing without the services of star players as a result of injury. Country Day was without 6-11 junior center, Amir Williams, gone until next month with a sprained knee suffered back in the first week of January, and K-Central (ranked number 9 in the state in Class A by the Associated Press) was minus all-state wing and Dayton-signee Devin Oliver.

Stepping up in his teammate's absence, Dyland Hughes did his best Oliver impression by going for 26 points and nine rebounds. T.J. Buchanan also delivered a knockout performance for the Maroon Giants, posting a glittery overall floor game of 23 points (4-of-6 from 3-point range), eight boards, and six assists.

The Yellowjackets, the number one-ranked team in the state in Class B, suffers their first defeat of the season and drop to 10-1. Kalamazoo Central, coming off a 2009 season where it advanced all the way to the Class A state championship game, improves to 9-2.

The Maroon Giants closed out the game late with a highly-proficient success ratio from the free throw line. Hughes was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe – seven of them coming down the stretch in the fourth quarter – and Buchanan was a perfect 11-for-11.

Establishing control of the game in the first half, K-Central had a 31-24 lead at the break and a 50-41 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Despite shaving their deficit down to just two possessions with under three minutes remaining, the Yellowjackets could do no further damage and Hughes and Buchanan buried numerous free throws in the closing two and a half minutes to put the final nails in the proverbial coffin.

Ray McCallum, Country Day's heavily-recruited all-state point guard, scored a team-high 21 points to go along with nine boards and five assists to lead the Yellowjackets in the state sheet. 17 of his 23 points were put in during the fast-paced second half. Junior guard Chris Fowler had a more than solid effort of 16 points and seven assists.

Most prep prognosticators believe that Country Day is the best team in the state, regardless of class size. Proving their case last week, the undermanned 'Jackets handily took care of defending Class A champion Detroit Pershing – the two ranked team in the state in Class A – and high scoring Michigan State-recruit Keith Appling by a score of 83-74.

Senior center Angelo Griffis scored 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds and junior power forward Darius Norman netted seven points and hauled in 10 boards for K-Central.

When the Yellowjackets and Maroon Giants met up last season at the Motor City Roundball Classic at Chandler Park Academy in Harper Woods, the 'Jackets emerged victorious in a game that featured more than 165 combined points scored by the two high-octane squads. Ranked number one in the state for all of last season, Country Day lost in the quarterfinals for the second straight year to Flint Powers, a team they had defeated at home earlier in the campaign. Country Day's head coach, Kurt Keener, has won a total of seven state titles in his 32 year career, the most recent coming in 2007.

There will be precious little time for the Yellowjackets to nurse their wounds, as the team takes to the road for their third straight road contest on Tuesday night against a very good Taylor Kennedy team.

Riding High!

2010-01-24T03:47:00.001-05:00

Two of the county's three remaining undefeated teams took the floor early Saturday night but only one of them could stake claim to being the owner of an unblemished record by evening's end. That team was small school upstart, Birmingham Roeper, upping its record to a perfect 10-0 by dominating a visiting Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook team, 46-28 in a game that took less than 90 minutes to complete.

Senior point guard Ryan Zinser continued his more than stellar career running the Roughriders' offense by scoring 13 points, dishing eight assists, and swiping away four steals to lead the team's winning effort. A senior dominated team, Roeper is off to the best start in boys bball school history. Power forward Cole Stasek notched eight points and 10 boards and shooting guard Jacob Saslow put in nine points, while doling out three assists and collecting three steals. Zinser (all-conference the past two seasons), Saslow, and Stasek are the squad's tri-captains and Zinser and Stasek are both four year varsity players. Fellow seniors, Derek Dunlap, Damani Tilton, Tomas Jhashi, and Aaron Solomon give sturdy support as role players. 6-5 sophomore center Jack Gorland is a growing presence in the post. Saslow, an all-state soccer player in the fall, is the team's top defender and Jhashi, the 'Riders sixth man, along with Saslow and Zinser are the team's top 3-point shooters.

The Roughriders started 10-1 in 1994 and 10-2 in both 1995 and 2001. Longtime Roeper head coach Ernie Righetti, who is one of only a handful coaches left who still pull double duty coaching both boys and girls, thinks his 2010 team could end up being a very special one.

"These guys are true to each other and to the program," said Righetti following his squad's defeat of Cranbrook. "Everyone knows their role and they embrace it. That's rare in high school basketball. We can't worry about rankings or what we are going to end up doing in the state tournament right now. Our primary focus for the rest of the season is winning the conference. We'll deal with what comes after that when the time comes."

Roeper's boys hoopsters have not raised a conference championship banner since 1995. Although the 'Riders find themselves without a single smudge on their overall record, the state pundits have yet to take notice and Roeper fails to appear in any of the major state rankings. The program's last district title was in 2006 when Ryan Zinser's brother, Eric, an all-state selection, captained the Roughriders to a 19-5 record and a spot in the Class D Sweet Sixteen. Righetti-coached boys teams have won a total of seven district championships since 1994.

Birmingham Detroit Country Day, the number one ranked team in Class B and arguably the best team in the state regardless of class, dropped its first game of the season in Kalamazoo early Saturday night. The Yellowjackets, playing without 6-11 starting center Amir Williams – out until the start of February with a knee sprain – lost to unranked Kalamazoo Central, 74-64. Oddly enough, DCD routed # 2 in the state, Detroit Pershing, last Saturday on a neutral floor in Lansing, while playing without the services of the heavily-recruited Williams. Country Day is now 10-1. Senior point guard Ray McCallum scored 23 points in the game.

Instant Feedback - Down To The Wire

2010-01-23T02:55:00.001-05:00

There was a multitude of nip-and-tuck battles on the high school hardwood that took place Friday night throughout the county. Local players and teams alike in both girls and boys hoops came up big with the game on the line.

Here are some of the best performances of note:

Brian Wandschneider nailed a game-winning trifecta in the closing seconds of Lake Orion's game against Troy Athens, lifting the Dragons to a thrilling 49-48 win. LO is 6-5 and looking sharp in rebounding from '09 disaster of a season.

Holly got a career high 31 points from senior guard Justin Fowler in the Bronchos 79-75 overtime victory in very hostile waters over Oxford on the road. Lance "The Hammer" Hopkin chipped in with a 20 spot and super-transfer, Thomas "The L-Train" Lovachis locomoted his way to 16. After playing in the shadow of his big brother, Jordan, the past few seasons, its nice to see Justin Fowler coming into his own this season shooting the rock at a very prolific clip.

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep's 6-7 Sophomore Kellen McCormick (son of former UOFM star and NBA'er and current national sports broadcaster, Tim McCormick) had his breakout game of the season against defending CHSL champ, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard. The Fighting Irish topped Gabriel Richard 56-52 in double OT and McCormick not only recorded 17 points and seven rebounds, he also drilled four triples, including one at the conclusion of regulation to send the game into extra sessions.

Junior Justin Peguese's 25 points and six boards sparked Berkley to a 72-68 OT win over Troy. Ryan Bush added 19 points for the Bears, who push their record over the .500 mark with the victory by moving to 5-4.

In girls action, Lakeland had to go three overtimes to finally end up getting the best of Waterford Mott, 53-46, at home in a KLAA clash. Stephanie Lock paced the victorious Eagles with 19 points, but the star of the game came from the losing side of the scoreboard. I'm talking about Mott's Tiffany Coleman, who put in a goliath effort of 24 points and 22 rebounds.

Cager Quips:

Mad props goes out to head coach Denoulios Burkes and his Oak Park boys bball crew who are more than holding its own in the ever rough and rugged OAA Red. The upstart Knights made it two upsets in a row on Friday by clipping the Southfield Blue Jays' wings in their 69-64 home win.

Juwaan Moody who? That's what OL St. Mary's Allen Robinson has people over at Eaglets central the past few weeks with his remarkable play. The junior swingman is almost single-handedly the Eaglets contenders once again after starting the season slow and making OLSM fans practically forget about losing the high-scoring Moody to Pontiac. Like Oak Park, St. Mary's is riding a two game win streak, with both 'W's coming in upset fashion. Robinson scored 26 points in the team's 63-54 defeat of a very good Detroit Reinassance squad on Friday night. This junior juggernaut is also a rising star on the football field, playing a mean wide receiver and defensive back combo. Robinson's game has been so on-point as of late, I've decided to nickname him "Al B Sure", because head coach George Porritt is sure to get a solid and most likely spectacular outing from the rangy and fast 6-2 baller every time he hits the court. Evan Webster has his mojo in overdrive in Friday night's win too, exploding for a career high 23 points and 5 triples.

Don't look now OC hoop heads, Hazel Park is sitting at 7-2 right now. Zach Schultz busted the nets up for 20 points in the Vikings 71-46 beatdown of Farmington on Friday night.

MH Lamphere's Kelvin Toma continues to get busy all up, over, and across the hardwood and tell McCallum, Brundidge, Pack, Vinales, Marble, and co. that he can put up points with the best of the best in the OC. Toma went for 30-plus for the second straight game on Friday, torching the twine for 33 in the Rams win over Clintondale.

Bonus Bytes - A Gentleman and a Scholar

2010-01-22T01:11:00.000-05:00

We already knew that Birmingham Seaholm's Richaud Pack was a great basketball player – 29 points per game, scholarship to Florida International – and a great student (4.0 grade point average), but on Monday he showed what a big heart he has and what a true gentleman he is when he went to Chicago to attend the funeral of his future college coach, Isaiah Thomas's mother, Mary. On his return to the state, he dropped a triple-double of 28 points, 11 boards, and 10 dimes, in the Maples 85-72 defeat of Berkley.

Burney wishes Greg Ganfield - gone to GR Forrest Hills Northern - would have stayed a little longer as Pontiac's football coach. He was in the process of building something very special with the Phoenix and I just hope it continues in his absence.

I can't decide which team got itself a more needed win on Tuesday, Pontiac with its triumph over North Farmington or OL St. Mary's with its besting of UofD-Jesuit in OT?

Rich Rod and Mark D'Antonio are licking their chops with the recent recruiting free-up of St. Mary's Ernest "The Furnace" Thomas, a onetime UCLA signee. Both UofM and MSU would be greatly benefited by the landing of this high-ceiling talent. Thomas has just recently grown into his adult body and has gotten better each year on the gridiron playing for the powerhouse Eaglets. Although a star running back this past football season, Thomas is projected as a safety in the college ranks.

They don't have much natural athletic talent, but there are not many teams in the state, nor probably the entire nation, that play as hard nosed and gritty as head coach Bill Dyer's Novi Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks boys hoops squad. Last season, CC advanced to the CHSL tourney final and the Class A Elite Eight on pure will and timely-playmaking from a cadre of cash-money seniors – Tim Dezelski, Brett Smith, Jamie Morris, and Steve Harding. This season, decimated by graduation, Dyer's squad has stayed more than competitive bringing back just one returning starter. The Shamrocks opened the season 4-2. Juniors Shea Kettner and Kyle Cooper (both reserves last year) embody the CC hoops mentality to the fullest and have been carrying on the torch left by the '09 class. Kettner went for a career-high 25 points in a game against arch rival Brother Rice last Friday night. Cooper had 12 points and eight rebounds in the game.

A quick programming reminder for all you prep fiends: Every afternoon between 3 and 5 PM the Comcast TV network (channel 900 on most digital boxes in the county) shows MHSA state final classics from the past. For instance, on Thursday afternoon, the Birmingham Detroit County Day-Albion 1997 Class B boys basketball state final game, was replayed. The '97 title team, current 'Jackets head coach, Kurt Keener's 6^th state championship banner, was captained by Shane Battier (Duke/Houston Rockets) and included future NFL player Javin Hunter (Notre Dame/Baltimore Ravens), and future college stars, David Webber (Central Michigan), David Manciel (Central Michigan), and Mike Knight (Albion).

The Heights

2010-01-21T16:57:00.000-05:00

The Hills is MTV's hit semi-fictional docu-drama focusing on twentysomething socialites frolicking around L.A. I think one of the local cable access stations around town should create a reality television series based on the high-octane pair of boys hoops squads spawning out of Madison Heights and call it, what else but, "The Heights".

Both Madison Heights Madison and Madison Heights Lamphere play exciting brands of basketball this season and are led by electrifying star players. Madison, a steadying developing Eastside Oakland County power over the past decade, is 6-2 overall, 4-1 in the MAC-Blue and picked up a 77-72 win on Wednesday night on the road against Warren Fitzgerald. Lamphere, led by scoring machine senior gunner, Kelvin Toma, is 5-4 and notched a 'w' against Center Line at home on Wednesday.

The Eagles are spearheading by the outstanding junior backcourt of R.T. Merritt and Ashton Curd and have a new coach at the helm in Metro Detroit sideline stalwart, Steve Rhoads (formerly having led the Berkley Bears program for over 25 years). Curd scored a game 21 points, while Merritt netted 13 points and dished off eight assists in the Fitzgerald win. Also contributing to the Madison arsenal are Damon Bozeman, Tevin Washington, Tony Lowry and D.J. Larkin, Demetrius Moore, and Valdez Showers. Bozeman scored 15 points in Wednesday's game and Larkin, Showers, and Lowry were all standout players on the Eagles excellent football team back in the fall.

The Rams' Toma is one of the area's most underrated perimeter players. The 6-2 swingman averaged 15 points per game last season as an all-conference selection and this year has upped the ante significantly. Toma is currently pumping in over 25 points per game. In December he tallied a career high 43 and last night in his team's 62-57 defeat of Center Line he scored 31, connecting on 15 of 16 from the free throw line.

Augmenting Toma in Lamphere's outside attack is junior point guard, Mitch Kozlowski and junior sniper, Ryan Horvath. Kozlowski and Horvath are a great QB-WB combination on the gridiron in the fall and its flows over onto the hardwood in the winter. Although Horvath runs the show behind center calling signals on the football field, the pair switches places on the bball court where Kozlowski runs the team from his spot as the Rams' designated floor general. Horvath benefits from numerous Kozlowski "drive and kicks," and has a reputation for keeping opposing defenses honest with his dead-eye 3-point shooting. Transfers Christian Keener and DC Davis, each recently gaining eligibility, will significantly aid's Lamphere's cause as the 2010 season heads into the proverbial "back nine."

Rolling Rice

2010-01-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

WARRIORS WORK MAGIC IN WIN, STAY ON MAJOR ROLL

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

WARREN

The Birmingham Brother Rice boys basketball team are as explosive as a stick of dynamite right now. The red hot Warriors pushed their winning streak to six games and made it two in a row on the road by downing a previously unbeaten Warren De La Salle squad 58-50 in CHSL action on Tuesday night.

Starting the season 0-4, Brother Rice is now 6-4 and sitting atop the conference standings. De La Salle, state quarterfinalists last season, drops to 8-1 overall. Part of the reason for the Warriors' early-season woes was the absence of starters, Kevonte Martin-Manley and Adam Gorski. With both back in the line-up as of late, head coach Ed Shaffer's squad has been firing on all cylinders and looks primed for a serious run at the Catholic League crown.

On Tuesday, it took a little while for Brother Rice to find its groove, however, once it did, it was "all she wrote" for the host-Pilots. Falling behind after the first quarter, the Warriors re-claimed their mojo by getting toasty from long distance. Joey Alessi's three straight triples midway through the second quarter helped catapult Brother Rice into a halftime lead. Extending their lead into double-digits in the third quarter, the Warriors never looked back. The closest the Pilots would get the rest of the way would be when they trimmed their deficit to six points at a score of 52-46 with just under two minutes remaining in the game.

Alessi, who is having a breakout junior campaign, scored a game-high 23 points to head Brother Rice's offensive production for the night. Martin-Manley – an all-conference performer in both basketball and football the past two seasons – netted 15 points and junior forward Drew Holinski put in 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Junior guard Sterling Johnson, one of the only returning players from De La Salle's 2009 CHSL title team, paced the Pilots with a team-high 16 points.

All-State shooting guard, Alex Marcotullio, the star player on the '09 squad, is currently seeing major minutes as a freshman in the Big Ten at Northwestern.

Fortunes for Brother Rice seem to be trending opposite of what happened last season when the Warriors started the year 5-1 and finished 9-12. Brother Rice hits the court next again on Friday night at home against UofD-Jesuit, losers to Orchard Lk. St. Mary's in overtime on Tuesday.

The improved play of Alessi and the return of Martin-Manley, have been the keys to the Warriors winning streak (getting back starting point guard Adam Gorski has helped greatly as well). Since coming back into the fold at full strength earlier in the month, Martin-Manley has been playing out of his mind. This past Friday night, he erupted for 34 points in Brother Rice's 57-50 defeat of arch-rival Novi Detroit Catholic Central on the road in a very hostile playing environment. The Iowa football commit sank an unbelievable 8 of his first 9 3-point attempts en route to hitting 9-of-12 on a hard as rocks CC defense. This 6-2 silky smooth sharpshooter isn't afraid to pull the trigger and coach Shaffer isn't afraid to give him the green light.

Boys Hoops Rankings

2010-01-20T02:23:00.001-05:00

OC Top 10

1 DCD (10-0) – Burney loves this year's once again stacked Keener Kage Krew but he has to admit he's surprised that the 'Jackets have not missed a single beat with 6-11 junior center, Amir Williams out of the line-up.

2 Clarkston (7-1) – As expected of any Dan Fife-coach team, the Wolves are growing stronger each game. Senior forward/center Matt Kamieniecki is as consistent as they come – "Kammy" goes hard and brings it every night with no exceptions. Wolves senior point guard Tyler Scarlett is playing at the highest level of his career thus far.

3 Birmingham Seaholm (8-0) – Inside the mind of Maples point guard Christian Pino: Richaud Pack or Shawn Conway? Shawn Conway or Richaud Pack? Decisions, decisions, decisions……

4 Southfield (7-2) – Carlton Brundidge is a straight WARRIOR. The Bluejays "Captain Amazing" could be the hardest working player in the county (and this kid already has a scholarship in the bag up in the A-squared with the Maize and Blue). Head coach Gary Teasley needs to get a little more from the squad's supporting cast – guys with last names that are not Brundidge or Barnes – if he wants the 'Jays to legitimately contend for a state title. I like Landon Atterberry and Jaylon Floyd to fill this void

5 Novi (7-2) – I'm nicknaming Wildcats junior rising star Samier Ozier, "Sham Wow" in addition to the obvious back-up moniker of "The Big O", because since the start of the season, Ozier and his game have been residing at the corner of Awesome and Amazing. Don't sleep on Sham Wow's running mates, Jeremy Mims and Justin Hopton.

6 RH Adams (6-1) – These Highlanders are the definition of the word scrappy!

7 Stoney Creek (8-1) – I have a feeling this is going to end up being a very special year for the Cougars!

8 Waterford Mott (7-2) – John Schaeffer is a coldblooded hoops stud! Sophomore Chris Dewberry will make a significant imprint on the Mott bball program before he leaves in 2012.

9 West Bloomfield (6-4) – You can't stop Larry "Lil' Gran Mama" Johnson, you can only hope to contain him!

10 a. Holly (6-3) – Transfer Thomas "The L-Train" Lovachis is a locomotive of a force on the court and his presence in the Bronchos line-up automatically makes them as a dangerous as they've been in recent memory. His 15 points, 5 board, 5 dime performance in a Holly "w" on Monday served notice of his intent to do serious bodily harm to the entire Flint Metro Conference.

10 b. Southfield-Lathrup (5-5) – Get busy my main man, Delvon Borgan. Nice game winner against North Farmington last week. Your primetime playmaking ability makes Burney proud!

10 c. N. Farmington (5-5) – The Raiders have had a good helping of bad luck, but some good luck is on the way with 6-8 junior transfer Urban Bingham (17 points, 10 rebounds in first game in the Brown and Yellow) becoming eligible this week.

Honorable Mention:

Waterford Kettering (6-2)

Walled Lake Central (6-2)

Clawson (8-0)

Roeper (9-0)

Brother Rice (5-4)

Pontiac (3-6)

Madison (6-1)

OC Re-Load

2010-01-19T02:33:00.001-05:00

For some local boys hoop squads things are just about to start getting interesting since this week marks the beginning of eligibility for the state's second semester transfers. A lucky crop of the county's top teams are automatically getting better by bringing aboard some added stud cage prowess to already formidable line-ups.

The two local teams that will most likely benefit the most from this second wave of 2010 transfer talent – due to administrative issues, some transfers became eligible as soon as the season kicked-off early last month – are Holly and North Farmington.

Engaging and innovative fifth year Holly head coach, Lance Bayliss and his gritty Broncho bunch bring into the fold senior combo-guard, Thomas "The L-Train" Lovachis, an electrifying and athletic backcourt sensation who played his first three years of all-conference varsity ball at Stockbridge (outside Jackson). In his debut in the Holly red and white, Lovachis proved "as advertised" by going for 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the Bronchos 51-37 defeat of conference-foe Lapeer West on Monday night. Also joining hot-shooting senior point guard Justin Fowler in Bayliss' behemoth backcourt rotation will be junior shooting guard, Josh Fugate, a transplant from Lakeland. Fugate is a deadeye marksman from the perimeter and will benefit greatly from Lovachis "drive and kicks." He is the younger brother of SVSU freshman point guard and former Lakeland all-stater, Mike Fugate. Josh had five points in his first game on Monday, canning 1-of-3 attempts from beyond the arc. Holly is 6-3 and feeling optimistic about its chances at claiming its first ever district title by season's end. After winning a school record 19 games last season and playing so well without Lovachis and Fugate through the campaign's first eight games, Bayliss, rightfully so, thinks the sky's the limit with this group. Before I sign off on my Holly take, let me say a little something about "L-Train" Lovachis: This kid is only going to be playing in the county for 12 regular season games. That's not a lot. But, if you're a high school hoops head like I expect my reading audience to be, I encourage you to get out and take a look at this devastatingly smooth jumping jack of a baller. Trust me, "Train's" game is as cool as the other side of the pillow and Bayliss, the Bronchos, and the Holly faithful, hope to ride him all the way to the promise land.

Now, onto my boys at North Farmington, who are set to welcome 6-8 junior power forward/center, Urban Bingham into the line-up on Tuesday night when the Raiders go on the road to face a struggling Pontiac squad. Bignham is a bonafide D1 talent – a big guy who can bang and has a banner touch from within 15 feet of the basket. Bingham left DCD, where he played on a stacked 2009 Yellowjackets team, last summer and enrolled at N. Farmington in August. The minute he steps on the floor donning the brown and gold and he will combine with Raiders' guard Kyle Vinales (Grand Valley State), the leading scorer in the county, to most likely form the most dominating inside-outside tandem in the area not named "Ray McCallum and Amir Williams" at Bingham former stomping grounds, Country Day. Head coach Tom Negoshian's team is trying to keep its head up following an array of buzzer-beating losses, so no matter what, Bingham's presence is a needed breath of fresh air for a skilled squad hoping to finish strong. The Raiders are 5-4.

A few more guys to keep your eyes on:

Chris "Rip City" Dewberry, a fearless 6-2 sophomore swing-guard who played his freshman year on a very talent-rich Oak Park varsity team, will add some more firepower to an already "hot out of the gate" Waterford Mott squad (5-2). Dewberry's nickname spawns from the fact that due to a severely broken nose suffered as an 8^th graders, he's been forced to wear a Rip Hamilton-esque mask when he plays. So not only is Dewberry's game scary, he looks like Jason from Friday the 13^th when he's torching the opposition and that's badass if you ask me. Dewberry's hard-nosed mentality and sweet shooting stroke will be an awesome addition to senior leaders and scoring machines, John Schaeffer and Devontay Green.

Finally, junior Dominic Reynolds, a lighting quick playmaker of a point guard will be coming into the starting line-up for the Ferndale Eagles this week, and MH Lamphere will welcome aboard Christian Keener, a 6-5 transfer from Detroit Consortiom. Reynolds could end up being the "sleeper" of the season. His presence on the floor for the Eagles only make fellow future backcourt-mates Jody Hill and Shawn Amiker even better. And much like "Rip City" Dewberry's mask and game, that's scary. Although Reynolds, who was enrolled at Detroit Henry Ford the last two years, has never played varsity ball, he's been wowing his teammates and coaches alike in his performances at practice and has already earned a starting spot for new head coach Tom Staton's upstart Eagles, currently sitting at 6-3 and looking mighty dangerous.

Unruly House Guests

2010-01-18T01:58:00.001-05:00

MID TOWN SPOILS MLK CLASSIC FOR HOST-PHOENIX, KEEPS LOSES COMING

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

PONTIAC

Going into the finale of the 8^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Classic, the Pontiac Phoenix didn't know what to expect from their opponent, little-known Detroit Mid Town Academy, so they expected the unexpected. And that's exactly what they got.

Playing with purpose, passion, and precision, Mid Town Academy, came into the Phoenix Nest and shocked host Pontiac, 70-64 in overtime and in the process extended the Phoenix's losing streak to five games – a fact of life that has the majority of city's rabid fan base reeling. The Phoenix started the year 2-1, but now stand at 2-6 as they prepare to return to play in the ultra-rugged OAA Red Conference. Pontiac blew a double-digit fourth quarter advantage in a loss to league-foe Southfield (7-1) at home this past Thursday evening.

Mid Town, in only its second year in existence as a program, are currently ranked number 10 in the state in Class C according to the Associated Press. The upset victory keeps the Magic perfect on the 2009-2010 campaign and sporting a gaudy 11-0 overall record. Last year in their school's inaugural season of varsity hoops, the Magic amazingly won a district title in Class D. A victory against Flint Hamady (the no. six ranked team in Class C) ten days ago served notice that Mid Town is for real this year and most likely accounts for its most recent placement in the polls.

Junior point guard Anthony "The Ant" Adams anchored Pontiac's scoring attack by pouring in a game-high 22 points and delving out six assists. Facing a late deficit, his five straight points towards the end of the fourth quarter brought the Phoenix back to even with the upstart Magic, 56-56, with less than 90 seconds to play. Jamal Barr's scoop and score in the lane on a nice crossover move with 55 seconds on the clock gave Pontiac a 58-56 lead, but Mid Town's Allen Sherrill's hoop in the paint with 6.7 seconds left in regulation tied things up and sent the game into overtime (Pontiac had a difficult time in the half-court set all night long and that was demonstrated when the Phoenix's final shot to win it at the buzzer was a long De Brian Lewis 3-point attempt from the far left elbow that missed badly).

In the extra session, Magic senior forward Kyle Rice took over, putting Mid Town on his back and almost single handedly carrying the squad over the finish line. He scored five straight to open the OT period - his triple from the right wing kicked things off and was then quickly followed by an aggressive and smooth drive to the basket from the left wing which he finished with a slick finger roll. Rice, who pumped in a team-high 20 points and hauled down eight boards, scored his final two points of the night by netting two free throws with less than ten seconds remaining that closed the door on any thoughts of another late-rally by the slumping Phoenix.

Sherrill and senior guard Jordan Pruitt also knocked down multiple big time free throws in the overtime stanza. Pruitt, along with senior De Andre Edwards and junior Andre Person, took turns keeping Pontiac leading-scorer Juwaan Moody at bay. Moody, averaging 20 points per game and coming off a 27-point performance against Southfield, was held to just six by the Magic's frenetic defense and seemed to be nowhere in sight when the game's outcome held in the balance.

Tereal Owens posted a double-double for the scrappy Mid Towners, scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He controlled the paint for most of the game and made certain anytime any of the Phoenix's cadre of speedy guards made their way into the lane they left with a bump, bruise, or both.

Rice, a transfer from Detroit Finney last season, thinks this could end up being a special year for his team. "We have some real talent on this roster and I think we can play with a lot of the bigger schools in the area a lot better than some people around here give us credit for," he said in the locker room. "There are ten seniors on this team and we all played together last season. I'm excited to see what kind of more damage we can end up doing."

"Tonight our free throws and rebounding were the keys to the win," said Magic head coach, Lonell Williams. "This was Pontiac's tournament, so we knew they would be ready to play no matter what they knew or didn't know about us. I was impressed with our mental game tonight. We stay composed and calm and converted some big plays in the clutch. We got down early, but just kept fighting. Beating a team like Pontiac is a nice win for your resume."

With Mid Town in the process of getting acclimated to the increased level of speed when playing a higher-class opponent like Pontiac, the Phoenix took command early on. They led 25-14 after the first quarter and were in front 34-25 at halftime.

Seven straight points by Andre Person and a drive and score by Rice put the Magic on top for the first time in the game at the 2:03 mark of the third quarter.

De Brian Lewis scored 14 points for Pontiac and Barr registered 13 points and five rebounds. A bucket inside by Barr about a minute into overtime provided the Phoenix their last lead of the game at 62-61. Lewis' runner in the lane pulled Pontiac to within one possession at 67-64 with 36.8 seconds left to play, but Rice's freebies iced the game for the Magic.

"We keep playing hard, but we keep coming up short," said Phoenix head coach, Robert Rogers, of his squad's uncharacteristic losing streak. "They (Mid Town) were a real tough team. We just got to stay focused on getting better. I'm sure we'll get it together before everything is said and done."

Next up for the Phoenix will be the high-scoring North Farmington Raiders, set to invade the newly-purple painted but still legendary Sy Green Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

Mister, Mister

2010-01-17T03:22:00.001-05:00

DCD TAKES BATTLE OF SUPERSTARS and SUPERPOWERS

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

LANSING

Birmingham Detroit Country Day boys basketball coach, Kurt Keener, was afraid that playing without 6-11 junior starting center, Amir Williams –sidelined until the start of February with a knee sprain – would put his Yellowjackets at a severe disadvantage in their mega-watt match-up with defending Class A state champion, Detroit Pershing, on Saturday night.

In retrospect, the county's most tenured sideline general actually had little to worry about. Picking up the slack for their injured teammate in spades by putting in a spirited performance, Country Day held off two furious late comeback runs by the Doughboys to come away with an 81-72 win. The sold out affair, dubbed, "The Mr. Basketball Classic", was played in an electric atmosphere at Lansing Eastern High School.

The game's moniker referred to the showdown of arguably the top two candidates for the ever-coveted Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award in the Yellowjackets, Ray McCallum and Pershing's Keith Appling.

McCallum is currently still undecided on his college destination, while Appling, who scored a championship game record 49 points in the Doughboys' victory in the 2009 Class A state final, is committed to Michigan State University.

With the crowd expecting a classic one-on-one dual, they got their money's worth. Country Day, ranked number one in the state in Class B, was led by McCallum's game-high 24 points, five assists, and seven rebounds. Pershing, ranked number two in Class A, was led by Appling's 22 points, four assists, four steals, and seven rebounds.

Coming off a week long lay-off between games, the Yellowjackets looked sharp and focused in running their record to a perfect 10-0 overall on the season. Sparked by junior guard Chris Fowler's 14 first half points, Country Day led 42-25 at the break and took its lead into the "twenties", 45-25, early in the third quarter.

But as expected, the Doughboys (8-2) displayed championship-caliber composure and responded to the embarrassing deficit in front of a packed house by putting together a 19-2 run that trimmed their disadvantage to one possession less than five minutes later. Kidez Foster's pair of free throws made it 47-44 with a little more than two minutes left to play in the frame.

Seeing all of his team's hard work slipping through its proverbial fingers, McCallum stepped to the forefront (per standard procedure for this 6-2 wunderkind of a floor leader) and took charge. He scored 10 in a row to conclude the third, capping the heady scoring purge by sinking a triple just before the horn to give the Yellowjackets a 57-50 lead going into the fourth.

The closest Pershing would get the rest of the way would be when Appling's steal and score on a rip of McCallum at midcourt put the score at 69-64 with three minutes left to play. Foster finished with 17 points and Juwaan Howard, Jr. (Western Michigan), chipped in with 15 points.

Yellowjackets junior forward Kenny Knight had his second consecutive stellar outing in the wake of Williams' injury. After going for a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards in a win over Canton Glen Oak last Saturday, Knight scored 15 points and collected eight rebounds against the Doughboys' athletic frontcourt. Junior guard Lee Bailey registered 14 points and five assists to admirably augment McCallum and Fowler.

Williams – a dominant post presence for Keener's talented bunch and the only player that tops 6-5 in the squad's playing rotation – hopes to make it back for the Yellowjackets game against Belleville on February 9. There is a chance he could play on February 6 when Country Day plays Columbus (OH) Northland at Delta Community College in Saginaw.

Country Day will face another stiff test its next time out, as the 'Jackets travel west to face 2009 Class A State finalist, Kalamazoo Central, next Saturday.

TWICE AS NICE

2010-01-16T03:32:00.000-05:00

'Jackets' Prodigious Pair Shines Again

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

AUBURN HILLS

There are quite a few of spectacular backcourt-pairings playing in Oakland County this season. One of the best, yet least heralded, is Auburn Hills Avondale's duo of junior juggernauts, Ray Tillman and Tony Harris, each averaging over 20 points and five assists per game. The Yellow Jackets twin playmakers were at it again on Thursday night, helping Avondale overcome a halftime deficit and prevail victorious over the visiting Oak Park Knights, 71-65.

Tillman scored a team-high 23 points, grabbed ten rebounds, and delivered six assists, while Harris tallied 21 points, dished out five dimes, and swiped away three passes. Harris scored 13 straight points in the third quarter to spearhead a rally that propelled the Yellow Jackets into a lead they wouldn't surrender the rest of the way. In addition to their shared exploits on the hardwood, both Tillman and Harris are standout wide receivers and defensive backs on the school's football team.

The win is Avondale's first of the OAA-Red conference schedule which got on its way following the holiday break. This is the Yellow Jackets' inaugural season in the Red Division of the OAA, after winning the White Division title last year. They dropped their conference opener in a tight contest against North Farmington on January 6. Avondale is 4-3 overall.

Although it may be of little consolation and their record might not reflect it, the Knights have played feisty in their less than desired start. Thursday was a primary example. Led by eight points in under a three minute span by talented senior shooting guard Jalen Crawford, Oak Park finished out the first half on a 12-0 run and took a 34-30 lead at intermission.

Inspired by head coach Tim Webb's halftime speech, the Yellow Jackets opened the second half playing like their collective uniforms were on fire and sprinted out of the locker room to a 24-7 run that put them ahead 54-41 going into the fourth quarter.

Per usual, the Knights wouldn't go down without a quarrel and kept pushing until the very end. Kenny Harper's free throw with 26 seconds left to play brought Oak Park to within one possession at 68-65. However, Tillman put things to bed on the next possession when he nailed a pair from the charity stripe to seal up the victory.

Starting center, Malcom Little, played big all night for the 'Jackets and collected 14 points and 10 boards.

Oak Park, which is sporting a roster depleted from graduation and transfer, drops to 1-7. The Knights changed coaches over the off season from George Ward (now at Detroit Southeastern) to former Knights JV coach, Denolious Burkes. Harper, a 6-3 senior swingman, tickled the twine for a game-high 24 points and hauled down a dozen rebounds to add to the impressive effort. Crawford, whose brother Joe played collegiately at Kentucky and brother Jordan currently plays for D1 stalwart, Xavier, registered 22 points and six assists. Knights' big fella, Jamar Durhal, put it up a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds and proved a worthy adversary for the Avondale frontcourt of Little and junior Ryan Brancheau. It should come to no surprise that Harper, Crawford, and Durhal are the only three returners from Oak Park '09 playing rotation.

Avondale faces-off with Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy on Saturday in the 8^th annual Pontiac HS DR. Martin Luther King, Jr. Classic. The road to success doesn't get any easier for the Knights. Also participating in the MLK event, Oak Park will take the court against Melvindale ABT, the number one ranked team in Class C, on Sunday night at 7 PM.

New Look Lakers

2010-01-15T03:00:00.001-05:00

The new-look Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes girls basketball team appears to be just as dangerous as the old-look Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes girls basketball team. WOLL is currently 5-2, coming off a back-to-back wins over powerhouse opponents and looking lethal as ever.

It hasn't been easy though. The Lakers have had to overcome several hurdles to be back on track to towards the type of season they had last year when they claimed district, regional, and CHSL Tournament championships. First, third-year head coach, Steve Robak, and his squad were hit hard by graduation. Five seniors, including all-conference shooting guard, Allison Robb, rock-solid floor general, Jen Losiowski, and ace 3-point-assasin, Taryn Stevens, from the '09 team had to be replaced. Robb's presence in the Lakers' line-up was so invaluable, that her back injury in the state tournament probably prevented WOLL from reaching the Class D Final Four.

Then, if that wasn't bad enough, the Lakers top player, junior studstress, Lauren Robak (the coach's oldest daughter), suffered a broken hand in the team's opening game win back in December.

To fill in the gaps, coach Robak called in his reserves…aka "The Sisters of Powerful." Stepping into the starting line-up this season are freshman phenoms, Lexie Robak and Ava Doetch. Lexie is Lauren's younger sister and Ava is the younger sibling of starting all-conference center, Alexis Doetch. Both have been outstanding and aided much in the transition. As has junior point guard Megan Toplewski, who has admirably filled the shoes of Losiowski and is doing an excellent job of running the Lakers' offense. Freshman Hailey Howell looks like a future force to be reckoned with too and junior Farrah Nordman is a fireplug off the WOLL bench. The younger Robak and Doetch play much older than their respective 14 years might dictate.

Senior Alexis Doetch continues to be an intimidating presence in the paint and can be counted on for a double-double practically every time she hits the floor.

Oh, yeah, and then there's Lauren Robak. Back in the line-up as of last week and almost fully-rehabbed from her injury, this lady hoop queen does it all. Already committed to Oakland U just down from her house and arguably the best female bballer in all of Class C and D (not to mention most of Classes A and B to boot), Robak is the definition of a coldblooded killer on the court - a modern day prep version of George "The Iceman" Gervin. She scores in bunches and at all the right times. She can hit from outside and mid-range. She can take it to the basket with the best of them and barely ever misses from the charity stripe (not only doesn't she miss free throws, she hardly ever hits anything but the bottom of the net with all her attempts). As a sophomore, Robak averaged 24 ppg and led the county. In a game last January, she went for 44 points. In the 2009 CHSL Tourney Final at Calihan Hall, she went for 36 points, 31 in the second half, in the Lakers come from behind defeat of MC Cardinal Mooney. It goes down as one of the all-time great post-season performances in the history of the state. With her team down eight late in regulation, she scored eight straight to force OT – this included a pair of free throws to tie and force the extra-session with 5 seconds left. In OT, she scored all nine of the Lakers points, including the game-winning lay-up on a perfectly placed pass from Topelewski with under 2 seconds on the clock.

Out for three games, Robak came back with reckless abandon, scoring 24 in her first full game back, as well as surpassing the 1000 point plateau in a Lakers win. Sporting momentum from climatic return, she helped lead WOLL to wins over a previously-unbeaten RO Shrine squad last Thursday and one against Cardinal Mooney this past Monday.

Once Robak is at full-playing capacity, which should be soon, and the rest of her capable and cagey supporting cast gel around her just like last year – which seems to be the direction things are headed – watch out, things could get really ugly for the Lakers' opponents. I'm seeing a very possible return to the quarters in store for WOLL this season and most-likely another CHSL title banner to hang in the gym. Coach Robak, his team, and the way they play, represent everything that is right and good about high school sports. They should all be very proud.

New Look Lakers

2010-01-15T02:55:00.000-05:00

The new look Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes girls basketball team appears to be just as dangerous as the old look Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes girls basketball. WOLL is currently 5-2, coming off a back-to-back wins over powerhouse opponents and looking lethal as ever.

Then, if that wasn't bad enough, the Lakers top player, junior studstress, Lauren Robak (the coach's oldest daughter), suffered a broken hand in the team's opening game win back in December.

Senior Alexis Doetch continues to be an intimidating presence in the paint and can be counted on for a double-double practically every time she hits the floor.

Triple Trouble

2010-01-13T02:31:00.001-05:00

THEY CALL THEM TRIPLE TROUBLE Y'ALL, LET ME BRING YOU UP TO SPEED - The Beastie Boys

North Farmington's Jenna Bachrouche (Oakland University) and Novi Franklin Road Christian's Maureen McSweeney each had monster games on Tuesday – both were triple trouble all night long in their teams' respective 'W's' to the tune of registering impressive triple-doubles. Bachrouche brandished her normal brand of bball brilliance by scoring 22 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out ten assists in the Raiders' defeat of Pontiac and the Warriors Ms. McSweeny got her Mcswizzle on all over host-SH Parkway Christian in Franklin Road's victory in enemy territory. McSweeny put in 16 points, corralled 14 boards, and collected 12 dimes.

On the subject of triple trouble, I've made the decision to bequeath a nickname on some of my favorite hoopsters in the area, my much-beloved WB Lakers frontcourt comprised of Larry "Lil' Gran Mama" Johnson, Spencer "The Big Easy" Parker, and David "Aquaman" Poole. Alright, get ready, here it is…….drum roll please……….from this point forward the WB's triple trouble trio is to be known as, "Lethal Weapon 3". Do I really need to explain? Just go ask Kyle Vinales, Robert Hogans, and the North Farmington Raiders how lethal these guys can be.

I feel bad for not saying this sooner: Birmingham Detroit Country Day's sophomore sensation Aerial Powers is the ALL THAT and a bag of chips. This girl can hoop like few others in the state and she's barely 16 years old. In her first year as a starter and getting serious minutes, she has been running the point like a seasoned pro and has the hardwood IQ and court vision of a D1 player right now. Oh, and by the way she can score by the bucket-load too. Powers scored 28 points, hauled down 10 rebounds and delivered six assists in DCD's blowout win over East Lansing Tuesday night. With only a handful of starts under her belt, she already has college recruiters from all across the nation salivating at the chance to come to town and watch her play. To put it in the most-simple terms, Aerial Powers is a female version of Yellowjackets boys superstar, Ray McCallum – she's that good!!!

So here is what we know right now: In only a half of season of substantial varsity play, Aerial Powers is probably the best point guard in the county. Add that to 6-7 senior center, Madison Williams (Michigan State), the most dominating post player in the state bar none, and fellow D1 recruit Troy Hambric (Loyola), and the 'Jackets are practically shoe-ins to be playing for their third consecutive state championship banner in a mere nine weeks. Williams had another outstanding effort on Tuesday night, contributing 15 points, 15 rebounds and her standard day at the office eight blocked shots. By the way, not only is Williams the picture of perfection on the court, she's the definition of class and composure off it as well. That said, I've decided to nickname by main homegirl Maddie, "The Big Classy." If I do say so myself, that could be the best nickname I've come up with yet!

Boys Hoops Rankings - New Entries Galore!

2010-01-12T01:51:00.001-05:00

Oakland County Top 10

1 Birmingham Detroit Country Day (9-0) – Amir Williams may be on the sidelines for the next few weeks, but Mahesh "The Microwave" Umansekar has just arrived, to give the 'Jackets high-voltage scoring in a hurry off the bench. Umansekar, a 6-1 junior sniper, is the definition of instant heat and head coach Kurt Keener isn't afraid to give him the green light.

2 Clarkston (5-1) – Matt Kamieniecki, Matt Kamieniecki, Matt Kamieniecki…enough said!!!

3 Southfield (6-1) – Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive……it's the Blue Jays very own hoops superhero, "Captain Amazing"…er…Carlton Brundidge (32 points in the second half of a comeback win over S-Lathrup last week). What can't this kid do on the hardwood?

4 Birmingham Seaholm (6-0) – "The Crazy Cuz Connection" of Richaud Pack and Shawn Conway form one heckuva 1-2 punch. Brand new point guard, Christian Pino has been nothing but cash money running the Maples' offense and three year-starter Jack Quigley is getting it done in the paint. A little more production from the supporting cast wouldn't hurt the squad's chances at claiming its first district title in over a dozen years.

5 RH Adams (5-0) – The Highlanders Joey Dillon and Conner Boyle make-up possibly the most underrated backcourt in the entire state

5 West Bloomfield (4-3) – I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Lakers have the best overall frontcourt in the county in Larry Johnson, Spencer Parker, and David Pool.

6 North Farmington (5-3) – OAA Conference beware: 6-8 junior DCD transfer Urban Bingham is coming to town and he's not going to be taking any prisoners!!! Robert Hogans gets better every game and Kyle Vinales is….well….Kyle Vinales.

7 Southfield-Lathrup (3-5) – I'm betting that Chargers head coach Mike Avery would love to have transfers Joe Baker (Clawson) and Herb Alexander (Birmingham Groves) back on his rosters right now to give a helping hand to his already terrific trio of Roy "Shuttlesworth" Marble, Drew "G-Money" Gilchrest, and Bryan "B-Money" Coleman.

8 Pontiac (2-4) – The Phoenix are struggling right now, but Burney has a feeling these fellas will still be playing in the Class A regionals come March Madness time.

9 Walled Lake Central (6-1) – I'm nicknaming Joe Zurbrickas, "The Brickhouse", cause this kid is just so darn sturdy in the post for the Vikings and basically 'cause game is as solid as a brickhouse.

10 a. Clawson (8-0) – Their chance of an undefeated season took a hit with a shoulder injury to senior co-captain, Rob Feeman last Friday night. However 2^nd year head coach Billy Shellenbarger is one of the brightest young coaching minds in the area and junior Joe "The Show" Baker's hoops game is as cool as the other side of the pillow.

10 b. Waterford Mott (5-1) – The Corsairs' John Schaeffer is a cold-blooded assassin and his backcourt-mate Devontay Green is a demon of activity all over the floor wrecking havoc on opposing team's both offensively and defensively.

10 c. Stoney Creek (5-1) – The Cougars' Jake Fortner could be the hardest working player in Oakland County! Was that Carter Curtis (12 points and an eye-popping 21 rebound, 13 of which were offensive) out there playing for Tha Creek last week against Adams or was it former NBA board-king Dennis

The Ticker

2010-01-11T01:46:00.000-05:00

Six foot-eleven inch Birmingham Detroit Country Day starting center, Amir Williams, will miss the rest of the month with a sprained knee suffered in the Yellowjackets win on Friday night over Roseville. The highly-recruited junior will not need surgery but it appears he will be out of the line-up for Saturday night's much-ballyhooed match-up with Detroit Pershing (ranked number two in the state in Class A). As it turned out, the injury was far less serious than it originally appeared when Williams was rolled into by one of his teammates when they were taking a charge. Some feared the injury could have been a tear and thank goodness for the 'Jackets Class B title hopes, it wasn't. Expect to see the Country Day's "Big Smooth" - who has been really coming into his own as of late and showing flashes of "Dwight Howard/Amare Stoudamire"-type brilliance in the post in his first year as a starter - back on the floor at the start of February.

Ex-'Jackets 3-point specialist, Jordan Dumars (a member of DCD's 2007 state championship), made it official last week - his future on the hardwood will be in Ann Arbor. Dumars, who left South Florida after less than three months, enrolled in classes at the University of Michigan this past Monday and has already started practicing with the team. He will be eligible to suit up next winter, yet will most likely be scholarship-less..aka…donning "preferred walk-on status" until further notice – the 6-6 sharpshooter had accepted a full athletic scholarship to SFU in the fall of 2008.

Even though they took the loss, the Troy Athens Red Hawks boys hoop squad should get a hardy pat on the back for their defensive work on OC scoring machine, Richaud Pack of Birmingham Seaholm last Friday. Coming off back-to-back games of 45 and 56 points respectively, the Maples "Pac-Man" was scorching hot coming into the unfriendly confines of the Athens gymnasium and thanks to a near-suffocating defensive scheme designed by Red Hawks head coach, Bill Gerbe, left significantly cooled off. Athens held Pack to just four total field goals – as opposed to 20 in his previous outing – and "only" 21 points on Friday.

Don't look now, but Waterford Mott is looking mighty nice this boys hoops season and appear perfectly poised to start making some serious noise. The Corsairs are off to a 5-1 start. Three year-starter, John Schaefer, is the catalyst and Devontay Green is an able bodied "wingman", as in, just like Schaeffer, able to go off for 25 on any given night . Jake Wardach and Emmanuel Simpson, both returning starters, take care of the dirty work around the basket. Sophomore Chris "Rip City" Dewberry, an athletically-gifted transfer from Oak Park with a year of varsity experience already under his belt, joins the mix next week when becomes eligible and that will only make Mott more formidable than they already are. It looks like the Corsairs and Walled Lake Central will be battling it out for the KLAA North crown over the next two months.

Role Reversal

2010-01-10T02:34:00.001-05:00

DCD SILENT ASSASSIN SHOOTS LIGHTS OUT IN 'JACKETS ROUTE

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

BEVERLY HILLS

If you're looking for the next great sharpshooter to come out of the Oakland County prep hoops scene, turn your gaze no further than Birmingham Detroit Country Day junior guard, Mahesh Umansekar. With the host Yellowjackets playing down a man – 6-10 junior starting center Amir Williams was out with a sprained knee – and needing a boost from their role players, Umansekar stepped to the forefront and filled the void mightily by sinking all four of his 3-point attempts in the decisive first half, en route to a career-high 17 points, in Country Day's runaway 88-54 victory over Canton (OH) Glen Oak on Saturday night.

The sweet stroking reserve shooting guard playing in only his second full varsity game due to some minor early-season injuries displayed text book-form in draining 5-of-7 3-point tries throughout the contest. In his first full game on varsity on Friday night in a win against Roseville, he hit 2-of-3 attempts from downtown.

"I was feeling it tonight," exclaimed the 6-1 Umansekar, who was the Yellowjackets JV team's leading scorer last season. "It's my role to come in and knock down shots. That's what I do. Tonight, playing without Amir (Williams), we might have needed my shooting a little bit more than usual. It feels nice to come through for the team. My teammates have confidence in my 3-point shooting and that gives me confidence. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and helping out the team wherever and whenever I can."

And it wasn't just Umansekar that came up big with the squad's number two-offensive option on the shelf. Junior power forward Carter Elliott, Williams' replacement in Country Day's starting line-up, held it down in the paint for the Yellowjackets and put in eight points to go along with seven rebounds. Starting small forward Kenny Knight contributed a double-double by scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards. Back-up point guard Matt Leverett reached double figures for the first time in his career and tallied 11 points.

Ray McCallum, Country Day's leading scorer, led the Yellowjackets in the stat sheet with a game-high 18 points. McCallum's backcourt-mate, Chris Fowler, scored five points and gave out 10 assists.

Ranked number one in the state in Class B, Country Day pushes its overall record to 9-0. Glen Oak is now 4-4. The Eagles were led by a team-high 17 points by Brandon Means.

Williams, one of the heaviest recruited post players in the nation in the recruiting class of 2011, was hurt in Country Day's defeat of Roseville Friday, when he was tumbled into by a teammate taking a charge. X-rays on Saturday morning showed just a sprain of his knee, instead of a dreaded tear that could have easily ended the big fella's entire season. He is expected back within the next 7-14 days.

Seemingly unaffected by the absence of their top big man, the 'Jackets jumped out to a 16-8 lead midway through the first quarter. Glen Oak's T.J. Sutton – a three year varsity starter - hit two free throws with 44.5 seconds left to play in the quarter to trim Country Day's lead to just three points at a score of 16-13. But Umansekar quickly served notice that a Yellowjackets explosion was well on its way. He connected on his first triple of the night from the far right baseline to just beat the first quarter buzzer and make the score 19-13 after one.

From the opening seconds of the second quarter, it was all 'Jackets, all the time for the rest of the way through. A Carter Elliott steal that ended with a Ray McCallum transition hoop started the quarter's scoring and the ensuing Country Day onslaught. Three straight trifectas by Umansekar brought the home crowd to its feet and gave the Yellowjackets a 39-20 advantage with 1:44 left to play before the break. Matt Leverett's two free throws placed the Country Day lead at an even 20 points, 41-21, and Kenny Knight's tip-in in the final seconds of the first half provided the team with a resounding 59-28 lead going into the locker room.

The second half was a mere formality. About the only highlight – other than the extra-hard and ultra-commendable work on the court put in by a spirited 'Jackets reserve unit – was a McCallum alley-oop slam dunk on a perfectly-placed pass from Chris Fowler at the 5:12 mark of the third quarter.

Country Day head coach, Kurt Keener, was pleased to see such a strong outing from his ballclub after what he and his coaching staff thought was a lackluster effort in the team's win the previous evening.

"It was good to see the team play so well tonight without Amir in there," he said. "Our transition game and defense were effective all game long and didn't seem to miss a beat. The whole coaching staff and I were a little disappointed with how we played on Friday against Roseville, so it was also nice to see us rebound big from that too. I think we got back to playing the kind of basketball we're capable of playing."

Keener has nothing but respect for his opponents who traveled two hours from Ohio into Michigan to play the game.

"Glen Oak is a very solid program in Ohio and they had a couple of their top guys out of the line-up tonight," he said. "They played hard until the very end."

Yellowjackets fans will be crossing their fingers over the next week hoping that Williams can be ready to play next Saturday night in the team's much anticipated showdown with defending Class A state champion, Detroit Pershing, in a neutral site contest set to be played at Lansing Eastern High School.

Instant Feedback - Clutch City

2010-01-09T02:31:00.000-05:00

WELCOME TO CLUTCH CITY.....A.K.A. THA OC

Dick Vitale would have been proud of the OC Friday night as the "PTP'ers," were out in force all across the area, pulling out wins for their respective teams with the game on the line.

· Ryan Zinser officially reached Swagger-Level: One Hundred Thousand Trillion with his game-winner to keep his Roeper Roughriders undefeated. The 5-8 senior point guard went coast to coast to put in a lay-up at the buzzer that lifted Roeper to a two point-win over a very good GPW University Ligget team. Zinser has had a spectacular career so far and the start to his senior season has been no exception. His 20 points and seven assists against Liggett is just par for the course for this "under the radar" gem of a floor general.

· Speaking of underrated point guards, South Lyon's Jordan Short continued to show the haters his merit on Friday night when he nailed a long 3-pointer from the right corner with time running down in the late fourth quarter to propel the Lions to a thrilling 50-49 upset win over host-Novi. Short scored a game-high 29 points and like Zinser, registered seven dimes.

· RH Lutheran Northwest's Alex Masell got in on the county's game of "money ball" by drilling a buzzer-beating triple that gave the Crusaders an epic 53-52 defeat of defending MIAC conference champion, SH Parkway Christian. Northwest is 4-1 and unbeaten in league play. Senior Steve Miscovich had a game-high 15 points to lead the Crusaders in the scoring column.

· Was that Hazel Park's Wesley Ellis on the floor running the Vikings offense on Friday against BH Andover or was it NBA Hall of Famer and all time dime-specialist, John Stockton. Ellis played so well against the Barons, the comparison to the former Utah Jazz all-star point guard, was more than applicable. Ellis dished off a season county high of 16 assists in the HP's 85-64 win. The Vikings hoopsters are 4-2 and like the school's football team, poised for a surprise season.

· John Schaeffer dropped a cool 27 points in Waterford Mott's 77-70 overtime triumph over host Walled Lake Northern. Schaeffer (another one of the OC's most-underrated "little big men") and the Corsairs are off to a blazing hot 5-1 start to the season.

· WL Central's Joe Zubrickas got his "Sir Charles Barkley" on Friday when he delivered a devastating double-double of 28 points and 19 boards in the Vikings' 56-45 besting of Lakeland.

· Larry "Lil' Gran Mama" Johnson's ultra-active performance of 22 points and eight rebounds, looked eerily similar to his pops in his heyday with the Running Rebels of UNLV in the early-90s and led West Bloomfield to a double OT win over North Farmington

· Carlton "Captain Amazing" Brundidge's 21 points and five assists helped Southfield slip past a tough-as-nails AH Avondale squad, 69-68. Over in the A-Squared coach Belein is licking his chops as we speak. Captain Amazing's backcourt mate, Pee Wee Barnes, chipped in with 15 points and four assists.

The Great Burnzini - Friday's Top Games

2010-01-08T02:23:00.001-05:00

Picks - Friday's Top Games

Clarkston v. Oak Park – Sophomore sniper Nick Tatu could be turning into the next great C-Town long-range specialist before our very eyes. Both Kamieniecki get into double-digits in this one and the Wolves roll. The Knights, decimated by graduation and transfer and still adjusting to a new coaching staff, are scrappy and improving with each game. However, overcoming coach Fife's Clarkston Express, even if they are playing in the friendly-confines of its home gym, is just too tall of a task for Oak Park to achieve right now.

C-Town 74 Oak Park 61

Pontiac v. Southfield-Lathrup – With each team possessing a plethora of top rate-gunners, this game has old fashioned shoot-out written all over it. Everyone knows what they're going to get from Juwaan Moody and "Ant" Adams for Pontiac and Marble, Gilchrest, and Coleman for the Chargers, it's the role players who will decide this one. Transfers Anthony Lavallis and Jamal Barr come up big late and senior center, James Odneal's put-back in the final 10 seconds of the game help the Phoenix slip past a "still work in progress" Lathrup squad.

Pontiac 83, S-Lathrup 82

Roseville v. Birmingham Detroit Country Day – You simply can't stop Yellowjackets junior center, Amir Williams (6-11, long, lean, and mean in the lane), you can only merely hope to contain him.

DCD 84 Roseville 64

Troy v. Berkley – Colts freshman James Young bananas…. B.A.N.A.N.A.S!!!! Enough said!

Troy 65 Berkley 58

Birmingham Roeper v. GPW University Liggett – Roughriders' senior point guard Ryan Zinser goes all RYAN ZINSER on the host-Knights. Starting forward Cole Stasek's traditional three point-play in the closing seconds of the ballgame allows Roeper to remain undefeated and leave the eastside victorious.

Roeper 68 Liggett 66

Birmingham Seaholm v. Troy Athens – With the kind of scoring outputs being delivered lately by the Maples very own, Richaud "The Pac-Man" Pack, it would be easy to mistake him for former Metro Detroit prep star and NBA Hall of Famer, George "The Iceman" Gervin. The Pac-Man will once again do his best "Iceman" impression Friday night, torching the Red Hawks for 38 points and sending Seaholm home with another victory.

Seaholm 77 Troy Athens 63

Rochester Hills Adams v. Stoney Creek – Could easily end up being the best game of the night. The Cougars Jake Fortner is underrated and the backcourt of Kevin Bolhuis and Arie Elder have been keeping defenses honest with their playmaking ability since the beginning of the year. The home crowd will be in frenzy by night's end as The Creek win it on a Fortner 15-foot "J" at the buzzer. Go Cougars, keep the dream alive!

THA Creek 67 RH Adams 65

Southfield v. Auburn Hills Avondale – Two great backcourts will be going face-to-face in this one and it should be a doozey. Southfield's D1-combo of juniors Carlton "Captain Amazing" Brundidge and Pee Wee Barnes will get all they can handle and more when they match-up with Avondale's dandy-duo of Ray Tillman and Tony Harris. In the end Blue Jays big man, Pat Owenu, makes all the difference in the world, putting up a double-double of 16 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocked shots and leading Southfield to the road win.

Southfield 74 Avondale 69

North Farmington v West Bloomfield – "Up-Down" theory dictates that the WB should come out of this game with the 'W.' This one is going down to the wire for sure. K-Veezie (a.k.a. Kyle Vinales) drops another 40 spot, but Larry "Lil' Gran Mama" Johnson's two free throws with less than 3 seconds left in OT let the Lakers prevail and rebound from a dreadful performance on Tuesday night in a loss to Oak Park.

THA WB 83, N. Farmington 81 (OT)

Fenton v. Holly – Bronchos senior floor general, Jordan Fowler has found an aggressive streak in his offense that had back previously lacking and as a result has been playing out of his mind recently. Fowler stays toasty and Holly wins.

Holly 67 Fenton 59

South Lyon v. Novi – Samier Ozier is Christopher Columbus and the Lions are just the Pilgrims….at least on Friday night in the "Cat-House."

Novi 71 South Lyon 62

Lakeland v. Walled Lake Central – Joe Zubrikas has been residing at the corner of Awesome and Amazing, all season long. I don't see any U-Haul trucks on the horizon and the Eagles will pay the price for just having the gall to enter the Z-Man's neighborhood.

WL Central 71 Lakeland 63

Farmington v. Ferndale – Don't sleep on the Eagles underappreciated backcourt of Jody Hill and Shawn Amiker, these two are the Real Deal Holyfield. Fired up by a fiery pre-game speech by coach Staton, Ferndale comes out - you guessed it - , on fire and sends the Falcons packing early. Rex Jenkins brings the house down with a pair of second half "Rexclimation-point" slams that each reverberate all the way up the rafters. Do I hear, two in a row? I think so!

Ferndale 76 Farmington 64

FH Harrison v. Royal Oak – The Hawks "do-everything" swingman David Evans is a baller and shot-caller, both on the court and off!

Harrison 70 Royal Oak 60

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep v. RO Shrine – Bertrum Marks and Alex Cavazos each score 20 and Jack Wangler's 3-point bomb in the last minute pushes the Knights over the edge.

Shrine 68 NDP 65

Clawson v. Clintondale – Joe "The Show" Baker stays en fuego and the Trojans stay undefeated!

Clawson 75 Clintondale 67

BH Lahser v. Birmingham Groves – Josh Lyle and Jacob Hatchett unleash the fury all over the host-Falcons.

Lahser 81 Groves 72

Clawing To The Top

2010-01-07T03:00:00.000-05:00

BAKER & TROJANS WIN WAR OF RIVALS

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

CLAWSON

Clawson junior guard Joe Baker is a straight-out savage on the basketball court – he destroys almost everything and anything in his way. Coming off a two game-victory run through their own holiday tournament last week where he totaled 55 points, Baker kept up his torrid scoring pace on Wednesday night as he pumped in a game-high 27 points, while collecting five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the Trojans decisive 70-55 home defeat of perennial conference rival-Madison Heights Lamphere.

Just like its star player, Clawson is off to a smoking-hot start to the young season. After taking their conference opener, the Trojans push their overall record to 7-0 (1-0 in the MAC-Silver). 2009 was not overly-kind to the Trojans program, as they finished 8-12. Lamphere, winners over Clawson in the districts last year, falls to 2-3.

Baker, who had to sit out more than half of his sophomore year last season due to his transfer from Southfield-Lathrup, is averaging 26.5 points per game so far in the current campaign. On Wednesday he was an efficient 8-for-13 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Oh yeah, "Joe the Show" also knocked down 5-of-7 attempts from 3-point land, 4-of-5 of which came in the first half.

"It feels great to be back for the full season this year and I'm trying to take complete advantage," said Baker in the locker room following the game. "Playing from the first game forward will help me lead this team better. Our defensive effort is what got us the win tonight. We locked down on their scorers and got ahead early. When our offense is flowing and playing at its best, everyone gets involved. If teams start to key too much on me, my teammates can all hit shots and make them pay."

Kelvin Toma, Lamphere's high scoring swingman, was held to 23 points by Baker and the aggressive Clawson defense. Toma, who averaged 15 points per game in 2009, scored a career-high 43 points in the second week of the season.

The game and its atmosphere proved intense from the moment each team hit the floor for warm-ups. The Trojans' slippery 6-2 sniper, appreciates the heated rivalry. "What us and Lamphere have between us is kind of hectic," he said. "It's a true rivalry and goes between both basketball and football teams. Sometimes, it reminds me of like a Duke-North Carolina or a Michigan-Ohio State type of thing. We're in a hard-nosed conference and we're two hard-nosed teams. Whenever we meet up, we both know it's going to be a classic conference showdown."

Using the 3-pointer as their weapon of choice, the Trojans claimed a 21-point lead with just less than four minutes to play in the first half. Two straight 3-pointers from Baker backed-up by one by starting point guard Dominic Davis gave the Trojans a 32-11 advantage at the 3:58 mark of the second quarter. The Rams closed the half on a 10-4 run and trailed 36-21 at the break.

Toma's offensive rebound and put-back hoop and Mitch Kozlowski's steal and score in the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter trimmed the Clawson advantage to eight points at a score of 48-40. But a quick 8-2 run by the Trojans got their lead back into double-digits to stay. Two free throws apiece by Baker and senior co-captain Rob Feeman and then a Baker steal and feed to Garrett Matthews for a basket in the lane made it 56-42.

Tempers flared late and Lamphere head coach Joe Jolet received a technical in the final minutes of the game. Jolet was arguing an intentional foul called on one of his players. At the same time as the confrontation between Jolet and the officials was taking place, Baker began getting verbally harassed by the Rams' rowdy student section. As Baker jawed with the crowd, being held back by Feeman (12 points), the Lamphere students who had gotten out of hand were removed from the gymnasium by Clawson High School security.

"Whenever it's a rivalry game like this one was, it's a good win," said Trojans second year-head coach, Billy Shellenbarger. "It feels great to start the season off so well, but we have to stay focused and keep improving. This group is tough and the seniors are outstanding leaders. We're fighting for everything we get and we'll continue to do so."

Clawson gets back to action on Friday when it takes to the road to face conference foe-Clintondale.

Bonus Bytes - Pack-ing Them In By The Busload

2010-01-06T02:25:00.000-05:00

The OC's Pac-Man Machine went into runaway-overdrive mode on Tuesday night and nearly shorted-out electricity in the entire Metro Detroit area. Birmingham Seaholm's video game-like superstar, Richuad "The Pac-Man" Pack chomped up the competition for a breathtaking performance of an eye-popping 56 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the Maples 95-71 dusting of visiting conference-foe, Troy. Pack is having an insane start to the season. Combined with his 45 points in Seaholm's double OT-defeat of West Bloomfield in the Maples last outing, Pack – on his way down to Miami next year to play for Isaiah Thomas at Florida International – has accumulated an almost unfathomable 101 points over the past two games. And the 6-6 senior's scoring barrage hasn't been at the cost of his team's success. The Maples are 5-0 and looking primed to repeat as conference champs. Not afraid to share the spotlight, the Pack Man wasn't shy in letting his favorite running buddy, best friend, and first cousin, Shawn "The Punisher" Conway, in on the scoring action Tuesday. Seaholm's "Big Pun" demolished the Colts defense almost just as badly as his main man and Cuz did, going for 28 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks, and six steals. A number of Conway's points came on thunderous alley-oop slam dunks thrown to him by who else?, the Pac Man himself. These raging relatives could be the best 1-2 combo in the county, taking opponents out like professional assassins. All I can say to those who have the Maples on their schedule is 'Watch your back!'

Oakland County will be, at least partially, Chippewa County tonight as a number of former local prepsters suit up for Central Michigan in its GMAC Bowl game against Troy, set to be played on national television. True freshman, Cody Wilson, a WR from RH Adams, has slowly over the course of season developed into one of All-American QB Dan Le Fevour favorite targets. In the MAC championship game, he caught a TD pass from Le Fevour, showing his great hands by catching a rifled-pass from his star slinger going across the middle and into the end zone. Wilson has brought in 21 total balls for close to 200 yards and 2 TD's so far this campaign. He also has a more than commendable 34.3 yards per kickoff return average. Another true freshman with OC roots that is starting to impress is Eric Fisher, an offensive lineman from Stoney Creek. Fisher is looking mighty nice protecting Le Vefour's blind side and thus has earned significantly more playing time than some initially predicted. Milford's Mike Petrucci, a linebacker for the CMU 'D', has corralled 20 tackles and Ferndale's Chris Reeves, a defensive lineman, has nine. Also dotting the Chips roster are county stalwarts like Shamari Benton (Brother Rice), Jake Linklater (Lake Orion), Will Schwartz (Troy), Mike Maletzke (Brother Rice), and Adam Fenton (Seaholm).

Mad props go out to Oak Park's boys basketball that pulled off its first win of the season with a 63-60 victory over a very good visiting-West Bloomfield team. The Knights attack was ignited by senior Jalen Crawford's 29 points, four assists, and three steals. Senior Kenny Harper, who scored 12 points and took down 10 boards, slammed home an alley-oop – via a pass from Crawford – that gave Oak Park a lead it wouldn't relinquish in the final 45 seconds of the game. Crawford and Harper are both rock solid wing players. The "diamond in the rough" for the Knights is junior point guard Terry Starks, a dangerous and crafty floor general who will help Oak Park get better as the winter progresses.

Bonus Bytes - Random Thoughts

2010-01-05T02:50:00.000-05:00

With so many familiar names on its roster, it wouldn't be that hard to mistake this season's Pontiac Notre Dame Prep boys hoops team – coming off a win in its own holiday tournament – with the '07 and '08 on-court editions of the Fighting Irish. Shout outs to the Dulapa and De Martis families, Burney says you have good genes and do the program proud with the outstanding young men you have produced.

Will North Farmington's Kyle Vinales make it three straight 40-point outbursts Tuesday tonight on the road against AH Avondale? I say, yes! KV…A.K.A "The Natural" A.K.A Kay-Veezie tickles the twine for 42 in a narrow-Raiders win in OT against the pesky 'Jackets.

Keep your eye on first year-head coach Tom Staton's new and improved Ferndale Eagles this winter. These guys looked primed to make a run at the OAA-Blue title and they served notice to the conference as such with a 25-point clobbering of league-favorite Bloomfield Hills Lahser in the days leading up to Christmas Break. The Eagles have a hella nice backcourt in point guard Jody Hill and shooting guard Shawn Amiker and retain excellent athleticism and defense from such players as Rex Jenkins, Antonio Combs, Gerald Gandy, Jordan Guinn, DeAndre Williams. Creeping in the shadows is Staton's "secret weapon", transfer Donovan Reynolds, a super-quick and mega-court smart combo guard that will most likely move into Ferndale's starting line-up when he becomes eligible in the very near future.

It looks like perennial malcontent and former county hoops stud, Alex Legion will end up down in Florida with Isaiah Thomas at FIU after transferring from Big Ten power-Illinois last week. This will be the one time DCD star's third college program in the last four years. Before averaging a meager 2.5 points per game as a Fighting Illini, Legion petered out in the Blue Grass State at Kentucky. Legion made waves on and off the court in his days hooping in Oakland County. On the court, he was an all-state performer. Off the court, he butted heads with Yellowjackets head coach Kurt Keener (a man who has ironically built a reputation for himself over the past three decades as the ultimate "players coach") and a good chunk of his teammates. In an almost unheard move, following a loss in the post-season a few years back, Legion blasted Keener to the press before skipping town to finish his prep playing career at D1-factory, Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. I'll be interested to see how Legion will do down in Zeke Country. So far since leaving the state as a heralded-recruit after his junior season in high school, Legion's career has been underwhelming to say the least. I wish him well and hope he can turn it around and finish his college career strong

Crazy Jud/Crazy Me

2010-01-04T17:44:00.000-05:00

With the Big Ten basketball season recently getting on its way and Michigan State set to be a favorite to win it all, I thought I'd share a humorous story about my one personal tie to the Spartans' hoops program.

A little background:

The summer when I was 14 I spent 10 days in early-July at the MSU basketball camp and had an unbelievable time playing roundball every day and night and getting tutored on the finer points of the game by a stellar crop of Spartan players and coaches. The team I played on, "The Supersonics," was coached by Ferndale-product and then-MSU forward Dwayne Stephens and made it all the way to the camp, "Final Four." We sported an intimidating line-up. Our roster had future college athletes like Diallo Johnson (OLSM/Michigan), Jason Klein (Grosse Ele/Michigan State), and Ken Johnson (Detroit Henry Ford/Ohio State) on it and "coach" Stephens let us "run and gun" at every opportunity. Our loss in the camp semi-finals came on a heartbreaking buzzer-beating tip-in that shouldn't have been allowed 'cause the time keeper was slow to start the clock coming out of a time out with under five seconds to go.

Obviously by even thinking about writing –up my memories of this game shows that somehow a near- two decades later, I've somehow pathetically failed to get over it. I know this and I accept it. Welcome to my life, people. My mind is a pretty warped place, filled with minute-nostalgia mostly related to my days playing youth sports. And, Yes, I can tell you the score of the first organized basketball game I ever played – I was in the 6^th grade, but playing on the 7^th grade "B" Team and me and my Roeper Roughriders went on the road to Southfield Christian and took down the Eagles 32-26 in front of a sparse crowd on a early-winter night in the early-1990s. I scored four points, the first one on a steal at mid-court that I turned into a sweet driving lay-up (after which I celebrated down the court "Dennis "The Worm" Rodman-style, with one finger raised to the sky, pumping my fist to my peeps in the stands) and the second on my once-perfected "James Edwards"-style fade-away jumper from about eight feet out. But I digress……

And Now Without Further Delay: The Humorous Anecdote I Previously Teased and Then Delayed Telling You By Indulging Myself (and in turn you the reader) With Inconsequential Recollections of An Extremely-Meager and Quite Unimportant Organized Sports Career From My Long Ago Teen Years

Anyway, by far the best most hilarious event of the entire camp, one that still makes me chuckle every time I think of it 'til this very day, was the one night Spartans head coach, Jud Heathcoat came to address all the campers. Now you might think since it was the MSU basketball camp and Heathcoat was the MSU coach that us the campers would have seen and heard from him quite a bit over a ten day period – Not so much. The camp was actually ran by assistant coaches Stan Joplin and a much younger and less-recognized, Tom Izzo and this was the only night the campers were going to get some face-time with the Judster himself. And boy did he live up to his kooky and quirky reputation.

Jud spent almost the entire 30 minutes he spoke to us telling us the story of a kid he knew when he was coaching high school basketball in the early-1960s in Spokane, Washington. The story made absolutely no sense, yet had an endearing and eventual hysterical appeal strictly due to the way Jud told it.

So here is basic rundown of what he told us, written how I recall he said it:

"Back when I was coaching high school basketball and teaching 10^th grade history in Spokane, Washington, there was this kid in school that everybody called, "Crazy George." Now George wasn't really crazy, just a little eccentric. He used to sing Elvis Pressley and Johnny Mathis songs as he walked down the hallway in the mornings and often rode a unicycle to school. But he was a nice kid, a good, quality young man and I liked him. And every year, Crazy George would try out for the basketball team. And let me tell you, he wasn't very good. He couldn't shoot a lick and he wasn't more than 5-6, 5-7 feet tall, so he wasn't going to help us out any on the boards. So he tries out his freshman year and I cut him. Then he tries out his sophomore year and I cut him again. His junior year, he really hadn't improved much, so I cut him a third time. But after I cut him that year, I took Crazy George into my office and I had a little talk with him. I took out a book of ball-handling drills I had stored in my desk, gave it to him and said, 'Crazy George, take this book: Learn it, live it, be it, every day over the next year of your life and if all goes well, I might be able to use you as a back-up point guard next season. Crazy George flipped through the book and before my very eyes, he had an epiphany. He took that book and in a matter of 12 months turned himself into one heckuva ball-handler. This kid could do ball-handling tricks that would make your head spin. He could put the ball between his legs. He could go around his back. He could do that darn-forsaken "figure-eight" dribbling drill with the precision of a mini-Bob Cousy. Wow, was I impressed when he came to me at tryouts the next year and showed me what he had learned to do. He put on a clinic. Everyone stood up and applauded. Unfortunately, in the end, Crazy George still couldn't shoot the ball to save his life and wasn't really that good of an overall basketball player, outside of his ball handling tricks, so I had to cut him from the team for the fourth and final time. Crazy George would never end up playing Varsity basketball for me in Spokane. Needless to say, he was crushed.

The silver lining to the story is that myself and the coaching staff allowed Crazy George to do his ball tricks as a halftime performance act at every home game throughout the season and the crowd loved it. Crazy George became a local school phenomenon. Man, looking back on it some 30 years ago, he really did some amazing ball tricks (hardy Heathcoat chuckle). I wish you guys could have seen it.

So the moral of the story is if you're not good enough the make your high school basketball team, learn how to do enthralling ball handling routines and maybe, just maybe, your coach will let you too perform at halftime of your school's games your senior season.

Alright fellas, it was great talking to guys. Have an awesome rest of the week. Go Spartans!"

Swear to god, this is the story he told us and how he ended the address. To this day, I have no clue what he was talking about. Even as a 14 year old, I was dumbfounded. All of us campers just stared at each other as we walked back to the dorms, wondering aloud to ourselves what had just happened and what the heck was the point to the entire speech Heathcoat had just delivered to us moments earlier.

Work In Progress

2010-01-03T15:30:00.001-05:00

PONTIAC CAN'T KEEP PACE WITH HIGH-OCTANE DOUGHBOYS

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

WEST BLOOMFIELD

Sitting at an even-steven 2-2 heading into the start of conference play on Tuesday, the Pontiac Phoenix are still in the midst of working out some early-season kinks, as evidenced by Saturday night's showdown against defending Class A state champion, Detroit Pershing, in the Mister Basketball New Year's Classic held at West Bloomfield High School. The Phoenix played tough, but let a severe late-first half lapse ultimately spell doom for their hopes of victory and dropped an up-and-down affair to the powerhouse Doughboys, 88-73, in front of a capacity crowd with an overflow of fans hailing equally from both the city of Pontiac and the city of Detroit.

Pershing got monster games from its top two players, Mr. Basketball candidates and senior co-captains, Juwaan Howard, Jr., and Keith Appling. Howard (Western Michigan) went off for 39 points, while taking down a game-high 14 rebounds. Appling (Michigan State) scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and gave out six assists.

Junior guard Juwaan Moody led Pontiac in the scorebook with 27 points. Moody's backcourt mate, junior point guard, Anthony "The Ant" Adams, put in 14 points and dished off eight assists. Senior center, James Odneal, played solid in the post, scoring 11 points and pulling down nine boards.

Pontiac lost its first game of the season to Detroit Southeastern, another PSL power, by only a three point-margin, before reeling off two straight wins heading into Saturday's much-anticipated contest. The Doughboys, who dropped their opener to Romulus (state semi-finalists last season), are now 6-1.

"We got out of what we were trying to do at the end of the second quarter and that was costly," said Phoenix associate head coach, Mychal Covington, in the minutes after the game. "You can't go shot-for-shot with that type of team and that's what we tried to do there for a while. It really hurt us. Other than that, I was happy with the effort."

With Adams scoring seven points in the game's first three minutes and Moody sticking a long 3-pointer from the left wing with 17.5 seconds to play in the first quarter, the Phoenix looked spry and seasoned as they took a 22-18 lead going into the second. After a pair of free throws by Moody with a little more than four and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter gave the Phoenix a 28-26 lead, the Doughboys exploded for a 24-4 run to finish off the half and entered the break with a momentum-grabbing 50-32 advantage.

Coming out of the locker room hot as a pistol once again, Pershing looked like it was on its way to Blow Out City. An Appling score in the lane, followed by a deep 3-pointer from the left elbow by Howard gave the Doughboys a 55-32 lead less than 30 seconds into the third quarter.

But the Phoenix kept pressing and behind some more spirited play in the fourth quarter got their deficit down to 10 points twice in the last five minutes of the game. Seven straight points by Moody, capped by a 3-pointer from the top of the key, made it 73-63 with 4:29 left to play. Anthony Lavallis' steal and lay-up with 2:43 remaining made it 79-69 and forced Pershing head coach A.W Canada to call a time out.

The Doughboys made fast work of the Phoenix down the stretch though and Howard, showed signs of brilliance that flashed back to the days of his dad, Juwaan, Sr., when he was running with the Fab Five at UofM back in the early-1990s. His 3-pointer out of the huddle pushed the Pershing lead to 13 and his electrifying transition bucket only a few seconds later made it 84-69. Scores by junior Kidez Foster and sophomore Sherron Dorsey-Walker put the game to bed.

Pontiac gets the OAA-Red conference season on its way on Tuesday night when they play Clarkston.

Burney's All-Decade Hoops Squad

2010-01-02T17:38:00.001-05:00

Oakland County All-Decade Team – 2000-2009

1^st Team

G Kalin Lucas OLSM 2007 – the definition of cash money on the court

G David Merritt West Bloomfield 2004 – got most of his ability, cagey leader

F Lester Abram Pontiac Northern 2002 – great high school basketball player

F Jason Jones Southfield-Lathrup 2004 – the ultimate gamer, was 6-4, but played 6-9

C Paul Davis Rochester 2002 – just a machine as a prepster, inside and out

6^th man – Mike Lewis AH Avondale 2002 – not big or fast, but the picture of a true winner

Head Coach – Tim Morton AH Avondale/Dan Fife Clarkston

2^nd Team

G Ricky Morgan Pontiac Northern 2001 – lighting-fast point guard, scored and dished superbly

G Maurice Seawright OLSM 2000 – a dynamic playmaker and floor general

G Darnell Brown DCD 2008 – crafty comb-guard who outworked bigger and quicker opponents

G Lamar Seawright Pontiac Central 2002 – the last great Central hoop-king

F Drew Maynard Lake Orion 2008 – one of the best ever to wear the Dragon green

F Dan Waterstradt Catholic Central 2004 – consummate workhorse

C Chris Johnston Clarkston 2005 – dominant prep big man

Head Coach – Robert Rogers Pontiac Northern

3^rd Team

G Giordan Watson Birmingham Groves 2003

G David Holston AH Avondale 2004

G Tim Williams Pontiac Northern 2007

G Brandon Pokely 2009

F Clifford Brown Ferndale 2002

F Charles Davis OLSM 2001

C Mark Bortz Walled Lake Central 2001

Head Coach – Kurt Keener Birmingham Detroit Country Day

Bragging Rights

2010-01-01T02:46:00.001-05:00

Prior to reading this game story, please peruse this quick qeminder: Happy New Years to all you prep fiends out there and thank you to every single one of you that "clicked in" to say hello this past 12 months and made Burney's Bytes a bonafide success. Check back in tomorrow for Burney's All-Decade Boy's Hoops Squad.

BY SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

BEVERLY HILLS

COUNTRY DAY BOYS CAGERS CRUISE PAST FOREIGN POWERS

The state of Indiana traditionally maintains a reputation as the prep hoops capital of the Midwest, if not arguably the entire nation. After what went down over the final ten days of 2009, the basketball gods should consider re-locating the Mecca of high school hoops to the Motor City.

Playing with purpose, poise, and balance, Birmingham Detroit Country Day concluded the year by sweeping through three straight highly-ranked out-of-state opponents, two of which hailed from the hoop-crazed Hoosier state.

First, on the Tuesday night right before to Christmas, the Yellowjackets traveled south to Indianapolis and roughed-up Ft. Wayne Bishop Lauers, at that time the number two-ranked team in the state of Indiana, by the score of 93-77 in the Midwest Prep Challenge held at Howe High School.

Then, Country Day squared-off with Madison Memorial, ranked number three in the state of Wisconsin on Monday in its home gym and won a slugfest 61-48.

Finally, on Wednesday evening, the Yellowjackets hosted Gary Lew Wallace High School – the team that replaced Bishop Lauers as the number two spot in the most recent Indiana state rankings – in the final game of the 15^th Annual Roundball Classic and bested the visiting Hornets 75-59, making it a clean sweep.

"These were all quality and very highly-ranked teams we've beaten over the last eight days and that's encouraging," said Country Day head coach, Kurt Keener, after addressing his team in the locker room following the victory. "In terms of tonight though, I honestly don't believe we played our best game. We had too many turnover and missed free throws for my liking. Overall, however, I'm very pleased with where we're at right now. I like the identity of this group. They play aggressive defense and can be very active and high-tempo on offense. Hopefully, we're going to continue to build on what we've accomplished and keep getting better."

Country Day got impressive contributions across the board. Ray McCallum led the Yellowjackets with 27 points and received more than adequate back-up from his two junior class running buddies, 6-10 center, Amir Williams and 6-1 combo-guard Chris Fowler. Williams scored 17 points, acquired 12 rebounds, and swatted away six blocked shots. Fowler scored 20 points, dished off seven assists, and swiped away three steals.

The Yellowjackets are now 7-0 and will almost certainly enter 2010 as the number one-ranked team in Class B. Lew Wallace, located less than 25 miles outside of Chicago, drops to 7-2.

"We're going to keep playing our game and make other teams adjust to us and our tempo," Fowler said. "I think our attitude and mind-set is where it needs to be at right now and I'm just thankful all the hard work we put it during the summer is finally paying off on the floor"

"This year it's time for the juniors like me, Chris (Fowler), and Lee (Bailey) to step up our games and take on more responsibility for this team," Williams said. "I think we've been doing that in our first few weeks of the season. I hold it down for us in the paint and our guards can compete with anyone in the state. If we keep proving ourselves every time we hit the court, we'll be alright."

The game's first quarter was played at a frenetic pace. McCallum hit a cutting Fowler in the lane for a bucket in the quarter's final seconds and Country Day was in front 23-16. Lew Wallace's Brandon Dawson, quickly followed that up by tip-jamming a put back at the buzzer to make it 23-18 in the Yellowjackets' favor heading into the second.

Dawson, a 6-7 jumping jack of a swingman currently ranked in the Top 20 of the nation's Class of 2011 recruiting class, was a menace early on. He showed his merit as a heavily-valued prospect with his shear explosiveness, displayed through a variety of high-flying maneuvers on the court that brought the grandstand to a crescendo on a number of occasions in the first 16 minutes of the game. His offensive rebound and score under the basket pulled the Hornets to within one possession at a score of 25-22 at the 6:48 mark of the second quarter and led to Country Day head coach Kurt Keener calling a timeout in order to re-group his troops.

Coming out of the huddle, the Yellowjackets got down to business and pretty much ran away with the game from that point forward – their ensuing 16-6 run was key in cementing the win. A transition basket by McCallum got things moving and when Williams slammed one home in the lane with 34.2 seconds left to play in the half, Country Day was ahead 43-26

But Dawson wasn't done yet wrecking havoc on the 'Jackets defense. His two free throws at the 23.3 mark was a mere precursor to the real theatrics. On the last play of the first half, Dawson corralled a loose ball, drove the length of the floor and delivered a vicious one-hand slam dunk that made it a 13-point ballgame at the break.

Carrying the Lew Wallace squad on his back, Dawson tallied 21 of his team-high 26 points in the first half. He would also finish with 11 rebounds

Five straight points by Fowler in less than a minute span at the end of the third quarter put Country Day on top 59-44. The Hornets weren't through though trying to work their back into the game and freshman Dre Williams' steal and score that just beat the third quarter buzzer made it 59-48 going into the fourth. Scores by McCallum, Fowler, and reserve forward Jason Ray to open the new quarter soothed any fears from the Yellowjackets cheering section of a Hornets' rally.

Down 13 points late in the final period of play, Lew Wallace head coach Renaldo Thomas lost his lid and received a technical foul. Fowler's two free throws put the score at 69-52 with 3:12 remaining. Thomas was quite animated about his complaints about the foul discrepancy throughout the contest. It seemed warranted however as Thomas' Hornets were assessed 22 total fouls compared to Country Day's eight.

He wasn't shy about sharing his feelings after the affair. "When you have officiating like we did tonight, its sends the wrong message to the kids that find themselves on the receiving end of misplaced calls," Thomas said. "It demoralizes them for playing hard. Those cats (DCD) have a good team. I just think the fans got cheated from seeing what should have been a better game. It's really that simple."

New Years Cheer

2009-12-31T02:56:00.001-05:00

A handful of area hoop teams took time to celebrate the New Year a day or so early by ending 2009 with exhilarating wins, while bringing home a few championship trophies to boot.

Birmingham Brother Rice notched its second win of the season as well as the championship of "The Venture Holiday Classic" (being hosted by Madison Heights Bishop Foley) on Wednesday by topping Melvindale 46-41. Warriors junior forward Joey Alessi scored a game-high 20 points, including a game-clinching steal and score in the closing seconds of the contest to as Dave Chappell might say, "Wrap it up, B". With Brother Rice in front by the score of 44-41 and Melvindale looking to get a game-tying 3-point attempt off, Alessi picked off a pass and went in for an uncontested lay-up that just beat the buzzer and sent the Warriors' bench into hysterics. Starting guard Adam Gorski, who has been out of the Rice line-up as of late due to a concussion, returned to action and played well, contributing nine points and five assists. Warriors head coach, Ed Shaffer has a real diaper dandy on his roster in sturdy sophomore power forward/center Dylan Anderson. This kid is a bull in the post and a real gamer. Getting his first major playing time of the season against Berkley in the tourney semi-final on Monday, Anderson was magnificent. The 6-6 brick-wall of a 15 year old scored 16 points and hauled down eight boards in the Rice 83-80 "W" over the Bears. He shot a sterling 80 percent from the field and made a serious statement to Shaffer that he is deserving of significant more court time.

Clawson's Joe Baker played the part of Willis Reed and pretty much single handedly won his school's own holiday tournament, "The Trojan Holiday Classic", and kept his squad undefeated heading into the New Year with his performances in Monday's semi-final and Wednesday's final. In Monday's defeat of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook, Baker, a prolific-scorer with equally ace-worthy shooting skills from beyond the arc and at the charity stripe, dropped 35 points to advance Clawson into the tourney championship game against Royal Oak Shrine. Playing against Shrine on Wednesday night, Baker scored 19 points and hit two pairs of crucial free throws in the game's final seconds to get the job done for the Trojans in their 52-49 win over the Knights. Oh, and Baker, who nailed 13-of-13 from the free throw line, missed a majority of the second half after getting hit in the mouth and losing two teeth. Like any superior athlete would, Baker dug down deep and returned to the game with about four minutes left to push Clawson past the finish-line, displaying a relentless sense of urgency and desire down the stretch in the Trojans victory that only the true greats can muster up when facing that type of adversity. Needless to say, "Joe the Show" was named MVP of the tournament. With Baker leading the ship, it's no wonder Clawson is sitting pretty at 6-0.

Just like crosstown at Clawson, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep captured its own holiday tournament, "The Irish Hoops Classic," on Wednesday night by trouncing visiting Bloomfield Hills Andover, 58-37. Starting center, Ross Lindeman, scored a game-high 22 points and collected 10 rebounds. The Fighting Irish started the championship game on fire, jumping out to a 12-0 lead. From that point forward, it was smooth sailing towards the tourney title. Joey De Martis, who tallied 17 points in the contest, banged down a triple at the halftime buzzer to send NDP into the lockeroom ahead on the scoreboard by a comfortable 14 points. Point guard, Danny Dulapa, scored 16 points, while draining 3-of-6 attempts from 3-point distance and held Barons' offensive-machine, Matanya Kidron (averaging close to 25 ppg), to a mere four points. NDP goes into 2010 sporting a 3-2 record.

Bonus Bytes - The Nickname Express

2009-12-30T02:31:00.001-05:00

Southfield-Lathrup hoop king Roy Marble, Jr. is much improved from last season. The 6-6 Iowa-bound senior is averaging 28 points and 12 rebounds per game and showing a much more aggressive, attacking nature in his on-the-court demeanor. This increase in versatility will serve him well playing in the rough and rugged Big Ten Conference throughout the next few years. Marble, Jr. is a hardwood assassin with killer offensive-instincts that I compare to a local prep version of Reggie Miller or Ray Allen. In fact, I'm going to nickname him "Jesus Shuttlesworth", after Allen's cinematic alter-ego in the 1998 Spike Lee classic, "He Got Game." Living up to the comparison, Marble, Jr. scored 33 points – including four 3-pointers and four slam dunks points – and grabbed eight rebounds in the Chargers' defeat of Detroit Denby last Saturday night.

Drew Gilchrest, Marble, Jr.'s teammate, also played a big role in Lathrup's win over Denby and deserves his own nickname. A three year-varsity performer, Gilchrest has been rock-solid in the Chargers' backcourt – a jack of all trades on the hardwood if you will. Often overshadowed by his all-state running buddy, "Shuttlesworth", Gilchrest flies under the radar, but there is no doubt that his contribution to the Lathrup line-up is an integral cog in the Chargers' attack. His play down the stretch against Denby was the definition of money in the bank. Therefore, I have decided to nickname him, "G-Money". Gilchrest pumped in three straight hoops over a 90 second span in the final three and a half minutes of the game to propel Lathrup to it's second "W" of the year.

While we're on the subject of nicknames, "The Natural" a.k.a. North Farmington's Kyle Vinales, lived up to the moniker I tagged on him last week in his final outing prior to the New Year when he broke out huge again and dropped his second consecutive 40-point performance on a very good Detroit Henry Ford defense. Keep getting busy for Burney, KV and bust up a few dozen nets or so while in the process. Junior DCD transfer and D1 power forward-recruit, Urban Bingham's arrival into the line-up in January is certain to open things more up for Vinales (Grand Valley State) on the outside. Now, that's a scary thought!

It appears that former Birmingham Detroit Country Day star, Jordan Dumars, is on the move back to playing hoops again in his home state. A two year starter for the Yellowjackets and a member of the 2007 Class B state championship team, Dumars, a 6-6 wing with outstanding shooting-range, graduated from Country Day last spring and accepted a scholarship to play his collegiate ball at the University of South Florida. Now, it appears his future at the next level will be at an in-state school, either, Michigan, Michigan St., or the University of Detroit-Mercy. Apparently, Dumars was displeased with his experience down south and has left the USF program, returning to his family's Franklin Township residence to stay over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Heeding counsel from his father, NBA Hall of Famer and Detroit Pistons GM, Joe Dumars, Jordan is apparently "leaning towards" ending up in Ann Arbor and playing for UofM head coach John Belein and the 3-point happy-Wolverines offense. Since scholarship availability is scarce in the UofM program at this moment, rumors are that he would be brought into the fold, at least initially, as a preferred walk-on. Dumars is a great kid, but he is a very one-dimensional player - he's an excellent stand-still perimeter shooter, yet currently lacks multiple facets to his overall game. That said, Belein's program looks like it would be a great fit – Especially, when Southfield's Carlton Brundidge (a master "drive-and-kick" specialist) arrives on campus in 2011.

Former DCD star, Alex Legion is transferring for the one-zilliionth time. This time, Legion is leaving Illinois for a destination still yet to be determined. Legion, an all-state swingman for the Yellow Jackets in his junior season, left the program his senior season to play for national prep powerhouse, Oak Hill Academy. Originally signing with Michigan, he decided to go to Kentucky instead. Unhappy with his time in Lexington, he transferred to Illinois. No doubt, Legion is a talent. However his reputation as "tough to coach" has hounded him for years and it's not really surprising he's going on his third college hoops program in the past four years.

Undaunted Desire

2009-12-29T02:43:00.001-05:00

YELLOWJACKETS CONTINUE TO BUZZ, MAKE IT TWO STRAIGHT AGAINST OUT OF STATE COMPETITION

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

Special to The Oakland Press

BEVERLY HILLS

Birmingham Detroit Country Day doesn't discriminate – the Yellowjackets take on all comers, near and far. After posting four straight victories to start the season against in-state opponents, the Country Day boys basketball squad has used this past week to expand their on-court resume to now include back-to-back wins over a pair of highly-vaunted out-of-state teams.

Last Tuesday, Country Day went down to Indiana and crushed number two-ranked in the state, Ft. Wayne Bishop Lauers, 93-77, in the Midwest Basketball Challenge held in Indianapolis. On Monday night in their own home gym, the Yellowjackets continued their trend of slaying out-of-state giants and took down a scrappy and talented Madison Memorial team – a defending state champion and the number 3 ranked team in Wisconsin – by the score of 61-48 in front of a packed house in the third day-finale of the 15^th annual Motor City Roundball Classic.

The Yellowjackets are now 6-0 overall and will look to make it three in a row against out-of-state foes on Wednesday when they host Gary Wallace High School out of the Northwest Indiana area. Memorial goes to 4-2 on the year with the defeat.

Country Day's effort was highlighted by senior floor general, Ray McCallum, Jr., who scored a game-high 19 points, while registering seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. One of the best point guards in the country coming off an All-State junior season, McCallum has narrowed his college choices down to four schools: Arizona, UCLA, Florida, and the University of Detroit-Mercy, where his father, Ray, Sr., is the head coach.

"We're going to bring it every night no matter who we're playing," said McCallum outside the locker room after the game. "Games like this prove what kind of team we are and what kind of player I am. I don't fear anybody. This team doesn't fear anybody either. I want to make a statement every time I lead this team onto the court. That's what we've been doing and that's what we're going to keep doing."

Juniors Amir Williams and Lee Bailey were active and aggressive on both ends of the court throughout the entire contest and proved equally lethal to the Memorial defense as their heavily-sought after teammate did. Patrolling the paint with an intimidating flair, the 6-10 Williams, a premiere big man in the recruiting Class of 2011, scored 15 points, corralled 12 rebounds, and blocked four shots. Bailey, a two-sport stud who also excels on the football field, chipped in with 14 points, five assists, three steals and a lockdown defensive performance against the Spartans' All-State combo-guard, Vander Blue, who he helped hold to 14 points.

Memorial has been to back-to-back Wisconsin state championship games and last season led by current Marquette Golden Eagle Jevonne Maymon, won it all. Blue is slated to join Maymon in Milwaukee next year, as he signed a letter of intent with head coach's Buzz Williams' Golden Eagles program in November. The Spartans entered this season ranked number one in the state, but fell two spots in the polls following a loss at the buzzer in their home state last week

From start to finish, Country Day was the better team. Leading 17-11 after the first quarter, the Yellowjackets made it a 31-23 ballgame at the break courtesy of McCallum's pull-up 25-foot 3-pointer that just beat the second quarter buzzer. A McCallum tip-slam on the fast break pumped the Country Day lead up to 14 points early in the third quarter and his acrobatic three point-play just a few minutes later provided the Yellowjackets a comfortable 48-34 lead. Junior reserve power forward, Carter Elliott's offensive rebound and put back in the closing seconds of the third quarter placed the score at 50-34 going into the fourth.

Refusing to go its demise quietly, Memorial kept playing hard and eventually cut its deficit all the way down to seven points in the final 90 seconds of the game. Five straight points by Spartans' senior guard Tre Cramer made it 52-45 with 1:29 remaining. But Country Day wouldn't be denied and outscored Memorial 9-3 the rest of the way, causing several turnovers that McCallum and company were able to turn into transition buckets. Two free throws by Bailey at the 1:14 mark of the fourth that pushed the Yellowjackets advantage back to double-digits at 55-45 were followed up by two spectacular plays by McCallum to close things out.

First, he stole a Spartan pass at mid-court and fed a streaking Williams for an authoritative slam dunk on the other end. Finally, as the closing seconds of the game ticked away, he made another steal and soared in for a rim-rattling, two-handed slam himself that brought the capacity crowd to its feet.

"If we're playing at our best, it is really pick your poison with this team," said Country Day head coach, Kurt Keener, in the locker room following his team's win. "Ray is so athletic and smart, you just can't contain him for an entire game. And the rest of the backcourt in Chris (Fowler) and Lee (Bailey) are playing at a level right now where I have complete confidence in them. On the other hand, Amir is so good down low, he'll really hurt a team if they focus too much on our perimeter play. Teams are forced to shift their offense and defense to adjust to his presence. These are big games we've been playing early on and I like how we've responded so far."

Soaring Phoenix

2009-12-28T02:29:00.001-05:00

PHOENIX BACKCOURT PROVES DIFFERENCE IN NARROW PONTIAC TRIUMPH

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

Special to The Oakland Press

BEVERLY HILLS

Pontiac's backcourt of juniors Anthony Adams and Juwaan Moody lived up to their respective nicknames on Saturday night in the 15^th annual Motor City Roundball Classic played at Birmingham Detroit Country Day. Adams, nicknamed "The Ant", was a constant annoyance to the opposition all game long with his pesky defense and timely-scoring and teamed with Moody, who holds the moniker, "The Surgeon", to provide doctor-like precision on the floor and spark the Phoenix to a 59-57 defeat of a tough-as-nails Goodrich squad.

Moody, a slippery-fast and offensively-gifted transfer from Orchard Lake St. Mary's, started things off by scoring 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half and giving Pontiac a 28-25 lead at the intermission. Taking the proverbial baton in the second half, Adams, a feisty and headstrong point guard, finished things out by scoring the last seven points of the game for the Phoenix, including the go-head hoop that broke a 52-52 deadlock with just under two minutes to play. His steal and score at the 1:52 mark of the fourth quarter put Pontiac up for good. Along with his eight assists and five steals, Adams knocked down 3-of-4 free throw attempts in the game's final 45 seconds to clinch the win for his team.

The Phoenix push their record to 2-1 overall. Goodrich was led in the scoring column by senior Mitch Vallie's 20 points and falls to 4-2. Not the least bit intimidated by the athletically-superior Phoenix, the Martians were scrappy and tenacious throughout the contest and determined to keep pace with their much speedier opponents. Sporting blue and gold colored uniforms, if one didn't know any better, it would have been easy to mistake the dead-eye shooting Goodrich squad with perennial Oakland County superpower, Clarkston – that's how well-disciplined and fundamentally-sound they played.

"That was a heck of a team we just faced," said an obviously exhausted Pontiac associate head coach, Mykel Covington following the hard-fought Phoenix win. "They executed and played great defense. I was very impressed to say the least.

Covington liked what he saw from his team when the outcome held in the balance. "The last four minutes or so, we played real tough. They kept clawing, but we scraped it out. We hit our free throws and brought some intense pressure on the defensive end that caused some important turnovers. It's a good win."

For a while it even looked as if Goodrich was going to run away with the upset. The Martians held a five point advantage with 4:39 left to play and looked to be holding the game's momentum. However, the frenetic and aggressive Pontiac guard pool was up to the test and took over when the game was on the line. Besides getting commanding contributions from Adams and Moody, the Phoenix's De Brian Lewis and Jabari Martin each came up big late. Both Lewis and Martin caused turnovers and converted fast break points in the game's final four minutes.

A 25-foot 3-pointer from the far left wing by Goodrich's Drew Patrick at the buzzer took what would have been a 5-point loss and made it a 2-point loss instead.

"We knew they could play and they came hard tonight," said Martians' 19^th year head coach, Gary Barns in the locker room after the game. "This was a great opportunity for this team to go up against a real top-quality opponent, a program with an elite tradition. I was proud of the effort. This game will be a building block for us."

THE MARVELOUS ONE

2009-12-27T02:34:00.000-05:00

MARBLE, JR. PROVES LETHAL IN CHARGERS' VICTORY

By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

Special to The Oakland Press

BEVERLY HILLS

With his dad and namesake on hand watching in the stands, Southfield-Lathrup's Roy Marble, Jr. put on a show Saturday night that would make any father proud. Torching the twine for 33 points on a variety of moves from his loaded-offensive arsenal, Marble Jr, led the Chargers to a thoroughly well-played 75-65 defeat of Detroit Denby in the 15^th annual Motor City Roundball Classic being held over the next four days at Birmingham Detroit Country Day.

Southfield-Lathrup had a rough start to the season and lost its first three games, but after Saturday's hard-fought win have now won two straight and sit at 2-3 overall. Last year, the Chargers went 12-12, but came on strong at the end of the season and capped the campaign by capturing a Class A district championship.

Marble, Jr. is the son of Big Ten hoops legend and former NBA first round draft pick, Roy Marble, Sr. and will follow in his father's footsteps next season as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Marble, Sr. is the Hawkeyes all-time leading scorer and was a member of several highly-ranked Iowa teams in the late-1980's. Through five games, Marble, Jr. is averaging 28.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

"Things are coming a little easier for me this year," he said among friends and teammates after accepting the MVP award for the game. "It's my senior season and I'm finding a comfort level in my play that suits me well on the floor. Everybody came up big tonight. We needed this win bad. I got it done when it counted and so did Bryan and Drew and that's what we're supposed to do 'cause we're the senior leaders. I hit the zone tonight and took advantage when I had the ball in my hands. My teammates were looking for me to deliver and I didn't want to let them down. I'm just glad to come away with the win."

The veteran-laden Chargers got steadfast performances by seniors Drew Gilchrest and Bryan Coleman and freshman Jonathon "John John" Williams to sufficiently augment Marble, Jr.'s high-octane effort. Gilchrest scored 12 points, including six straight late in the fourth quarter when the game was still in the balance that significantly aided in pushing the Chargers over the finish line. Coleman chipped in with nine points and 12 rebounds and Williams, one of the best ninth graders in the whole state, did a quality job of running the team's offense, scoring seven points, delivering five assists and collecting three steals.

Playing great defense and consistently converting on the transition, Southfield-Lathrup was smoking hot early. Consecutive crafty scores in traffic by Williams and a steal and slam dunk by Marble, Jr. put the Chargers in front 8-1 and caused Denby head coach, Charles Albright to call a time- out. Coming out of the huddle, Marble Jr. wasted little time getting back to work and immediately drained a triple from the deep left wing to start things back off. Another 3-pointer by Marble, Jr. in the final seconds of the first quarter made it 18-6 heading into the second.

Coleman's running-hook shot in the lane gave Southfield-Lathrup a 33-20 lead at halftime. The third quarter was all Chargers. After Marble, Jr's dead-eye perimeter play loosened up the Denby defense in the first half, the 6-6 small forward attacked the basket with ferocity in the second half. His thunderous baseline jam kicked off the Chargers' scoring barrage in the third quarter and his leaning foul line-jumper made it a 37-22 ballgame in Southfield-Lathrup's favor. The Chargers outscored the Tars 16-5 in the pivotal quarter and received spirited play by reserves Anthony Nelson and Delvon Borgan. Both Nelson and Borgan contributed energetic defense and key fast break buckets in the team's early-second half run.

Leading 49-25 after three, the Chargers were ahead 51-28 at the 6:57 mark of the fourth quarter and spectators began to file out of the gym, assuming the contest was over. Albright's Tars had different ideas. Denby kept plugging away and eventually made it a game once again when Cedric Little's two free throws got the Tars' deficit into single digits at the score of 62-52 with 4:08 left to play. Derek Barden's put-back got Denby to within five points, 64-59.

Emerging from a time-out where Southfield-Lathrup head coach Mike Avery pleaded for senior leadership to close out the game, Gilchrest, a third year-varsity letterman, heeded his coach's call and reeled off three straight field goals to give the Chargers' back some breathing room. But the Tars wouldn't go away just yet and Deontae Bonner's 3-pointer from well behind the 3-point line at the 1:55 mark of the fourth took the Southfield-Lathrup lead back down to five points at 68-63.

As his father sat sporting a wide smile at his son's more than stellar outing, Marble, Jr. sewed up the victory by drilling a pair of free throws and ending the game on a highlight reel-worthy slam dunk that sent the Chargers bench into celebration.

"Denby had a lot of fight in them tonight, they just kept coming at us and that's impressive," said Avery in the lockeroom following the win. "We have to learn to close out games a little better than we have been doing so far. Roy (Marble, Jr) had a great game. He makes my job a lot easier. And he isn't just a scorer, he makes other players around him so much better too and that's invaluable. I thought our intensity and defense was excellent in the first half, but I thought we had a bit of a letdown that I didn't like to see late in the second half.

Avery sees the benefit of playing a rigorous non-conference schedule, per this season. "I tell the team, 'Championships aren't won in December.' These are the weeks we push and test ourselves and hopefully grow and learn from the experience. Going through the battles in these types of games and these types of atmospheres are going to help us in the long run."

Denby was led by Bonner's 21 points. The Tars, who have been playing without their two best players this month due to transfer rules, drop to 0-4 on the year. Isaiah Sykes and Brandon Williams, both Division One-level recruits, joined the Denby hoop squad this season after playing the past two seasons at Detroit Finney and won't be eligible to play until January.

Southfield-Lathrup will have little time to bask in the glow of Saturday's win as Avery and his Chargers must start preparing for their Monday match-up with national powerhouse Detroit Pershing at Detroit Cass Tech.

The Great Burnzini Returns - Holiday Season Hoops Picks

2009-12-26T02:35:00.001-05:00

Saturday

Southfield-Lathrup v. Detroit Denby (at Birmingham Detroit Country Day) – If the Tars' Isaiah Sykes (Detroit Finney transfer) was eligible to play I might feel differently, but the Chargers have been playing tough in their opening season losses and I see them breaking through into the win column against Denby Saturday night. Roy Marble goes for another double-double and Drew Gilchrest hits a big-time "3" down the stretch to pull out the win for Lathrup.

SL 74, Denby 71

Sunday

Auburn Hills Avondale v. Academy of Oak Park (at Birmingham Detroit Country Day) – This game will be a close one for sure. AOP has some D1-quality talent in Demetrius Abner, Kendrick Ward and Cimerone Porter and they will be an interesting match-up for the Yellow Jackets' super-quick backcourt consisting of Ray Tillman, Tony Harris, and Tre Webb. The difference in this game could end up being the play of the Avondale frontcourt comprised of Malcom Little and Ryan Brancheau. Burney foresees Tillman drilling a buzzer-beater from the foul line to win it for the 'Jackets.

Avondale 76 AOP 74 (OT)

Pontiac v. Goodrich (at Birmingham Detroit Country Day) – The fighting Phoenix are just starting to round into form, as they try to adapt to a new roster blended with several transfers and players from both now-defunct Northern and Central squads. Juwaan Moody (a transfer from Orchard Lake St. Mary's) is so hot out of the box in his new Purple digs his swagger level is approaching a cool one hundred-thousand trillion.

OLSM 80 Goodrich 65

West Bloomfield v. Yspilanti (at Birmingham Detroit Country Day) – Get busy my main man, Larry Johnson!!! Spencer Parker posts a double-double, Blake Johnson's two free throws take things into OT and Lil' Gran Mama's 3-pointer in the closing seconds on the extra-session brings home the "W" for the Lakers.

Tha WB 71, Ypsi 69 (OT)

Monday

Birmingham Brother Rice v. Berkley (at Madison Heights Bishop Foley) – Kevonte Martin-Manley celebrates his recent football scholarship to BCS-bound Iowa by getting his hoop-hustle on against the Berkley defense for a game-high 25 points. Warriors play the role of Anthony Hopkins in the 1998 thriller, "The Edge" and the Bears play, well, the Bear who Hopkins kills in the underrated late-90's climatic cinema classic

Brother Rice 67, Berkley 60

Southfield-Lathrup v. Detroit Pershing (at Detroit Cass Tech) – I love me some Roy Marble, Drew Gilchrest, and Bryan Coleman, but defeating the rock-solid and athletically-freakish Doughboys is a tall task. The Chargers put up a fight, but Keith Appling and his Pershing soldiers are just too good in the end.

Pershing 83, Southfield-Lathrup 71

Birmingham Detroit Country Day v. Madison Memorial (at Birmingham Detroit Country Day) – Ray McCallum goes all RAY MCCALLUM!!!!! …………and the 'Jackets stay unbeaten

DCD 78 Madison Memorial 58

Tuesday

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook v. Clawson – You can't stop the Trojans' Joe Baker, you can only hope to contain him.

Clawson 68 BH Cranbrook 62

Wednesday

Birmingham Detroit Country Day v. Gary Lew Wallace (at Birmingham Detroit Country Day) – Ray McCallum goes all RAY MCCALLUM!!!!!!............and the 'Jackets stay unbeaten. Wait, didn't I just write that? Doesn't matter, McCallum and his game are out of control, completely un-checkable and won't let any team, whether a squad from the hoops hotbed of Indiana or not, come into his house and steal a win.

DCD 84 Lew Wallace 66

Burney Claus

2009-12-25T02:48:00.001-05:00

If Burney was Santa Clause, these are the gifts he would give out to some of the OC's finest on this glorious '09 Christmas holiday season:

To North Farmington's Kyle Vinales and Birmingham Seaholm's Richaud Pack, I would give a couple truckloads of Ice to cool down from their blazing hot starts with

To longtime Troy boys basketball head coach Gary Fralick, I would give another four freshman just like rising-phenom, James Young – Wow! This kid is a talent and a half!!!

To longtime Clarkston boys basketball head coach Dan Fife, I would give another few transfers like 6-5 junior Marcus Hardy (an emerging inside-outside threat when he gets more comfortable in the Wolves offensive system)

To Southfield's Carlton Brundidge, I would give just a few more dimes so he could go from putting up double-doubles every night to putting up triple-doubles every night

To Auburn Hills Avondale boys basketball head coach Tim Webb, I would deliver back former hot-shooting star forward De Marquis Johnson to the Yellow Jackets roster so he could add the 6-5 junior who moved with his parents to Arizona to his already scary-good mix of perimeter players, including standout guards Ray Tillman, Tony Harris, and Tre Webb.

To Waterford Our Lady of The Lakes' junior girls hoop mogul Lauren Robak, I would give a healthy return to the hardwood in January – Your amazing antics on the court are greatly missed, just ask your dad…….lol

To head coach Mike Avery and his Southfield-Lathrup boys hoop squad, I would give an easier schedule to open the 2009/2010 season with and a win to kick-off the New Year

To Cameron Fields (West Bloomfield), Niko Palazeti (Novi Detroit Catholic Central), and Tyler Scarlett (Clarkston), I would give D1 football scholarship – all three of these underrated and underappreciated (at least in recruiting circles) football studs deserve a shot to play at the next level

To Birmingham Seaholm's Shawn Conway, I would give a deadly-accurate quarterback to play with for his senior season on the gridiron next fall – this kid is the genuine article on the football field, not to mention the basketball court, and is undervalued because most of his surrounding Maples teammates have trouble competing at anywhere near his level of play

To Seaholm football coach Chris Fahr, I would give a trip the post-season in 2010 – Fahr, his program, and their outstanding fan-base deserve it after two straight years of choppy waters on the field.