Boys Finals: Your Dose of C and D
March 21, 2012
One thing is certain to happen this weekend at the often-unpredictable MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals:
We will have a first-time Class D champion. And there's a decent chance the Class C champion could feel like a first-timer as well.
All four Class D Semifinalists will be playing today for a first championship game berth. Only Traverse City St. Francis among Class C Semifinalists has never made a championship game -- but Flint Beecher is seeking its first MHSAA title since 1987, and Shelby its first since 1972.
Not that Schoolcraft is out of sight, out of mind. The Eagles are back at the Breslin Center to defend their Class C title, and with an all-stater to lead the way.
Below is a schedule for today's Semifinals and all four Saturday Finals. Tickets cost $8 per session, and parking at Michigan State is $5. All Semifinals will be streamed live at MHSAA.tv along with the press conferences after each, and the C and D Finals both will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Detroit. Click for scores as they come in, and return to Second Half for coverage of all 12 games this weekend at Breslin.
Today's Semifinals
Class C
Flint Beecher (26-0) vs. Schoolcraft (22-4) - 1 p.m.
Traverse City St. Francis (24-2) vs Shelby (24-2) - 2:50 p.m.
Class D
Muskegon Catholic Central (17-9) vs. Southfield Christian (22-2) - 6 p.m.
Climax-Scotts (25-1) vs. Carney-Nadeau (23-2) - 7:50 p.m.
Saturday's Finals
Class A - 4 p.m.
Class B - 8 p.m.
Class C - Noon
Class D - 10 a.m.
Now, a look at this season's Class C and D Semifinalists (Click for glances at Class A and B Semifinalists.):
Class C
FLINT BEECHER
Record/rank: 26-0, No. 1
League finish: First in Genesee Area Conference Blue
Coach: Mike Williams, eighth season (137-61)
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recently Class B in 1987), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 63-49 over No. 4 Madison Heights Madison (Regional Semifinal), 38-36 (OT) over No. 3 Detroit Consortium (Regional Final), 59-55 over honorable mention River Rouge (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Monte Morris (6-3 jr. G – 18.3 ppg, 6.4 apg, 5.4 rpg, 3.5 spg), Antuan Burks (5-9 sr. G – 12.6 ppg, 34 3-pointers).
Outlook: This is the third straight season Beecher has made it to the Semifinals – last season the Buccaneers lost in overtime to eventual runner-up McBain. But this might be the season they break through led by Morris, the Class C Player of the Year by The Associated Press for the second straight season.
SCHOOLCRAFT
Record/rank: 22-4, honorable mention
League finish: Second in Kalamazoo Valley Association
Coach: Randy Small, eighth season (161-34)
Championship history: One MHSAA title (2011), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 55-52 over No. 2 Pewamo-Westphalia (Quarterfinal), 65-52 over honorable mention Bloomingdale (Regional Final), 68-58 over Olivet.
Player to watch: Luke Ryskamp (6-3 jr. F – 23.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg).
Outlook: A team with seven seniors including all-stater Ryskamp will try to defend its 2011 championship. Senior Bryan Jones, a 6-2 forward, also started in last season’s Class C Final. Schoolcraft avenged two of its losses during the District tournament, and can extend a solid run by Small that has included six league titles in eight seasons and three Regional titles over the last four.
SHELBY
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 8
League finish: First in West Michigan Conference
Coach: Rick Zoulek, 27th season (385-221)
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recently 1972), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 60-41 over honorable mention New Haven (Quarterfinal), 69-59 over North Muskegon.
Players to watch: David Beckman, Jr. (6-3 sr. F – 13.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Lucas Landis (6-4 sr. F – 12.9 ppg, 9.7 rpg).
Outlook: Shelby is big in the frontcourt with Beckman and Landis getting additional help from 6-5 senior center Jeremiah James (11.3 ppg). Guards Cody Stotler and Kody Plummer round out an all-senior starting line-up that has Shelby back in the conversation among Class C’s best. Total, the team boasts eight seniors. Its only losses were to North Muskegon and Class B Semifinalist Muskegon Heights.
TRAVERSE CITY ST. FRANCIS
Record/rank: 24-2, No. 5
League finish: First in Lake Michigan Conference
Coach: Keith Haske, second season (39-9)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 67-42 over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice, 68-52 over No. 7 Clare (Regional Final), 71-60 over honorable mention Negaunee (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Sean Sheldon (6-9 sr. F – 21 ppg, 11 rpg), Devin Sheehy (5-11 sr. G – 12 ppg, 7.0 apg, 5.0 spg).
Outlook: Haske has St. Francis at Breslin Center after bringing Charlevoix to the Finals multiple times. Sheldon, an all-stater, is one of two 6-9 players on the team and one of three 6-4 or taller in the main rotation. The Gladiators have mauled their postseason competition so far by an average margin of 24.8 points per game.
Class D
CARNEY-NADEAU
Record/rank: 23-2, honorable mention
League finish: First in Skyline and Central Upper Peninsula conferences
Coach: Jacob Polfus, fourth season (60-30)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 57-51 over No. 7 Munising (Regional Final), 72-56 over No. 2 Pellston (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Lucas Moreau (5-10 sr. G – 18.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 5.9 apg), Wade Schetter (5-10 jr. G – 18.9 ppg, 3.8 apg, 5.0 spg).
Outlook: Carney-Nadeau is led by high-scoring guards Moreau and Schetter, who have scored nearly 60 percent of the team’s points this season. Sophomore guard Keenan Lampinen adds 10.4 more points per game for a team boasting only one starter that stands even 6-1. That hasn’t seemed to matter much during a 20-game winning streak, which included wins over the two opponents who beat the Wolves early.
CLIMAX-SCOTTS
Record/rank: 25-1, No. 5
League finish: First in Southern Central Athletic Association
Coach: Steve Critchlow, first season (25-1)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 54-49 over honorable mention North Adams-Jerome, 50-39 over Allen Park Inter-City Baptist (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Malachi Satterlee (6-7 jr. F – 18.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg), Aaron Cook (6-7 jr. F – 10 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg).
Outlook: Satterlee was named all-state earlier this week and keys a towering frontcourt that also gets 9.5 points per game from 6-2 forward Jacob Hinga. Climax-Scotts hasn’t faced a team ranked in the top 10 of the state polls at the end of the regular season, but dominated its competition – its lone loss was by four to Kalamazoo Phoenix, and since the Panthers have won 11 of 12 games by double figures.
MUSKEGON CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/rank: 17-9, unranked
League finish: Fourth in River Valley Conference
Coach: David Ingles, second season (32-19)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 48-43 over No. 10 Fulton-Middleton (Regional Final), 61-50 over No. 4 Bellaire (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Jason Ribecky (6-4 sr. C – 19.1 ppg), Cari Campbell (6-3 jr. F – 11.4 ppg).
Outlook: Ribecky earned an all-state honorable mention earlier this week and has put the team on his shoulders during the tournament run – the Crusaders have beaten every playoff opponent by double figures except reigning runner-up Fulton. This is the longest run by Muskegon Catholic since it won its Class C Regional in 1999.
SOUTHFIELD CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 22-2, tied for No. 7
League finish: First in Michigan Independent Athletic Conference
Coach: Josh Baker, first season (22-2)
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 78-77 over Belleville, 70-57 and 67-64 over Allen Park Inter-City Baptist, 98-84 over honorable mention Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (Quarterfinal).
Players to watch: Gavin Toma (6-2 sr. G – 19.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Chris Dewberry (6-2 sr. G – 16.2 ppg, 4.4 apg), Lindsey Hunter III (6-1 sr. G – 15.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.0 apg), Lindsey Hunter IV (5-11 soph. G – 11.9 ppg).
Outlook: Southfield Christian’s record is especially impressive considering the number of much larger schools it faced this season – the losses came to Class A power Southfield (by two points) and Class B Semifinalist Detroit Country Day. All four postseason wins have come by double figures (Southfield Christian also won one by forfeit.) The Hunters III and IV are the sons of the former Detroit Pistons guard by the same name.
PHOTO: Flint Beecher's Monte Morris had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in his team's 70-66 Semifinal loss to McBain in last season's Class C Semifinal. He's back to lead Beecher again today.
Esler Pilots DeLaSalle Back to Final Week
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
March 19, 2018
WARREN – There isn’t much that Greg Esler hasn’t seen or experienced as a coach and as a father.
Through it all he’s learned to take nothing for granted, in life and as a coach.
Esler, 63, coached St. Clair Shores Lake Shore to its first and only MHSAA boys basketball title in 1994, in Class B. That team was led by Travis Conlan, who finished second in the voting for Mr. Basketball that season. Conlan would go on to play at University of Michigan, one of a number of Esler-coached players who went on to the college – and for some – professional ranks.
Esler is in his 31st season as a head coach, with the last 24 at Warren DeLaSalle. Twenty-one times the Pilots have won a District title with Esler on the bench. In 2007, DeLaSalle reached a Class A Semifinal for just the second time in school history, as it lost to Manny Harris and Detroit Redford 56-50. (Note: In addition to two Class A Semifinal appearances, DeLaSalle also reached a Class B Final in 1982).
Consistency has been a hallmark of Esler’s programs, and even after all these years a fire burns in his stomach. He’s retained a burning desire to compete and to win. As the years have piled up, Esler has become more appreciative of the success his program has achieved and the experiences gained.
So when DeLaSalle defeated Macomb Dakota, 56-51, in a Regional Final last Wednesday, there was reason to celebrate. As good as DeLaSalle has been recently, it hadn’t won a Regional title since 2010. The Pilots have been to the Detroit Catholic League final each of the last three seasons and have won five District titles since 2010 including the last three. But the end of last season stung more than most. DeLaSalle reached a Regional Final and then lost to Troy, 48-40, in an ugly game where the Pilots shot less than 30 percent from the field.
Most of that team is back as the Pilots head into the final week of this season. Esler has nine seniors including two of the top players in the league in point guard Justin Fischer and guard-forward Luke Pfromm, the starting quarterback on the Division 2 championship football team.
Esler started coaching at Warren St. Anne grade school in 1983, then went to DeLaSalle for three seasons beginning in 1985 under then-coach Gary Buslepp. Esler got his shot as a head coach in 1987 at Lake Shore and quickly made that program relevant. Lake Shore reached the Class B Semifinals in 1993 before losing to coach Norwaine Reed and Saginaw Buena Vista.
Esler took over the DeLaSalle program at the start of the 1994-95 season. His career record stands at 530-216 heading into tonight’s Class A Quarterfinal against Detroit U-D Jesuit.
“We instilled a system here,” he said. “The first thing is to have your players in condition. Second is defense. I’ve always stressed defense. And third, and maybe this should be first, is talent. We’ve always had really good players here. And the players we’ve had want to get better.”
What often goes unnoticed in a basketball program is the work of the assistant coaches. Esler has been blessed with loyal and knowledgeable assistants. His top assistant is Tom Mehl, who played for Esler for two seasons at Lake Shore. Mehl was on staff for Esler’s last four seasons at Lake Shore and has been with Esler every step of the way at DeLaSalle.
Jeff Becker is in his 13th season as an assistant, and another, Dave Grauzer, recently left the program and now is an assistant at Traverse City West.
“Surrounding yourself with good people is at the top of the list,” Esler said. “One thing about Tom, there’s no one I’ve seen who can go to a game to scout and pick up something no one else would see. Like a player who takes two dribbles before driving to his right or left. For Becker, it’s organization. He works well with the kids, and he’s got the post players. Mehl has the guards.
“Over the years I’ve listened. Listened to other coaches. I don’t have all the answers. I talk to Steve Hall at (Detroit) Cass Tech all the time. He’s been a great friend over the years.”
This team has a closeness not always seen. The fact that there are nine seniors is one reason. Esler points out that he’s been with this group for more than 100 days this season, and when you’re around a group that long tempers can flare – so it’s important to keep the present in perspective and realize they all want to reach the same goal.
“We do a lot of things outside of basketball,” Esler said. “Last week four of my captains read to the students at (St. Clair Shores) St. Germaine grade school. My wife, Renee, is a fourth and fifth grade teacher there, and it’s way for the players to interact with the younger students.
“I read an article recently on (Michigan) coach (John) Beilein and how the game has changed. The kids have changed. We watch game film but not like we used to. Their attention span isn’t like it used to be. The technology now, with Facebook and texting, it’s unbelievable. We might watch film for 20 minutes where we used to watch for hours.
“My players will tell you, I love the practices much more than they do. Games are like taking a test. If you didn’t win, maybe you failed at some area that cost you. They love each other and they do a good job of listening. All five starters have scored 20 points or more in a game this season. And they don’t get rattled. We were down four to Dakota with four minutes to go and Pfromm came to me in the huddle and said, ‘Don’t worry coach. We got this.’ I can see why they won a state title in football.”
Fischer has matured significantly as a leader and force offensively. A three-year starter, he has signed with Lake Superior State.
Fischer came into the program as a skinny 5-foot-10 freshman. By the time he was a junior, he had grown five inches. Now he’s 6-4 and weighs 185 pounds.
“I was a pass-first guard as a sophomore,” he said. “I’ve worked on my shooting, just working on my total game.
“We were pumped up for that Dakota game. We got the crowd going crazy. We were down and Luke hit a couple of 3s. I had a dunk and hit four free throws late.”
DeLaSalle (18-7) will play Catholic League Central rival Detroit U-D Jesuit (22-3) next. The Class A Quarterfinal will be played Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Calihan Hall, the site of the Catholic League final. Jesuit won that game, 71-64. In fact, Fischer has lost nine consecutive games to U-D as a varsity player.
He shouldn’t feel alone. DeLaSalle hasn’t defeated U-D since 2014 when the teams tied for the Catholic League Central regular-season title – a streak of 14 straight defeats to the Cubs. U-D won this season’s meetings 64-45, 59-57 and 64-55.
Esler keeps U-D recent domination of his program on the light side.
“I’ve said I’d have to coach until 2031 to get to .500 against them,” he said.
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Warren DeLaSalle coach Greg Esler talks things over during his team’s Regional Final win against Macomb Dakota. (Middle) Justin Fischer launches a free throw during the 56-51 victory.