Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Lansing Sexton: State Final | March 24, 2012

on Thursday, 29 March 2012.

After a Saturday of watching Southfield Christian win the Class D Championship, Flint Beecher win the Class C Championship and Saginaw win the Class A Championship on TV, it is time for our Bleacher Denizen to roll himself off the couch and over to the Breslin.  Sexton is playing Stevensville Lakeshore in the finals tonight.  Sexton is led by three Division I recruits.  Denzel Valentine will be taking his superb all-around game to Michigan State next year.  Anthony Clemmons will go to Iowa and Bryn Forbes will go to Michigan State.  Jalen Hayes, the 6’ 7” Junior Center has an offer to play at DePaul.  What is really cool about Sexton is how aggressively they hustle on defense and how well and willingly they pass the ball.  All four of these guys can dunk and do just about anything you would need on the offensive end, but they put the team first instead of trying to enhance their individual statistics.

Stevensville Lakeshore pulled away from a solid Muskegon Heights team last night.  I don’t know much about them; last night, Ryan Avery led them with 20 points; Loren Johnson had 13 and Alex Klunder had 10.  Keith Brushwyler was an aggressive rebounder off the bench and he had eight points.

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Detroit Country Day vs. Lansing Sexton: State Semifinal | March 23, 2012

on Thursday, 29 March 2012.

One great thing about living in Lansing is that our Bleacher Denizen can catch the State Class B Semifinals by making a short hop to the Breslin Center.  This is awful; our Bleacher Denizen has plagiarized himself and repeated the opening sentence from his Class D Semifinal Blog.  Laziness can be a sin, but it’s a convenient one sometimes.  Lansing Sexton is making hopes to make its third consecutive trip to the Class B Finals to defend its Class B Title from last year.

Sexton has one of the best teams the Lansing Area has seen in years.  There are four players who already have Division I scholarships.  Denzel Valentine will go to Michigan State next year and he almost won Mr. Basketball.  I’m not sure he has a weakness.  He has great athletic skills, can see passes that almost no other player can even imagine; he also can usually execute them.  He shoots threes, he has a great assortment of driving moves in the lane and can defend anyone from point guards to the other team’s center.  Anthony Clemmons will go to Iowa next year.  He is 6’ 1”, but a great leaper and really strong.  He also plays excellent defense, can run the point and can hit a three point shot when needed.  He is very unselfish and goes to the basket like a football halfback.

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Muskegon Catholic Central vs. Southfield Christian: State Semifinal | March 22, 2012

on Thursday, 29 March 2012.

One great thing about living in Lansing is that our Bleacher Denizen can catch the State Class D Semifinals by making a short hop to the Breslin Center.  Today, even a torrential downpour at around 5 PM did not deter our determined Bleacher Denizen in his quest to catch the Class D Semifinals.

The first game is between Muskegon Catholic Central and Southfield Christian.  I have seen one of Muskegon Catholic games last year and one this year.  Each time, they knocked a local team out of the tournament.  Their best three players are All-State Center Jason Ribecky, rugged forward Cari Campbell and Adam Callow a point guard who has a nice three point shot.  Jacob Budde and John Daniel are the other starters.  These guys play well together on defense and run plays with the efficiency needed to consistently get the ball inside to Ribecky who is a really tough and determined scorer inside.

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Okemos vs. Rockford: State Quarterfinal | March 20, 2012

on Thursday, 29 March 2012.

Okemos has really pulled it together in the tournament!  Even though they lost eight games in the regular season, they have won their regional and are playing in the State Quarterfinal tonight!  To be fair, the eight losses happened in one of the toughest leagues in the State this year.  Two losses were to Sexton, who has four Division 1 players and a freshman who will probably be that good when he goes to college.  Two losses were to Eastern who was in the top five in the state for most of the year.  The league was a major hurdle, but it must have made the Okemos team that much better for the adversity.  Our Bleacher Denizen’s mission tonight is to blog the quarterfinal game between Rockford and Okemos over at Eastern’s Don Johnson Fieldhouse.  Both teams seem to draw pretty well; I will guess that there are at least 2000 people here.

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Fulton vs. Muskegon Catholic Central | Regional Final | March 14, 2012

on Thursday, 15 March 2012.

Tonight, it’s time for another trip to Mt. Pleasant for the Regional Final.  Fulton and Muskegon Catholic Central are staging a rematch of last year’s Regional Final. 

Fulton showed amazing poise and determination in beating Number One Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian on Monday night.  It was a major defensive battle and the Fulton players were all-in with whatever it took to win that slugfest!  The intensity displayed by both teams is something I have not seen before; it was a shame one of them had to lose.  (Although I will admit that I’m sure Fulton’s players and coaches have an altogether different take on that thought!)  Fulton showed some great defense the game I blogged from Pewamo-Westphalia and were able to step it up about six notches against Tri-Unity.

Well, enough of the past.  This Fulton team has had a great season.  They are led by four seniors.  I used to describe Tyler Walden as a sweet shooter, but he is a warrior to the core who will do whatever his team needs whether it’s handling the ball, playing tough defense or shooting one of the best threeballs in the state this year.  (I guess I still couldn’t get through an intro without describing Tyler’s shot.)  Corey Hungerford is a tough and strong inside player as well as Cody Johnson.  They rebound well, play strong defense inside and can shoot outside and help handle the ball when the team needs that from them.  Brandon Trefil is an all-around guard who has a really clever approach to the game.  He is good for a couple steals in most games, and is pretty clever handling the ball and doing what he has to do to score baskets inside.  He also has a nice three point shot when he’s open outside.

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Fulton vs. Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian | Regional First Round | March 12, 2012

on Tuesday, 13 March 2012.


Alas.  As our Bleacher Denizen peruses the Regional Schedules, he notes that all the games are some distance away from Lansing.  (Alas, cruel fate!)  However, the Fulton Pirates are going to play at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart tonight, and that is drivable.  (However, the Bleacher Denizen intends to lobby the MHSAA to put all 8 regionals for each class in Lansing next year.  Gas is getting expensive.)

Wyoming TriUnity Christian and Fulton met in the finals last year.  TriUnity won that battle, but a lot of their best players were seniors.  Tri-Unity is Number 1 in Class D and Fulton is around Number 4 or 5 depending on the poll you read.  Fulton has not lost to a Class D team all season and the last time I blogged them they gave undefeated Class C Pewamo-Westphalia all they could handle in a game the refs had to decide after the clock expired.  (Only God knows if that shot was really released before the buzzer.  Pewamo-Westphalia had the win, but if the last shot had been released one tenth of a second later, I’ll bet Fulton would have won that.)  Pewamo-Westphalia is a great team, and to be that close on the P-W floor says a lot of good things about Fulton.

I don’t know much about TriUnity other than that Joey Blauwkamp scored a14 points as a sophomore and was a huge part of their win.  They do have some other players back from last year’s team.  

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Okemos vs. Lansing Eastern | District Final

on Monday, 12 March 2012.

Okemos and Eastern have each beaten two teams to make it to tonight’s District Final at Lansing Everett.  Okemos has lost eight games this year, but six of them were to top ten level teams in either Class A or Class B.  Two of those losses have been to Eastern.  Eastern has only lost to a team from Chicago once and to Sexton twice.  They are rated fifth in Class A right now.

Our Bleacher Denizen makes his way to the Lansing Everett Parking Lot, and hikes to the school.  Everett has good Polish Sausages and it’s dinner time, so our Bleacher Denizen indulges and spices things up with a few jalapeno slices.  More schools should do this; it’s a great mini-dinner!  I’m early and I’m able to find a great seat right behind the scorer’s table. 

Eastern is a fine team who is led by Fredrick Edmond (Boo Man), the area’s best leaper and a dynamic all-around offensive player who is also a strong and willing defender.  Amari George is a really good three point shooter who is quick and strong on defense as is Brian Morton.  Charles Tucker runs the offense, makes a lot of good passes, makes some spectacular assists and is one of the best free throw shooters in the area.

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Okemos vs. Waverly | District Second Round Game | March 7, 2012

on Thursday, 08 March 2012.

Eastern has won the first game of tonight’s double-header; now it is time to see whether they will face Okemos or Waverly.  I was really impressed with David Schmidt, the Everett Announcer who called both games tonight.  He puts a lot of excitement into the game without gratuitously calling attention to himself.  Also, it was nice to have someone to talk with between the games.  I did take some time to say “Hi” to both teams’ coaches, but they are busy before games and I can’t expect them to entertain me for 15 minutes!  David does a great job and really adds to the game!

Waverly went undefeated in its division this year and is 15-5.  Okemos took fourth place in an extremely tough CAAC Blue Division and their record with Monday night’s tournament win over Everett is 13-8.  Six of those losses are to top 15 teams, though.  Both Waverly Coach Fields and Okemos Coach Stolz stress fundamental basketball and hustling defense.  

Okemos is led by Chris Harrison-Docks, a do-everything point guard who can shoot, defend, drive, pass and is a really strong dribbler.  He has accepted a scholarship to Butler next year.  Taylor Moton is 6’ 6” and 280 pounds.  He is a major force under the basket as he can’t be moved out of his spot, has soft hands for catching the ball and is good shooting near the basket and even better than most big guys on free throws.  Jared Motley is a good leaper who is usually the third best Okemos scorer.  Jackson Miller, Corbin Polec and Denny Hodge get most of the rest of the playing time.  They are solid players who defend well, keep the ball moving and hit open shots when they need to.

Waverly’s best player is Rashaun Carroll, a really good all-around point guard who is a great ball-handler and passer and can put up points in many ways when the team calls on him for that.  Dee Roberts is a great scoring guard who is a frequent dunker, but can also hit the three point shot.  Jordan Martin plays intensely on defense and smartly on offense and will hit most of his open shots.   Scott Koenigsknecht is an emerging 6’ 5” center who is a consistent scorer near the basket and erupted for over 25 points when Waverly needed his offense in their championship game against Mason.

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Lansing Eastern vs. DeWitt | District Second Round Game | March 7, 2012

on Thursday, 08 March 2012.

Tonight, our Bleacher Denizen is off to Everett High to check out a doubleheader.  DeWitt plays Eastern in the first game and Okemos plays Waverly in the second.

Eastern is a top five team in Class A and is led by Fredrick (the Boo Man) Edmonds who is one of the best high school leapers I have ever seen.  He is a terror on defense and can hit outside shots when he needs to.  Not only does he get up high, but he has the best body control in mid-air that I have ever seen from a high school player.  Amari George is a great three point shooter and at 6’ 4” his defense complicates life for other teams in the Eastern Press.  Brian Morton is a Junior Guard who is another ferocious defender on the press, and has great all-around guard skills.  He can run the point, shoot the three and drive to the basket with skill and confidence.  Charles Tucker is a Junior Point guard who is a creative passer and comes up with some spectacular, creative assists.

I have not seen DeWitt play before, but Coach Ron Marlan tells me that Junior Ryan Anderson and Senior Nick Iacobellis are the leading scorers.

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East Lansing at Lansing Eastern | District First Round Game

on Wednesday, 07 March 2012.

The regular season has ended and it is time for the Bleacher Denizen to take in some tournament games.  Tonight, East Lansing is playing at Eastern High in the opener of the District Tournament.  

Lansing Eastern is one of the top three or four Class A Teams in the state.  Fredrick (Boo Man) Edmond is the high school basketball equivalent of a trapeze act, although the Boo Man performs without a net or wires!!  He has phenomenal jumping ability and also the ability to control his body while he is in midair.  He is one of the most entertaining players I have seen in high school.  He is strong rebounder, defender, dunker and ball-handler.  He can even hit a three point shot when Eastern needs him to.  Amari George is a 6’ 4” guard who plays intimidating defense and is probably Eastern’s best three point shooter.  Brian Morton is a 6’ 1” junior guard who is also a really strong defender, but handles the ball well, can drive to the basket and hit three pointers.  Charles Tucker is a junior point guard who can be a spectacular passer.

East Lansing is rated about 12th or so in the state depending on which poll you read.  Their best inside player, Efe Scott-Emuakpor is out after having season-ending surgery, but in my most recent blog article, East Lansing rolled to an easy win over previously undefeated Lansing Catholic without him.  Tracy Edmond is their point guard and he is as fast up and down the floor as anyone in addition to having the ball-handling, passing, shooting and defensive skills a good point guard needs to have.  John McAdoo is a 6’ 4” shooter who can drill three pointers with the best of them, but will also play hard inside.  Javon Haines is a 6’ 2” junior who can drive to the basket with the best of them.  Akil Mitchell is a 6’ 1” sophomore who is a great three point shooter.  East Lansing’s team presses, tries to push the tempo and just about anyone on the team will shoot a three point shot (and hit it) if they are open.

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East Lansing at Lansing Catholic | February 28, 2012

on Monday, 05 March 2012.


It’s Tuesday night of the last week of the season and our Bleacher Denizen has not seen Lansing Catholic since before Christmas break.  All they have done is win every game they have played this season.  They have deserved more attention, but our Bleacher Denizen has been caught up in all the good basketball that has been going on in the area.  Tonight the Bleacher Denizen is heading over to Lansing Catholic to watch them play East Lansing.

East Lansing has one of the finest three point shooters in the area in Stevie Repichowski.  He drained a bunch of them in the game I saw with Waverly before Christmas.  Cooper Rush is a strong player underneath as well as being one of the best football quarterbacks in the state.  David Poljan is a 6’ 7” sophomore who can block shots and play defense down low.  Peter Murray and Jacob Bullock are also good outside shooters. 

For East Lansing, John McAdoo is a great three point shooter and Tracy Edmond is as quick and fast as anyone when running the point.  Efe Scott-Emuakpor is out for the season after having an operation, but David Munroe has been solid in the middle in his place.  Javon Haines can slash to the basket and is a really effective scorer.  Akil Mitchell and Ahmad Newsome get most of the rest of the time; each of them is a good three point shooter.  East Lansing presses, tries to speed the tempo up and shoots a lot of three point shots.  

The game starts off with three minutes of the teams missing a variety of shots and committing the occasional turnover.  No scoring happens until Steve Repichowski drives in to hit a six footer from the side.  (I’ll let the coaches declare whether it was great defense, bad offense or something in between.)  Now within 30 seconds, though, Tracy Edmond nails a three pointer, Javon Haines gets a steal and fast break layup for East Lansing and Repichowski swishes a triple for Catholic.  The score is now 5-5 with 4:30 to go in the quarter.  Javon Haines hits a jumper from the free throw line to give East Lansing a 7-5 lead.  Lansing Catholic misses; East Lansing responds with an airball.  Javon Haines hustles and nearly gets a steal, but Catholic keeps the ball.  They miss their next shot.  East Lansing misses its shot.  Lansing Catholic misses, but Cooper Rush gets the rebound and snaps a pass to Dillon Rush to snaps a pass to Steve Repichowski to earn a layup for Catholic that ties the game at 7-7.  East Lansing misses its next shot.

David Munroe blocks a Catholic shot, but Catholic gets the ball back.  Tracy Edmond gets a steal.  East Lansing misses its next shot and Peter Murray gets the ball to Cooper Rush for a layup and he’s fouled.  He hits his free throw to put Catholic back on top 10-7.  East Lansing misses a shot and Cooper Rush puts Catholic on top by five with a putback.

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Sexton at Eastern | February 24, 2012

on Monday, 27 February 2012.

Well, tonight the Bleacher Denizen is going to watch the Number 1 Team in Class B (Sexton) go across town to the play the Number 1 Team in Class A (Eastern) play to determine whether Sexton wins the league championship outright or shares it with Eastern. 

Sexton has a trio of Division One Guards to lead their team.  Denzel Valentine will play at Michigan State next year and can do anything you need him to do.  He is a great and versatile defender, can shoot the three, can handle the ball, can dunk and is one of the best passers I have seen in a long time.  Anthony (Sap) Clemmons will play at Iowa next year.  He is 6’ 1” and very quick and strong.  He can rebound with anyone, run the point, shoot and is probably the best on Sexton at driving to the hoop with his combination of strength and speed.  Bryn Forbes is a 6’ 3” player who has become a much better ball handler and far more athletic this year.  Everyone has admired Bryn’s outside shot for a long time; he’s one of the best shooters in the state this year!  He will play for Cleveland State next year. Also, 6’ 7” Junior Jalen Hayes, who has an offer from DePaul, is a great defender inside and can dribble the ball really well for a big man.  Jeff Cain, Kyren Kemp and 6’ 8” Freshman Trevor Manuel are all strong defenders who handle the ball dependably on offense and hit open shots when they need to.

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St. Johns at Waverly | February 21, 2012

on Wednesday, 22 February 2012.

Tonight, our Bleacher Denizen is off on a shorter journey across town to Waverly High.  Waverly and St. Johns both won their divisions in the CAAC this year.  

Waverly is led by Senior Rashaun Carroll, a three year starter who is a great leader, clever ball-handler, strong passer, can drive, shoot three pointers and like everyone on Waverly, plays tough defense.  Dee Roberts is similarly a strong all-around guard who can do anything you would want from a guard.  He is very aggressive and can even get up and dunk it when the time is right.  Scott Koenigsknecht is a Junior Center who just had 28 points in Waverly’s win over Mason last Friday.  Jordan Martin is a glue-type player who plays strong defense, moves the ball well on offense and will hit his open shots.  Louis Brown starts most games and is a typical Waverly player who is aggressive on defense and plays smart on offense.

St. Johns won their division despite having their leading scorer, Jon Harden, out for most of the season.  Nate Feldpausch leads them with 11 points and four rebounds per game and Zach Glanz averages eight points and eight rebounds per game.


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Fulton at Pewamo-Westphalia | February 17, 2012

on Monday, 20 February 2012.

Another Day, Another Road Trip for our traveling Bleacher Denizen!  Tonight’s road trip will take us out to Westphalia where the undefeated and third ranked Pirates of Pewamo-Westphalia (Class C) will host the fifth ranked Pirates of Fulton (Class D). 

I have not seen Pewamo-Westphalia play yet this year.  (I cringe to say that I have ignored this great team, but there are so many great teams around Lansing this year.  I hope Pirate fans will forgive me!)  Coach Luke Pohl is kind enough to give me a few minutes of his time before the game to tell me of his team.  Every serious high school basketball fan has heard of Sophomore Guard Nick Spitzley.  He is one of the best sophomores in the state!  He is a 6’2” guard who has a great shot and is a lot stronger than most sophomores.  This is the first time I will get to see him play.  Coach Pohl tells me that his other starters are Justin Thelen, an all-around guard who is really competitive, Damon Pline, a guard who plays tough defense and excels at the traditional point guard ball-handling and passing skills, 6-6 Junior Ty Simon, a tough inside player and Sophomore Lane Simon, a 6-5 player who is very athletic.  Many thanks to Coach Pohl for taking the time to do this; he’s plenty busy before the game!

Fulton made the finals in Class D last year (and made one of the best comebacks I have ever seen to win their semi-final game at the Breslin.)  I’d also like to give a great shout-out to everyone from Fulton.  Starting with Coach Todd Walden, they have made me feel right at home every time I have covered them this year and have been really supportive as to hitting the link and reading the articles.  A big thank you to everyone from Fulton for all your support!  This town has really rallied behind their team!


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Lansing Christian at Genesee Christian | February 16, 2012

on Monday, 20 February 2012.

Our Bleacher Denizen is in for a Road Trip tonight.  Lansing Christian is travelling to Burton to play Genesee Christian, and of course, our Bleacher Denizen will go there, too.

While I don’t know much about Genesee Christian, they have had some strong teams in recent years.  

Lansing Christian has won its district every year since 2003.  They play in a league where most of the schools are have a lot more students than they do.  (Lansing Christian is the only Class D School in its league.)  In their last game, they beat a Class B team and Skylar Ross had well over 20 points.  Steven Hofman also does quite a bit of scoring and rebounding for Lansing Christian.  Junior Jay Noyola handles the ball, scores some points and does a lot of things that don’t always show up in the box score, but are necessary for a team to play well.  Austin Cattley can get hot from the three point line.

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