Balanced Muskegon 'D'-termined to Reign
January 10, 2017
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Jermayne Golidy emerged as the “go-to” player on Saturday in Muskegon’s first real test of this young basketball season.
But the smooth, 6-foot-4 senior wasn’t even in the starting lineup on the previous night in a lopsided win at cross-town rival Muskegon Mona Shores.
“That’s the kind of team we are – you never know who will be the leading scorer,” said Golidy, who finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots as Muskegon rallied from a halftime deficit to post an impressive 68-55 win over visiting powerhouse Chicago Whitney Young in the final game of the Muskegon Showcase tournament at Redmond-Potter Gymnasium. “I came out a little shaky and nervous, but I knew I had to start playing if we were going to win.”
Defense has always been paramount for Muskegon basketball, but fifth-year head coach Keith Guy knows that in order for the Big Reds to get back and compete for another Class A championship after winning it all in 2015, it will take three other Ds:
Diversity on offense, depth and good decisions.
“We don’t have one guy on this team; we have 10 guys who can put it on the floor and score,” said Guy, whose team is off to a 6-0 start. “We have to use all of our weapons and we have to make good decisions with the ball. If we do that, we’ll be fine.”
It’s a change from recent Muskegon teams which featured a marquee player surrounded by a supporting cast. DeShaun Thrower (2014) and Deyonta Davis (2015) were back-to-back Mr. Basketball Award winners, and last year’s team relied on the senior backcourt duo of Michael Littlejohn and Linwood Lee at crunch time.
This year’s team may not have any five-star college recruits, but the sum of its parts may be better than any other team in the state.
Golidy was one of those supporting cast members the past two seasons who is still trying to adjust his mindset in his senior year.
He started off the season with a game-high 20 points in a victory at Rockford, then was relatively quiet over the next three games, seemingly slipping back into his understudy role.
So his coach benched him.
“We thought we could get more out of him,” explained Guy, who has a 96-13 record at Muskegon, where he is assisted by Maurice Sain, Louis Murray and Josh Wall. “He had a rough week of practice, so he did not start against (Mona) Shores. We put him back out there, and he responded.”
After playing just 13 minutes and scoring eight points in the win over Shores, Golidy came out with renewed purpose against Chicago Whitney Young, an elite magnet public school which boasts such distinguished alumni as Michelle Obama and Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers. Golidy basically never left the floor, playing 30 of 32 minutes.
Muskegon trailed 23-21 at halftime, but it was a 3-pointer early in the third quarter which put the Big Reds ahead to stay. When defenders came out on him, Golidy drove his lean frame to the basket, while also scoring on offensive rebounds and putbacks. Golidy finished 10 of 15 from the floor (with two 3-pointers) and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line.
“I feel like I can play all-around,” said Golidy, who helped the Big Reds to the Class A Regional Finals last year, where they were upset by Hudsonville. “Each game might be different. If we are getting out-rebounded, I’ll go down in the paint. If we need a 3, I’ll take that.”
The problem for Muskegon opponents is that Golidy is just one of four extremely versatile seniors in the Big Reds’ starting lineup who all measure between 6-4 and 6-6 and can play both inside and outside, thereby creating a matchup nightmare.
Markell Jackson (6-6) is the tallest and thinnest of the four, with a massive wingspan that has allowed him to grab a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game. Anthony Bethea III (6-5) is the strongest and most natural post player, and has a nice left-handed shooting stroke. Sam Cornett Jr. (6-5), who joined the Big Reds after formerly playing for his dad Sam at Grandville, supplies speed and ball-handling skills of a guard.
One of the biggest challenges for Guy is keeping those seniors engaged and challenged throughout the long season.
Muskegon, frankly, has not been tested much in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black since Guy came over from Muskegon Heights in 2012. Therefore, he has made it a point to seek out the best nonconference opponents he can find, often in early-season tournaments.
Already this winter, Muskegon has knocked off East Kentwood in the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic over Christmas break and Chicago Whitney Young at the Muskegon Showcase last weekend. Next up is a tussle with host school Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills in Saturday’s fourth and final game at the annual Floyd Mayweather Basketball Classic.
“We love these big games; that’s where we play our best,” said Golidy. “We’re trying to go 28-0, get a ring and get a state championship. Those are our goals.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon senior Jermayne Golidy looks to make a move during the Big Reds' 68-45 win over East Kentwood in the Meijer Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 28 at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer High School. (Middle) Muskegon coach Keith Guy and his bench look on during the Big Reds' win over East Kentwood. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)
River Rouge Takes Title Dream Into Final
March 15, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – At River Rouge, 14 MHSAA championship banners tell of one of the most storied programs in Michigan high school boys basketball history.
They don’t hang banners there for making the Semifinals or finishing runner-up.
That’s been on the minds of Panthers players all season after falling in the Semifinals the last two – and it was on their minds again as Friday’s Division 2 Semifinal against unbeaten Harper Woods Chandler Park went into overtime.
River Rouge saw a lead as large as 10 fade away during regulation, and then barely earned overtime on a last-second 3-pointer. But on the 20th anniversary of their last championship, the Panthers will get the opportunity to play for possibly the next after hanging on for a 72-66 victory at the Breslin Center.
“We need to win. I need to do whatever it takes to win the state championship. That’s what was going through my mind the whole time,” said River Rouge sophomore Legend Geeter of the game’s final stretch.
“I’ve been (to Breslin) once and lost in the Semifinals, and it was not a great feeling. In my mind, in order for this program to keep being great, we’ve got to win another state championship and put another banner up.”
River Rouge (23-2) will take on Hudsonville Unity Christian in Saturday’s 6:45 p.m. Final, in a rematch of the 1963 Class B championship game won by the Panthers 59-49.
Coach LaMonta Stone, who led the 1999 team, returned in November after two seasons away for his third tenure running the program and immediately told his players this season would be “state championship or bust” – but also that his expectation was that they would win title 15.
River Rouge has the most championships in the MHSAA’s 94-year history, but none during the 2000s, and the Panthers couldn’t bear the thought of another opportunity slipping away.
The double-digit lead – 33-23 just less than a minute into the second half – did slip away gradually over the third and fourth quarters. Senior Josh Diggs gave Chandler Park a 58-56 lead with a 3-pointer with 49 seconds to go in regulation, and two free throws by senior Andre Bradford pushed the advantage to three with 13 seconds left. But senior Nigel Colvin saved River Rouge’s championship hopes, taking a pass down the baseline on the ensuing possession, moving two steps to his right and draining a 3-pointer with three seconds left on the clock.
“Nigel when I came into this team was just a spot-up shooter,” Stone said. “But he’s the hardest-working kid on the team. Every day before practice, after practice, he’s working on his 1-2 dribble pull-up. He doesn’t want to be known as just a 3-point shooter.
“So when I saw that shot, and he had to get it off, I’m just thinking back to when he’s in the gym after practice, before practice, working on those type of shots where he has to take one or two dribbles and shoot the ball. Two or three months (ago), he couldn’t have made that play – because he was just a spot-up shooter.”
Colvin hit another 3-pointer to open the overtime scoring, and Chandler Park senior forward Tyland Tate answered to tie things back up. But a Geeter basket with 1:50 to play gave the Panthers the lead back for good, as they finished on a 7-3 run.
The loss was the first and only this season for Chandler Park (21-1), which won its first Regional title last week on the way to this first trip to the Semifinals.
“You saw the support we had. A lot of people came out,” Chandler Park coach James Scott said. “Small charter school, on the end of the east side, Harper Woods area. So I thought it was big to show that we have talent, we’ve got some players and it’s a program on the rise. From making this type of run, every year, moving forward.”
Bradford had 14 points and three steals, and senior guard Derrick Bryant Jr. had team highs of 15 points and six assists for Chandler Park.
Colvin finished with 20 points to lead River Rouge, making 8-of-10 shots from the floor including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Geeter added 17 points and six rebounds and senior Donavan Freeman scored 12. Senior Bralin Toney had seven assists.
PHOTOS: (Top) River Rouge players embrace senior Nigel Colvin after his game-tying 3-pointer during the final seconds of regulation Friday. (Middle) Donavan Freeman (1) gets a shot up just out of the reach of Chandler Park’s Tyland Tate.