Cass Tech's Time Arrives as Technicians Claim Most Memorable Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 25, 2023
EAST LANSING — The Detroit Cass Tech boys basketball program no longer will have to look at all the state championship trophies and banners won by the football team in the school's halls and wonder when its time will be.
That time finally came Saturday.
After years of building toward this moment, the Technicians claimed to their first championship in boys basketball with a 78-63 win over Muskegon in the Division 1 Final at Breslin Center.
Cass Tech was in control throughout the game and for much of the season, finishing with a 27-1 record. The only loss was a one-point overtime defeat to Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in the Operation Friendship title game.
Cass Tech’s previous best season was a Class A runner-up finish in 1974.
“We had established that as a goal,” said Cass Tech head coach Steve Hall, who won three-straight Class D championships from 2003-05 coaching Detroit Rogers. “It looks good on paper, but to carry it out and pursue it, it is unbelievable what we’ve been able to do.”
Cass Tech led most of the way, but then had to deal with some adversity after Muskegon took a 47-46 lead with 1:46 left in the third quarter.
The Technicians responded beautifully, first closing the third quarter with four straight points to take a 50-47 lead. Cass Tech then opened the fourth with a 9-1 run to take a 59-48 lead on a layup by Sean Hodges with 3:54 remaining.
Muskegon never threatened the rest of the way as Cass Tech broke defensive pressure for layups and hit free throws in the final minutes.
Sophomore Darius Acuff, who banked in a tying 3-pointer in the final seconds to force overtime in Friday’s Semifinal win over Grand Blanc, and senior Travon Cooper both scored 19 points to lead the way for Cass Tech.
Cooper also pulled down eight rebounds, and senior Kenneth Robertson added 15 points for Cass Tech.
The Technicians dominated along the interior, collecting 40 points in the paint to just eight for Muskegon.
“In the fourth quarter, we had to come together and talk to each other as a team,” Acuff said. “Just talk to each other and listen to Coach, and just respond. We didn’t want to go out like that. We had to make a run, and everyone contributed.”
Senior Jordan Briggs scored 19 points, and senior David Day added 15 to lead Muskegon (26-3).
“There was no flow to the game,” Muskegon head coach Keith Guy said. “But in these games there is going to be adversity, and the teams that handle it best are going to win.”
After Cass Tech took a 45-36 lead with 6:15 left in the third quarter, Muskegon made a charge, going on an 11-1 run to grab a 47-46 advantage with 1:46 remaining in the third after a 3-pointer by Justin Watson.
Cass Tech held a 14-11 lead after the first quarter, and then the second quarter was a high-octane period more reminiscent of an NBA game.
Muskegon scored 20 points in the second, but Cass Tech was even better, scoring 27 in the frame to take a 41-31 lead at halftime.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Cass Tech players celebrate their Division 1 championship win Saturday along with a last-second 3-pointer by teammate Mathieu Collins (30). (Middle) The Technicians’ Kenneth Robertson (14) makes his move toward the basket. (Below) Cass Tech’s Darius Acuff (5) works to get a shot up over Muskegon’s Anthony Sydnor III.
Whitaker Adds Scoring Milestone, School Record to Remarkable Hoops Rise
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
January 23, 2024
Braiden Whitaker traded sunshine for snow, oceans for Great Lakes and year-round football for basketball.
Despite not playing organized basketball until seventh grade, the Dundee senior has evolved into a 6-foot-5 beast on the basketball court and has the Vikings 13-1 and ranked sixth in the state.
“The passion he plays with is infectious to everyone around him,” said Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt. “He brings a lot of enthusiasm to the team. The other players feed off that.”
Whitaker has been outstanding all season, but never better than his record-setting performance last week for the Vikings at home in a nonleague game against Monroe Jefferson.
Whitaker came into the game needing 36 points to reach 1,000 for his career. In the fourth quarter, he started getting close. His teammates kept getting him the ball.
“It was a great feeling,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. They helped me out. I started off bad in the first quarter, so I knew in the second half it was time to go.”
Haselschwerdt said Whitaker’s teammates were cheering him on down the stretch.
“As he got closer, the team really wanted him to get to 1,000,” he said. “Hats off to Braiden and hats off to the team for being okay with that. It was a very special night.”
When Whitaker got his 1,000th point, he got emotional. He teared up as coaches, teammates and family recognized his accomplishment.
“It meant a lot to him,” Haselschwerdt said.
Only, he wasn’t done. After hitting another shot and converting a three-point play, he was only a couple buckets shy of the school’s single-game scoring record of 43 points. He got that a minute later, finishing with 44 in the 72-63 victory.
Dundee needed every one of Whitaker’s points to hold off Jefferson. The Vikings started the game missing one starter and during it lost two more to injuries. Jefferson scored 30 points in the fourth quarter and kept the game close.
“When you are 13-1, you are going to get everyone’s best shot,” Haselschwerdt said. “We know that. The kids have stepped up and adjusted their game.”
No one has adjusted his game more than Whitaker.
He grew up in Jacksonville, Fla., where football is king.
“Football is crazy there,” Whitaker said. “You play football year-round. Everyone does. That’s what I did. I was really into flag football at that time.”
In the seventh grade, however, Whitaker’s family moved to Michigan.
“We had family in the area,” he said. “Most of my mom’s family is from the area. My aunt moved into Dundee about a year before we moved up here. I didn’t know much about Michigan. I remember we were looking for a school to go to, and we chose Dundee.”
Whitaker never gave up football. In the fall he was one of the top receivers in Monroe County and has made a couple of unofficial college visits to schools wanting him to play football at the next level. Right now, his options remain open.
“We’re glad he’s here,” Haselschwerdt said. “He wants to go to college in Michigan. He’s got a great friend group. He’s a big part of Dundee life. He is kind of a rock star. Everybody knows him.”
Haselschwerdt said Whitaker has worked hard to rise to this level.
“Basketball wasn’t something he’s dominated since in the seventh grade,” the coach said. “He’s worked on his game. He’s grown by leaps and bounds. He’s become a great player, but it was a lot of hard work.”
Whitaker debuted on the Vikings varsity as a sophomore, averaging 10.1 points per game. Last year he increased that average to around 18 ppg and led the Vikings to a District championship by scoring 12 of his team's last 17 points in a 53-51 win over Ida, including a thrilling dunk in the final moments that sent the Dundee crowd into a frenzy. They mobbed him on the court after the win.
“Everyone loves him,” Haselschwerdt said. “His teammates, the students, the fans. Even the community. He’s that kind of kid. The community has embraced him.”
The previous single-game scoring record had stood since 1959. With this season just past the halfway point, Whitaker has his sights set on a league title, a long tournament run and, possibly, more records.
“Everyone likes breaking records,” Whitaker said. “It was a great feeling to accomplish that."
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Dundee’s Braiden Whitaker throws down a thunderous dunk. (Middle) Whitaker, left, with Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt. (Top photo by Mike Doughty; middle photo courtesy of the Dundee boys basketball program.)