Performance: Big Rapids' Demetri Martin
December 15, 2016
Demetri Martin
Big Rapids senior – Basketball
To finish last season, Martin led unranked Big Rapids to its first MHSAA Semifinals and within a basket of playing for the Class B championship. He began his senior campaign with another, more individual highlight; the 6-foot-4 guard scored his 1,000th point in a 65-50 win over Grant on Friday to earn the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.” Martin, a four-year starter, finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds against Grant and added 24 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s 63-43 win over Lakeview.
Martin also was the team’s leading scorer last season, averaging 19.5 points per game along with 8.8 rebounds before scoring a team-high 22 in a 61-60 Class B Semifinal loss to Stevensville Lakeshore. After, he was named Central State Activities Association Gold Player of the Year for the second time and made the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan all-state team. This winter, Martin is teaming with senior Christian Hector, junior Braeden Childress and others including sophomore brother and starting point guard Dorian Martin with hopes of returning to the championship mix. Demetri Martin entered this season needing 21 points to reach 1,000 for his career, and nearly pulled off the feat in the first quarter of that first game. He worked this summer on adding a longer pull-up jumper, and he went over 1,000 swishing a pull-up 3-pointer from NBA range.
Just as impressive over his four years of high school has been Martin’s climb academically. In his words, Martin entered high school with all Ds and was barely academically eligible to play basketball as a freshman, frequently skipping school before and after that season. But he’s now pulling As and Bs and plans to study for a career either in education or sports medicine. He'll surely play college basketball at some level – most of his interest has come from Division II schools but he's also had contact from one in Division I.
Coach Kent Ingles said: “He’s obviously the best player in (our) area, and the best player we’ve had in a while … and he’s following a couple pretty good kids into the mix. He’s a multi-position player; he’s actually pretty unselfish. He’d rather pass the ball than shoot it. He’s been with me four years, and we’ve won three conference championships and been to the Quarter(finals) two times. … I told him we’ll be a good team when our best player is our hardest worker, and he’s done that too. He is a real success story. He’s a neat kid. He’s bubbly, he’s fun to talk to, he’s kinda hyper and can’t sit still. But he’s grown up a lot as a young man and as a basketball player, and we’re happy to see the total development with him."
Performance Point: “Not many people can score 1,000 points, so for me to get that, it just means a lot to me,” Martin said, “that all the hard work I put in is starting to show. I thought about (the 1,000th point) for a couple of months once I found out how far (away) I was, and I was thinking I can get this in the first quarter if I actually try. I ended up with 17 (points in the first quarter), but I was just taking it slow. If I would’ve kept that scoring streak going, I probably could’ve gotten it in the first quarter.
Breslin dreams come true: “Half the state (last season) probably didn’t even know where Big Rapids is. We weren’t ranked. We’re not in the Grand Rapids area. So it’s, where is this team from? And then we show up, and everyone probably expected a blowout. (But) in the beginning of the season, before we even started practicing, I was talking to some of my old teammates and I said, ‘We’ll probably make it to Breslin this year, you know that?’ We did. We made it. We were a lot better than what we played. … Since this is my last year, I know what we have to do to get there again, and I want to try my best to get there.”
Preparing the future: “My freshman year, I was just a rebounder. I picked up the leadership stuff from (2014 graduates) Quinn Tyson, Jake Hayes, Austin Hayes; they passed me the torch, so sophomore year I would lead but not like last year when I was leading the team and obviously one of the go-to guys. (This season) I’m trying to tell (my teammates) what to do and what not to do, how the game should be played so they can score 1,000 points in their careers too, so they can lead other future Big Rapids teams. I don’t want to go out as just a scorer who didn’t really teach the kids anything.”
Football’s a hit: “I played football for the first time (this fall). It was pretty fun. I wasn’t the go-to player, so it was different. But blocking was probably the best – you get to slam people. Tryouts had already passed, but the night before two-a-days I had a dream, and I was like man, I’m going to go out and try out for football, and I knew coach wanted me to play. … I’m glad that I played, and I got physically stronger too.”
Continuing to make a difference: “I want to become a teacher … because my coach (assistant Blake) Thomas, when I came here and then I was struggling a little bit in classes, he’d invite me over and we’d study on this, and that brought my grades up a lot. To help someone out like that, and not even know them, I think that’s something some kids need and I want to do that. Sports medicine, I injure myself a lot, so if there is someone who has these problems like me, I would help them out.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Dec. 1: Rodney Hall, Detroit Cass Tech football – Read
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Demetri Martin glides around a defender during last week’s win against Grant. (Middle) Martin drives to the hoop as Big Rapids went on to a 65-50 victory. (Photos courtesy of the Big Rapids athletic department.)
Flights, Flexibility, Fun & New Friends All Parts of Beaver Island's Sports Story
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
August 27, 2021
Chartered flights and overnight stays for all away games are part of the normal routine for one northern Michigan high school’s student-athletes.
Opportunities to make lots of new friends always come with the games too.
That’s the norm for Beaver Island athletes representing the Lakers in soccer, volleyball and basketball while competing in the Northern Lights League.
“We fly everywhere, and it is awesome,” says second-year soccer coach Bryan Doughman. “I thoroughly enjoy the travel.
“The biggest challenge is the kids forgetting something, and I am ultimately responsible for ‘How am I going to fix this?’”
Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan, northwest of Charlevoix in the Lower Peninsula and southeast of Manistique in the U.P. The island is home to 600 year-round residents, with 60 students kindergarten through 12th grade, including 17 in grades 9-12 this school year.
Doughman manages a restaurant on the Island. He is a native of Cincinnati. Coaching the co-ed soccer team has permitted him to make his first trips to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island.
But social aspects provide the most benefit for the student-athletes. The Islanders will make their first trip of the season Sept. 15 to Concord Academy Boyne. As they do at home, the Islanders will play a game Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The overnight experience is provided by the home school.
“The kids will be seeing and meeting new friends,” Doughman noted. That’s what they ultimately look forward to … socially with different people.
“We all know the situation of going to work where you interact with the same people over and over again and can’t wait to meet new people,” he continued. “That’s what they kinda go through their whole lives.”
Beaver Island’s girls volleyball team opened its season Aug. 27 with a pair of losses at Maplewood Baptist in Kinross, located in the eastern Upper Peninsula.
The soccer and volleyball teams will open their home seasons Sept. 10 and 11, hosting Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh, another U.P. opponent.
“The island community enjoys being able to come and cheer on the island teams,” noted second-year volleyball coach Bridget Martin.
The boys and girls basketball teams will go through their seasons this winter similarly. Athletics and social opportunities are a source of satisfaction for Kerry Smith, Beaver Island’s athletic director. She grew up on the Island and competed for the Islanders.
“The best part of being an AD on an island is the great deal of satisfaction I get from watching our kids be able to connect with other kids their age and play a sport and have a great time doing it,” Smith said. “The kids here know what a privilege it is to be able to have a sports program, and they show their appreciation through their outstanding sportsmanship – and that makes me beam with pride!”
Dianna Behl, Beaver Island’s language arts teacher, will take over the girls basketball team this winter. She has served as the school’s Nordic ski club advisor the past four years and has practiced with the basketball team frequently. She was a three-year letter winner at Charlevoix High School.
She’s expects her team to benefit from players taking part in fall sports.
“I am very excited for our season because many of the players are participating in soccer and volleyball, so they should be in great shape for basketball season,” she said. “I hope to build on their solid base.”
Dan Burton will be entering his seventh season as the varsity boys basketball coach. He’s also developing an elementary basketball program and guiding the middle schoolers. He expects to have a middle schooler or two join the high school team to fill out the roster this winter.
“The best part of coaching is getting these the students an outlet for sports,” said Burton, a business owner on the island. “Otherwise, there’s nothing much else to do in a small town like this.
“Keeping a sports program is the most important thing.”
The soccer team also is relying on middle schoolers as it attempts to find enough players to compete. The co-ed roster is dominated by girls, and the Islanders have only two seniors and one junior on the squad.
“I just hope we can improve a lot on our basics this year,” Doughman said. “I hope to just have fun. The biggest challenge is they’re all first and second-year players, except for a handful.”
Weather is the most difficult challenge of being an island-based sports team, the coaches acknowledged.
“The greatest challenge of coaching an island team is Mother Nature,” Behl said. “The girls practice hard for days and then at the last minute bad weather comes in and the planes aren't flying us out, or our competition in, for the games.
“It is heartbreaking and happens every season,” she continued. “Nonetheless, I am so impressed with how well the girls handle it. It is a life lesson in flexibility, and they are pros.”
Because of those frequent weather changes, spotting the athletic director in the school hallways often is a bad sign.
“The weather is a major frustration and always a factor for us,” Smith said. “On game day, I try not to show my face down in the high school wing because the kids always think I am coming to deliver bad news.”
The school often chooses which teams will go on to MHSAA postseason play based on their success in the league. Beaver Island sent its boys basketball team to Districts last season.
The last Beaver Island team to move past the first round of Districts was the volleyball team in 2013. The Islanders beat Mackinaw City and went on to play Engadine before seeing their season come to an end. The school’s best-ever tournament run was by the soccer team in 2005.
“They were District winners; this was the farthest any team has ever gone,” Smith recalled. “It was a huge celebration. The team was greeted by the fire trucks, parents and pretty much the whole community when they flew home that day.”
Beaver Island anticipates sending the boys basketball team to Districts again this year, and possibly the girls basketball team as well.
Mackinac Island is the Islanders’ favorite place to travel, according to coaches’ consensus. That’s the host for the volleyball and soccer Northern Lights Conference tournaments.
“One of our favorites would have to be Mackinac Island because the girls enjoy flying to another island, riding in the horse drawn carriage and the rare treat of getting to go to a Starbucks,” she said.
Mackinac Island will host conference tournaments for soccer Oct. 16 and volleyball Oct. 23.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Beaver Island's Ella Moon passes during a volleyball match this fall. (2) Olga Burton winds up to serve. (3) Beaver Island plays its lone home soccer game during the 2020 season. (4) The Beaver Island boys basketball team participated in District play this past winter. (Photos courtesy of the Beaver Island athletic department.)