Bingham's Game Grows with Size, Skills
December 20, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
GRAND RAPIDS – Standing 6-foot-10, Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Marcus Bingham, Jr., has a rare combination of size, length and skill.
However, another asset in his overall game has come to the surface during the early weeks of this season.
“He’s leading our team in 3-point percentage,” Catholic Central coach TJ Meerman said.
For Bingham, who has averaged 27 points and 16 rebounds during the Cougars’ 3-0 start, the improved range has come through his time in the gym.
“It all ties in with the work I’ve put in on my shot,” Bingham said. “And I’m just going to keep getting better and better, so why not? I can shoot, so why not use it, and Coach likes it when I shoot it.”
Meerman has no qualms about Bingham hoisting up 3-pointers, especially when he makes the commitment away from practice.
“He loves to be in the gym, and on our days off he’s still in the gym working on his handles, working on his shot,” Meerman said. “You don’t get to shoot it that well without putting in a lot of time outside of practice time, and he does that. It’s exciting for me, and it’s exciting I’m sure for Coach (Tom) Izzo and the Michigan State staff as well.”
Bingham, who recently signed with the Spartans, also possesses abilities that sets him apart from other high school players.
“He handles it well, he passes well and then he has a seven-foot reach to go with that height,” Meerman said. “With his skill and length, he’s capable of doing things that not a lot of people can do in basketball.”
It’s been an incredible rise. Bingham didn’t play high school basketball at all as a freshman. He played only half a season last year after transferring to Catholic Central, but averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. That was followed by a successful AAU season, and the Division I college offers began rolling in.
A growth spurt didn’t hurt either. He sprouted up eight inches over the past two years.
“I’ve grown, but I’ve also gotten a lot stronger and bigger,” Bingham said. “I’ve just been working, and being bigger I can do things easier. It has been a blessing.”
Meerman has seen a big difference in Bingham from a year ago, and admitted that the end of a frenzied recruiting process also has helped.
“I think he’s more comfortable playing structured basketball,” Meerman said. “He hadn’t played a lot of basketball in his life outside of his sophomore year, and the distraction with the mass recruiting wave that came his way toward the end of the season is gone. It has been a nice relief for him to just focus on school and ball.”
Bingham also added 12 pounds of muscle to his frame.
“He has a ways to go with that, but you can see the difference in his play and with his pace of play,” Meerman said. “He’s understanding the system and the way we want to play, and becoming a senior he understands he has to play at a higher level that he did last year.”
The Cougars claimed conference and District titles a year ago, but are striving for more with a talented nucleus surrounding Bingham.
Senior Jacob Polakovich, along with junior guards Austin Braun and Darrell Belcher, and sophomore guard Devon Boyd are main contributors, too.
“We have a great group of guys, and they like to share the ball,” Meerman said. “I like how dynamic we are, and we have good guard play and very good bigs.”
Catholic Central recorded 25 assists in its season-opening win over Detroit Country Day – a positive early sign.
“We’ve been playing good and sharing the ball more than we did last year,” Bingham said. “We’re just working hard as a team to do what we have to do to get wins.”
Meerman scheduled an early-season gauntlet of the top teams to help measure where the Cougars stand.
Three of their first five games included or will include teams that competed in last year’s MHSAA Finals, and the first two were on the road. Catholic Central downed reigning Class A runner-up Grand Rapids Christian 73-49 on Dec. 12, reigning Class C runner-up Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 62-58 on Friday, and hosts reigning Class B runner-up Ludington on Dec. 29 as part of its invitational.
“We wanted to find out right away who we are and what we need to work on,” Meerman said. “That’s what we’re working on right now, and we have our last early test on the road against one of the best teams in the state.”
Catholic Central will travel to Wyoming Godwin Heights tonight for a highly-anticipated showdown between elite teams.
The undefeated Wolverines feature Division I recruits Lamar Norman and Markeese Hastings.
Tickets sold out Monday afternoon.
“It’s going to be exciting to be a part of that, and gyms don’t sell out like that unless players have put in a lot of time in the gym,” Meerman said. “It’s an opportunity for us to compete against the best and see where we’re at, and it’s going to be fun. It will be a game and crowd they will remember their whole lives.”
Bingham is looking forward to matching skills against Hastings, who has committed to Butler, and Norman, who recently reopened his recruitment after previously committing to Texas-El Paso.
“I’m really excited just knowing that everyone is going to be there to see Catholic Central and Godwin play,” he said. “Godwin is a good team, and we’re just going to go out and fight and do what we have to do to win.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central's Marcus Bingham (30) defends in the post against Spring Lake last season. (Top photo courtesy of the Grand Haven Tribune; middle photo courtesy of the Grand Rapids Catholic Central boys basketball program.)
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 12
March 2, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’re a week from the start of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament, but the playoff atmosphere has taken over these last few weeks of the regular season as well.
Today’s report looks at a number of teams that wrapped up championships over the last seven days and others that have the opportunity to do the same over the next seven before our three-week trip to Breslin Center begins.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grand Blanc 74, Mount Pleasant 60 – The Bobcats (16-3) added to their Saginaw Valley League Blue title by handing SVL Red champion Mount Pleasant (17-1) its only loss.
2. Orchard Lake St. Mary's 61, Detroit U-D Jesuit 54 – The Eaglets (18-1) added the Bishop Tournament title to their Detroit Catholic League Central championship, which they also earned just ahead of runner-up Jesuit (12-7).
3. Canton 58, Belleville 56 – The West co-runner-up Chiefs (13-6) earned a rematch with champ Howell for the Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall championship by downing the KLAA East-winning Tigers (15-4).
4. Traverse City Central 35, Traverse City West 32 – The Trojans (16-3) earned themselves an opportunity to claim a share of the Big North Conference title by finishing a sweep of West (7-11) that saw both games decided by a combined five points.
5. Lansing Everett 63, East Lansing 60 – The Vikings (11-9) are guaranteed to finish third in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue, but affected the league title big-time last week by following a 15-point loss to Okemos with this upset of the formerly co-leading Trojans (16-2) that gave the Chiefs the championship outright.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Cass Tech (17-1) Mr. Basketball Award finalist Tyson Acuff has led the Technicians to within a basket of a perfect season so far. Cass Tech defeated Detroit Douglass 66-41 on Feb. 14 to add the Detroit Public School League Tournament title to its PSL West championship, and it’s only slip-up was a one-point loss to Flint Carman-Ainsworth on Dec. 30. Wins over Macomb Dakota (17-3), Saginaw (10-8), Canton (13-6), Mumford (11-8) and East Kentwood (11-8) also are among the most notable.
Flint Carman-Ainsworth (15-5) As noted just above, Carman-Ainsworth handed Cass Tech its lone loss –an accomplishment in itself. But the Cavaliers also gave Goodrich (18-1) its only defeat while picking up a pair of wins over Saginaw and Davison (10-9) and one apiece against Arthur Hill (11-9), Grand Rapids Union (12-7) and Flushing (12-8). Carman-Ainsworth finished behind Grand Blanc in the SVL Blue, and the other three teams it lost to have only one loss apiece – Clarkston, Mount Pleasant and Flint Beecher.
DIVISION 2
Hudsonville Unity Christian (15-4) The reigning Division 2 champion has had just a few close slip-ups along the way this winter and always bounced back, and clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title outright by avenging one of those Friday against Byron Center. Those four losses – to Hudsonville, Grand Rapids South Christian, Byron Center and Zeeland East – were by a combined 13 points, and the South Christian defeat came in overtime. The Crusaders do have a two-point win over Holland West Ottawa (13-6) and also defeated first-round District opponent Allendale (13-6) by 16 in December.
Williamston (17-2) A 57-50 loss to Lansing Eastern two weeks ago turned the CAAC Red championship into a shared celebration between the Quakers and Hornets. But it’s been otherwise another strong run as Williamston is up to No. 6 in Division 2 MPR and pushing for what would be a fifth-straight 20-win season. The Hornets’ only other loss came in the opener to East Lansing (16-2), and they beat Eastern (13-5) by 17 in the teams’ first meeting and downed Lansing Catholic (15-4) by 14 also in December. Total, the Hornets have won outright or shared league titles eight straight seasons.
DIVISION 3
Pewamo-Westphalia (16-1) The reigning Division 3 champion quietly has won 15 straight since suffering its lone loss 61-59 to Laingsburg on Dec. 19. P-W defeated Laingsburg 54-36 in the Feb. 7 rematch and leads the Wolfpack in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference standings by half a game. The Pirates additionally have nice nonleague wins over Clare (14-5), Dearborn Advanced Tech (14-5), Carson City-Crystal (10-8) and Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (12-6) as they prepare for another possible postseason run.
Unionville-Sebewaing (16-2) Despite seeing their 31-game league winning streak snapped by Reese in December, the Patriots bounced back to share the Greater Thumb Conference West title with the Rockets. The only other defeat came to Division 2 contender Bridgeport (18-1), although the Patriots will tune up with another tough Division 2 opponent Tuesday at Clio (14-5). USA also has 20-plus point wins over GTC East co-leaders Harbor Beach and Sandusky, and over the 16 wins only Bad Axe has gotten within single digits of the Patriots. USA won their first meeting by one, but Friday’s rematch by 12.
DIVISION 4
Camden-Frontier (16-3) The Redskins trail Hillsdale Academy by a game in the Southern Central Athletic Association East with two to play. But they rank No. 6 in Division 4 MPR, one spot ahead of Hillsdale Academy, thanks in part to splits with the Colts (17-2) and Reading (15-4) and a win over Battle Creek St. Philip (13-6). The only other loss came to Bellevue (16-2). One more win will give Camden-Frontier 17 for the third season in a row, and 18 would be a program high over at least the last decade.
Webberville (14-4) The Spartans are tied for second with Division 3 Burton Bendle (16-3) behind Flint Beecher (18-1) in the Genesee Area Conference – impressive, especially considering Webberville won the second game against Bendle 72-59 on Jan. 28. Webberville last week handed Division 2 Ovid-Elsie (18-1) its lone loss, further justifying it as a team to watch over the next few weeks against opponents its size. The Spartans won 16 games both of the last two seasons and also won their District in 2019, so they could be set to take another step.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Portage Central (16-2) at Stevensville Lakeshore (15-4) – Both sit 8-1 in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West play, with this game's winner claiming the title outright. Portage Central won the first round 41-35.
Tuesday – Grand Blanc (16-3) at Flint Beecher (18-1) – The Flint area has thrived this season with Carman-Ainsworth and Southwestern also providing big boosts, but this has been the most highly-anticipated matchup between the best in and around the city.
Tuesday – Ypsilanti Lincoln (16-2) vs. Ann Arbor Huron (18-1) at Eastern Michigan University – The champions of the Southeastern Conference White and Red, respectively, meet in a potential District Final preview.
Thursday – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (18-1) vs. Detroit Cass Tech (17-1) – As mentioned in discussing both above, this brings together the best of the Catholic League and PSL for the annual Operation Friendship.
Thursday – Benton Harbor (16-2) at Wyoming (18-1) – Both championship hopefuls will enjoy one last test heading into the postseason, Benton Harbor a contender in Division 2 and Wyoming in Division 1.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Williamston, here during its first meeting with Haslett, finished a season sweep of the Vikings last week on the way to claiming a share of a league title. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)