Data Dig Continues for Hoops Histories
March 7, 2017
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
There is a list – well actually two – that sit, unfinished, among the “1,001 Projects I’d Like to Complete Before I Die.”
I became the caretaker of these lists back when I inherited the title “Historian for the MHSAA” in 1993.
The original lists contained the scores of all MHSAA Quarterfinal, Semifinal and Final round games for the MHSAA boys and girls basketball tournaments since their origin.
From the 1930s into the late 1960s, the MHSAA tournament game-day program was generally nothing more than a single sheet document, containing tournament brackets and team rosters for the qualifiers.
In 1969, the program saw a redesign by Lansing sports personality Tim Staudt and premiered at the MHSAA Tournament. Sold for 50 cents, it included a list of “Past Michigan State Champions” containing the names of the winning teams and those schools’ basketball coaches for each of the four classes. The publication also included a couple of articles from Dick Kishpaugh, the author of the champions list. Kishpaugh was identified as “Sports Information Director at Kalamazoo College and … perhaps the most knowledgeable historian on Michigan high school basketball.”
With the start of the Girls Basketball Tournament in 1973, a similar program design was followed.
Those lists were faithfully updated and published in the game-day programs in the same format until the 1987-88 school year, when the souvenir publications were expanded. For the first time, a list containing opponents and final scores of the boys and girls championship games was now available to the general public.
Among the first tasks I chose to approach when I assumed the duties of MHSAA historian was to chase more information.
Since Kishpaugh’s lists had game scores for the three final rounds of the tournament, and names of the championship coaches, I thought I would try to leave my mark. I began chasing down the names of coaches for the runner-up, as well as final win-loss records for both schools. And while I was at it, I decided to see what I could find for teams that made the Quarterfinals and Semifinals.
Hundreds of hours have gone into adding to and maintaining the lists, and much progress has been made. Yet, some 20+ years later, I’m still trying to fill holes in the data.
The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan helped spread the word, notifying its membership of the project. Web pages were created for both the boys and girls to show teams still missing information.
The pursuit has led to friendships, and fascinating stories, documents and images. The late Walter Michael, who had attended the MHSAA Finals for more than 60 years, donated a cache of MHSAA tournament programs from the 1940s through the 1960s that filled in the names of many high school coaches. Del Newell, a sports writer from the Kalamazoo Gazette, knocked out most of the Kalamazoo schools early in my search. Bill Khan, then of the Flint Journal sports department, filled in a large number of missing names and records from the Flint area. The recently retired “Son of Swami,” better known as Mick McCabe, contributed by including the win-loss records of the quarterfinalists in his annual tournament prognostication columns for the Detroit Free Press.
Numerous coaches around the state sent e-mails and letters with the names and records for their predecessors. Prep basketball fans and former players sent along offerings. Rob Madsen from Mt. Pleasant became a huge contributor, and sent regular updates to both lists. He focused on some of the state’s smallest schools, including many from the Upper Peninsula.
Leon Westover sent the win-loss record for little Marlette, 1951 Class C runner-up, as well as one of my favorite photos from that golden era of prep sports. Marlette had “waltzed through the Mid-Thumb League and district, regional and quarter-final tournament games,” wrote Fred J. Vincent of the Port Huron Times-Herald. Marlette slipped past Stanton 41-37 to advance to the Class C title game against unbeaten Detroit St. Andrew.
“Just one game too many …,” continued Vincent, writing from East Lansing’s Jenison Field House following the title game. “That just about explains the one-sided beating Marlette absorbed in the state class C high school basketball final here Saturday afternoon. The final score was 52-26. … One of the smallest teams, physically, in the tournament, it seemed that the Raiders were just worn out.”
Yet, that night, the team was celebrated like the hometown heroes they really were.
Westover’s photo shows the Red Raiders on the night of the Final, gathered at Teale’s Restaurant in Marlette. The clock indicates its 11:30. The owner, George Teale, has opened up his restaurant for the team to cook them steaks in honor of their achievement. Coach Nieland "Tommy" Thompson and his 22-2 squad look happy, ready to celebrate a long season.
At tournament time, these lists help answer media requests that arise.
Question: When was the last time two undefeated teams met for an MHSAA Finals championship?
Answer: 2003-Class A for the girls. Detroit Martin Luther King topped Flint Northern 58-53. 1971-Class C for the boys. Shelby downed Stockbridge 71-57.
Question: What coach had the longest span between championship game appearances?
Answer: Eddie Powers, coach of Detroit Northern, went 34 years between his Class A championship team in 1930 and his runner-up squad in 1964. The mark is asterisked, however, as the Detroit Public School League chose to stop participation in the annual state tournament from 1931 through 1961. Saginaw’s Larry Laeding went 20 years between winning the 1942 Class A championship and his squad’s 1962 Class A title. Maple City Glen Lake coach Don Miller went 19 seasons between the school’s 1977 Class D title and its 1996 runner-up finish, also in Class D.
For the girls, both Mary Cicerone at Bloomfield Hills Marian and Carl Wayer at Ashley went 16 seasons between appearances. While Cicerone’s Marian teams have made seven visits to the Finals and have won six Class A titles, 16 years elapsed between Marian’s 1998 and 2014 Class A championships. Marian then captured a second consecutive title in 2015. Coach Wayer advance two teams to the title game. Ashley finished as runner-up in Class D in 1980 and again in Class D in 1996. The loss in 1996 came in overtime, and was the only defeat for Ashley that season.
Michigan’s high school basketball tournaments are an experience shared, mostly unchanged, since their beginnings. At the end of the regular season, everyone qualifies for the madness. Yet in the end, only four teams finish as champions. The path mimics the magical trail taken by fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers. Qualifying for the Quarterfinals is still a huge triumph, as the round brings together only 32 teams from a field of more than 700 boys teams and more than 650 girls teams.
In my eyes, these lists emphasize that remarkable, undiluted achievement. In a world consumed with trophies and the number “1,” perhaps it is time to step back and celebrate this rare journey.
Click for Ron Pesch's data "Needs Lists" for girls basketball and boys basketball.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marlette's 1951 boys basketball team gathers for dinner at a local restaurant after the Class C Final. (Middle top) The 1969 Boys Finals saw the addition of updated tournament programs. (Middle below) The 1977 Girls Finals program told of the teams that would meet at Jenison Field House. (Below) The 1947 Boys Finals program was among many that helped fill in data gaps from the early years of the tournament. (Photos provided by Ron Pesch.)
Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Boys Report Week 12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 19, 2024
This past week certainly earned its place in the greater narrative of the 2023-24 Michigan high school boys basketball season. We always say every team and every game has a story, and the weekend especially left us with a few we'll be talking about for a while.
But we also have so much to look forward to over this final week of the regular season, with plenty of local championship races finishing up and District pairings now posted – check all of those out on the Brackets page.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Cass Tech 72, Detroit Renaissance 70 This has been one of the most competitive elite matchups statewide this season, as Cass Tech (19-1) claimed the Detroit Public School League Tournament title by following up on its 88-85 double-overtime win over the Phoenix (15-5) from Jan. 12.
2. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 58, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 55 The Eaglets (19-1) held on for a third win this season over Brother Rice (15-6) and this one for the Catholic High School League Bishop title.
3. Saginaw Arthur Hill 84, Saginaw 52 An outside chance remains they could meet in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal, but for now Arthur Hill (14-4) ended this 114-year rivalry on top.
4. Niles Brandywine 63, Benton Harbor 57 After losing their first meeting by 13, the Bobcats (17-3) handed Benton Harbor (20-1) its only loss to create a shared championship in the Lakeland Conference.
5. Laingsburg 72, Freeland 65 The Wolfpack (21-0) made the loudest statement of a season full of them in downing an expected Division 2 contender in Freeland (18-2).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Detroit Cass Tech (19-1) The reigning Division 1 champion hasn’t slowed down, clinching the PSL Blue and Tournament titles and showing an ability to win big or pull out close victories while seeing teams from all over the Lower Peninsula. The Technicians’ only loss was to Zeeland West (14-6) a month ago, but they’ve also piled up wins over Chelsea (14-5), Renaissance (15-5) twice, Detroit Martin Luther King (14-6), Southeastern (14-7) and Douglass (14-5), and Kalamazoo Central (10-7) among 11 wins total over opponents with double-digit wins. And now comes the biggest matchup of all – Saturday’s Operation Friendship matchup with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
Marquette (18-3) The team can finish an outright Greater Northern Conference championship Thursday against second-place Kingsford and already have a 71-69 win over the Flivvers (16-3) and two over Menominee (15-5) among 13 victories total over opponents with 10 or more wins this winter. The three losses came in consecutive games over a 10-day stretch in December, and Marquette has avenged defeats to Negaunee and Ishpeming Westwood over the last three weeks, building a 15-game winning streak and surpassing last season’s total over 13 along the way.
DIVISION 2
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (14-4) A 1-3 December may have turned out to be excellent prep for a 13-1 run over the last two months, as the Cougars have lost only to Lima (Ohio) in 2024 and earned 12 wins during this run by 12 points or more. The early losses came to Grand Rapids Northview (15-4), Grand Rapids Christian (18-2) and Davison (14-4), but GRCC opened the new year with a 57-54 win over South Christian (15-5) and can clinch the Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold title outright Tuesday against Ottawa Hills. The Cougars finished a regular-season sweep of the second-place Sailors on Feb. 2 and would see them again only if they met in a Division 2 Quarterfinal.
Saginaw Arthur Hill (14-4) As noted above, this is Arthur Hill’s final season as it will consolidate with Saginaw High this summer. But the Lumberjacks are finishing things off memorably. They are tied for second in the Saginaw Valley League, a half-game back of Heritage after falling to the Hawks earlier this month. But they followed up that defeat with wins over Mount Pleasant and Saginaw High, to go with earlier notable victories over Frankenmuth (15-5) and Detroit Edison (11-7). Arthur Hill sees Bay City Central and Davison this week and has guaranteed its final season will be a winning one after going 10-14 a year ago.
DIVISION 3
Napoleon (18-3) The Pirates tied with Michigan Center for the Cascades Conference East championship but then won the overall league title with a 63-41 win over West champ Hanover-Horton on Saturday. Napoleon did split its meetings with Michigan Center this season, losing 50-38 on Dec. 21 before winning the rematch 50-44 on Jan 25, but the only other defeats also came before the new year to Jackson (12-8) and Parma Western (15-5). The Pirates have won 13 straight, also defeating Hanover-Horton (14-8) at the start of January and Jonesville (15-6) along the way, and could see Michigan Center again if both reach next week’s District Final at East Jackson.
North Muskegon (21-0) The Norsemen have gone from 10 to 15 to 19 top 21 wins over the last four seasons and have had to turn away only a few close challenges to remain undefeated with a game to play this regular season. North Muskegon defeated Montague 47-45 on Jan. 31 but have had only four more single-digit games. A 57-38 win over White Cloud (16-4) two weeks ago has been among highlights, and they’re lined up opposite each other at next week’s District at Hesperia. The Norseman also earned a notable 65-47 victory Jan. 30 over Muskegon Oakridge (14-6) and got a boost by downing Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (13-8) on Feb. 9, 62-54.
DIVISION 4
Hillman (18-2) The Tigers are another team undefeated in 2024, with 13 straight wins since falling to Division 2 Ogemaw Heights to finish their December slate. Hillman also lost early to Division 1 Gaylord, but has shined against schools closer in size and dominated in winning the North Star League Little Dipper championship and also downing eventual Big Dipper champ Alcona (16-5). The Tigers just missed making the Breslin Center a year ago, falling to Frankfort 59-57 in a Division 4 Quarterfinal, and will try to line up for another run finishing the regular season against Division 3 Oscoda (15-5) after defeating the Owls 57-56 in overtime in December.
Norway (15-5) The Knights are two wins from potentially winning the Skyline Central Conference Large school division outright, which would be an especially notable accomplishment as reigning Division 4 champion Munising (16-4) trails by only half a game. Norway earned the advantage with a 49-48 win over the Mustangs in the season opener Nov. 28, and the two would meet again if they both win Regional titles. The Knights have only one loss to a Division 4 opponent, against Crystal Falls Forest Park (16-3) on Jan. 4, and the other defeats came twice to Division 2 Escanaba and once to Division 3 Iron Mountain (19-1) and Division 2 Kingsford (16-3).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Ann Arbor Huron (16-3) at Saline (16-4) – These two are tied for first in the Southeastern Conference White, and the winner claims the outright league title. Huron won the first meeting 65-52 on Jan. 26.
Tuesday – Mancelona (16-4) at Bellaire (17-3) – Bellaire is assured of a share of the Ski Valley Conference championship, but Mancelona could force a co-championship after losing the first meeting Jan. 16 by just a point, 50-49.
Thursday – Flint Powers Catholic (16-3) at Saginaw Heritage (15-3) – A Chargers win could create a four-way tie atop the Saginaw Valley League with one conference game to play, or Heritage could enter this matchup in line to lock up a share of the title if it also defeats Lapeer on Tuesday.
Friday – Dearborn (20-0) vs. Canton (17-3) at Northville – The champions of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association’s East and West, respectively, will meet for the overall league title.
Saturday – Detroit Cass Tech (19-1) vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (19-1) at University of Detroit Mercy – The annual Operation Friendship matchup of PSL and CHSL champions also matches the reigning Division 1 champion and the top team in Division 1 MPR this winter, respectively.
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PHOTOS (Top) Saginaw Arthur Hill and Saginaw High play for perhaps the final time in their 114-year rivalry Friday at Dow Event Center. (Middle) Detroit Cass Tech takes on Detroit Renaissance in the PSL Tournament final at Wayne State. (Top photo by Kolleth Photo; middle photo by Olivia B. Photography.)