Onsted Quickly Finding Winning Combinations During Fast Starts
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
December 28, 2021
ONSTED – Austin Davis played college basketball under John Beilein and Juwan Howard at the University of Michigan. One of the lessons he brought home with him after four years with the Wolverines is now helping the Onsted boys basketball team excel.
“Austin talks to our team all of the time about being a star in your own role,” Onsted boys basketball coach Brad Maska said. “Whatever it is you do, whether it’s rebounding or scoring, you need to be a star in your specific role. That’s his message, and it's really made our team better.”
Davis is finished with the Wolverines, but not basketball. The Onsted graduate helps at practices and games when he can, and Maska said his presence is one of the reasons the Division 2 Wildcats were 5-0 heading into a holiday tournament this week that features teams from three states.
“Him just being here, being a part of it, is big for our guys,” Maska said. “We are lucky to have him.”
Davis also is tutoring his younger brother, 6-foot-9 sophomore Ayden Davis.
The younger Davis came on strong as the season went on last winter, and he has started this season even better, averaging better than 21 points a game. He scored 30 against Hanover-Horton and has a 20-rebound game to his credit as well.
“As coaches we learned so much when we had Austin,” Maska said. “All of the things we are trying to do with Ayden are things we didn’t do with Austin. We want to play fast, get out and run, and Ayden can run up and down the floor.”
Onsted has an interesting roster mix. There are five seniors, including captains Dayton Henagan and Harry Moore, who return from last season’s 14-4 team. There are three juniors, Davis is one of two sophomores, and there are two freshmen – Aidan Paquin and JT Hill – who played big roles in the first five wins.
“The collection of kids we have around Ayden is second to none,” said Maska, in his 15th year as Onsted head coach. “It all starts with our seniors and how they have bought in to what we are doing. We had a great summer together, and it is showing.”
Hill and Paquin both have hit big shots already this season. Junior Bradlee VanBrunt hit six 3-pointers in a win over Jonesville. Henagan is averaging six rebounds, five steals and five assists per game, and Moore has been filling up the stat sheets.
“It hasn’t been just one guy,” Maska said. “That’s what has been so exciting. Everyone is contributing, one through 11.”
Ayden grew up around the Onsted program while Austin was a three-year starter for the Wildcats. Their father, Eric Davis, remains an assistant coach. Ayden said he’s grateful for the work Austin puts in with him.
“We have a great relationship, and I’m so grateful for him being here and helping me,” Ayden said. “He helps with my shot, my footwork. He learned from Coach Beilein and Coach Howard. He’s bringing that to working with me. I’m very excited to work with him.
“He’ll put his shorts on and pull out the old basketball shoes sometimes and we go at it. It makes me a better player.”
Henagan, a 6-2 senior forward, is second on the team in scoring, putting up between 11 and 19 points in every game this season. He said as a captain, it's his role to ensure the younger players on the team are integrated into everything the team does.
“This summer was really important because we gelled right away,” he said. “Having that time brought everyone close together. Now we hang out and do things together as a team. It’s been big for us. We all trust each other. The summer really gave us a head start.”
Maska has upgraded the Wildcats’ schedule this season. They played three games over the first five nights of the season, are playing in the North Central Tournament in Ohio this week and will play at a Martin Luther King Day event in Ohio against Toledo St. Francis, a Division 1 school in its state.
“I like to play different teams,” Maska said. “In the summer we will play all over the place. We want to play the best and see how we stack up.”
It’s a good time for basketball all around at Onsted. The Wildcats JV boys are also undefeated, and the Onsted girls varsity is 5-0 after knocking off Brooklyn Columbia Central on Dec. 16. The Golden Eagles had won 34 straight Lenawee County Athletic Association games before the Wildcats beat them, 46-34, with great defense down the stretch.
Varsity girls head coach Brandon Arnold likes the versatility of his team.
“We have four guards, and we can do a lot of different things with them,” he said.
Senior Kaylei Smith, a Siena Heights University signee, is off to a great start with 85 points in five games, and sophomore Hailey Freshcorn is a gym rat who is fast and the ringleader on defense.
“She never comes out of the gym,” Arnold said.
Onsted won 14 games last year and graduated four-year starter and 1,000-point scorer Mya Hiram.
“No one expected us to start like this,” Arnold said. “But the girls have embraced it. We’re like the underdog right now.”
The Wildcats girls got a late start to the season due to the volleyball team reaching the Quarterfinals, and then battled some COVID-19 issues. They are rolling now but have some tough games coming up.
“We have a lot of momentum and confidence right now,” Arnold said. I like how we are playing, and the things we are doing.”
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) Onsted’s Dayton Henagan (3) makes his move toward the basket during a win over Hudson. (Middle) Past star Austin Davis coaches up one of Onsted’s current contributors. (Photos by Deloris Clark-Osborne.)
Paw Paw Following New Coach, Sophomore Standouts to Renewed Success
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
January 18, 2022
PAW PAW — New coach, new attitude and new results have sparked the Paw Paw girls basketball team to success it has not seen in years.
The new-look Red Wolves (7-2) will battle Otsego (10-1) on Friday, with the winner landing atop the Wolverine Conference.
That's been unvisited territory the last few seasons for Paw Paw, which finished with a 5-12 record last season and 6-15 two years ago.
“I thought they’d be better than the five games (they won) last year,” coach Ernie Ramirez said. “They’re exceeding my expectations right now.”
Two sophomores are instrumental in the turnaround.
At 6-foot-1, Katelyn Baney – who was honorable mention all-state last year – has already received a scholarship offer from Western Michigan University. She averages 13 points, 11.2 rebounds, three steals, 2.6 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.
Because of a broken arm, Addison Roy played just four games during last year’s COVID-shortened season. But the 5-11 sophomore has been putting up numbers on the court this year as well, averaging 11.7 points per game, 12.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per contest.
Both have tallied five double-doubles, three times posting them together in the same game.
Baney honed her skills practicing with older players, including her sister, Allison, who was a senior when Baney was in third grade.
Ramirez said Baney may be young, but she is long in experience.
“With all the basketball she’s played, travel basketball, multiple games, if you add all those games, it’s probably like a senior’s worth of games,” he said.
“That’s unique. Sometimes all the games outside the school add up to another season.”
The coach said Roy has been a surprise.
“She works hard at her game,” he said. “She’s the one who says, ‘Hey Coach, can I stay 20 or 25 minutes after?’
“She’s going to be that girl who always improves because she works at her game. She is that quiet leader.”
Roy said the way she improves is by listening and watching.
“I try to really focus and be open to what everyone else has to say, take a little piece of advice from everyone because everyone has a little piece of advice to offer to help you become a better player,” she said.
“I also watch my teammates to see if I can do (what they’re doing) too, if it works for them.”
Seniors tasting success
Ramirez is especially happy that the three seniors on the team are experiencing a winning season.
“The girl that’s probably played the most varsity is Taylor Rickli,” he said. “She’s been there through thick and thin, the first girl they had to pull up (to varsity) when she got to high school.
“Jackie Villanueva has always been the ‘rah rah girl’ on the team. Sophia Griffin is also probably tired of having those losing seasons.”
The five juniors on the team are Hannah Conway, Leah Wilder, Sammi Jurgensen, Avery Vogel and Molly McNitt. Freshmen Grace Mitchell and AJ Rickli join them as well.
Baney said the key to this year’s team is “our team is stronger and has a greater knowledge of our sport of basketball.
“I think we click a little better and we all have the ultimate goal of wanting to win.”
Roy added that team chemistry has a lot to do with the Red Wolves’ success
“We all really do get along on and off the court, which helps a lot with playing as a team,” she said.
“I think we’re all sick of losing in any sport. Coming off a losing season makes you want to work harder.”
Baney said after her freshman year, she knows other teams are aware of her on the court: “I feel I do get targeted a lot and double-teamed, but it makes it even better that I’m seen that way through other people’s eyes.”
Ramirez said the sophomore is one of the team captains for a reason.
“You need one of those young people who can work with the middle school kids,” he said. “They see her as an example, not only on the court but off the court, too.
“I see some of the younger kids gravitate to her. She’s a little bit of a stats-stuffer, too.”
Ramirez said the young players are the future of the team, and that future looks bright.
The junior varsity is currently undefeated.
“The JV team pushes the varsity girls to keep playing the way they are because they want to get on varsity,” he said.
“That’s one of those good things where the program as a whole is getting better.”
Paw Paw a good fit
Ramirez, who is a research and development specialist at Zoetis in Kalamazoo, said he was helping a friend do some offseason coaching that included a few girls from Paw Paw.
They mentioned the varsity job might be open.
“I juggled it in my head because I was at Comstock,” he said. “Something pulled me over here.
“I already knew they had a core group of girls who were dedicated to the gym. That’s always a must for me.”
He said by June, he knew it was a good fit because “there were already girls lined up to do summer stuff with me, wanting to do a lot of scrimmaging and whatnot.”
Ramirez said the program’s success is a team effort, and not only from the players.
“I have a great coaching staff; it’s not just me,” he said. “Katie Steers is a new JV coach; my assistant coach Montana Martin is new and came with me from Comstock.
“They all played basketball at Trine University, so they’re a good woman example of teaching how to be a good high school and college athlete. I’m only as good as my coaching staff.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Paw Paw sophomores Addison Roy, left, and Katelyn Baney are leading a resurgent varsity this winter. (2) From top: Baney, Roy and coach Ernie Ramirez. (3) Roy gets in position for a rebound against Vicksburg. (4) Baney follows through on a free throw. (Action photos by Brent McNitt/1001 Words Photography. Head shots by Pam Shebest.)