Highlight Reel: Class D Semifinals

March 26, 2015

By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director 

Morenci and Powers North Central advanced to the MHSAA Class D Boys Basketball Final with Semifinal wins Thursday at the Breslin Center. 

Click below for highlights from all four teams that took the court.  

Morenci 53, Waterford Our Lady 52

Picking Up The Trash - Alex Thomas put Morenci on top to stay with two baskets early in the fourth quarter, including this one on a scramble beneath the basket. 

Lakers Pull Close - Nick Robak gets a layup off a steal for Waterford Our Lady in the closing moments to pull the Lakers to within a point.

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.

Powers North Central 71, Fulton 46 

Jets' Jason Turns On The Jets - Jason Whitens led Powers North Central in scoring against Fulton. Here he motors down the court after a steal for a basket.

Never Say Die Pirate - Here's a great hustle play by Fulton senior Tate Bennett, who chases his own missed shot during the closing seconds into press row.

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here. 

PHOTO: Morenci’s Austin Sandusky (12) works to split a pair of Waterford Our Lady defenders during the Bulldogs’ Class D Semifinal win.

'Reaching Higher' Showcase Returns

July 12, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

After a one-year hiatus in 2017, the annual Reaching Higher showcases of Michigan’s top high school basketball players will return for their ninth year July 17 at Milford High School in Highland Township. 

More than 200 athletes with aspirations to play at the college level will train and scrimmage under the tutelage of high school coaches from across the state and in front of college coaches expected to represent a number of NCAA, NAIA and junior college programs.

An educational effort by the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, the Reaching Higher experience includes classroom sessions for student-athletes and their parents as well as on-court drills and scrimmaging. The events aim to give athletes a vision of what it takes to become a college basketball player and also succeed in college life.

Participants in the program were selected by a committee of BCAM members based on nominations by its member coaches. Click for complete lists of expected attendees.

The boys event begins at 11 a.m. on July 17, with scrimmages running from 1-3:30 p.m. The girls event begins at 3 p.m., with scrimmages from 5-7:30 p.m. Speakers for the boys session include Travis Bader, a standout at Okemos High School and Oakland University who played professionally this past season in Greece. Girls session speakers include Crystal Bradford, who starred for Inkster High and Central Michigan University and was selected in the first round of the 2015 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks; she played professionally this past season in Israel.

Longtime coach Dave Ginsberg will speak with athletes about social media and the recruiting process during both sessions; he coached at a number of Michigan high schools and also was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Central Michigan University for 16 years, and he currently serves as the secretary/treasurer of the National High School Basketball Coaches Association. Longtime high school and college coach Marc Comstock – currently the boys basketball coach at Hudson High School – and recently retired Saginaw Valley State University athletic director Mike Watson will conduct sessions with parents during players’ drill and practice sessions.