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Performance: East Jordan’s Jordan Weber
December 15, 2015
Jordan Weber
East Jordan senior – Basketball
Nine seconds into his team's new season, Weber became East Jordan’s all-time leading scorer. The 6-foot senior guard drilled a deep 3-pointer on his team's first possession against opening-night opponent Mancelona to break the former record of 1,170 points set by Mike Goebel from 1983-86 and earn this week’s Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.” (See below for video of his history-making shot and the brief recognition that followed .) He finished with 24 points total in the 66-20 road win.
Heading into tonight’s game against Charlevoix, Weber has 1,193 points and a number of additional school records: 45 points scored in a game, 614 for one season, 91 3-pointers in one season and 208 3-pointers over his four-year varsity career. His 3-pointers last season were the 13th-most in MHSAA history, and with a similar output this winter he’ll finish among the top five on the career list. Weber has played big parts in multiple history-making team accomplishments as well. As a sophomore, he helped Class C East Jordan to its first District championship since 1997 and first Regional championship since 1953. He has a few more similar opportunities ahead. The Red Devils went a combined 36-11 over the last two seasons finishing second and then third in the Lake Michigan Conference – and this winter should again contend for a first league championship since 2000. They also are possible contenders while seeking their first MHSAA championship.
Weber also plays baseball, and he is ranked eighth academically of 63 students in his graduating class with a 3.66 grade-point average while taking multiple Advanced Placement courses. He has opportunities to continue his basketball and academic career at multiple small colleges in Michigan and Illinois, and would like to eventually study physical therapy.
Coach (and father) Darrin Weber said: “Jordan has been fortunate to have outstanding teammates. Without the kids he’s played with, none of these accomplishments would have been possible. He has a great understanding of the game, outstanding offseason work ethic and an extremely high competitive drive. He has been the best player I have ever coached."
Performance Point: “Obviously it was an honor to get that. I was preparing for that game just like I was preparing for any other game, but it was in the back of my mind. Going in, I just wanted to win the game. I didn’t want to take over, force myself to get the record. I just let the game get to me, and it happened in the first nine seconds. If I’m open, it’s going up. To become the all-time leader in anything is a big deal, in any level of play, if they are going to stop the game and congratulate you. But it was just that I needed two more points; the dream for me (instead) would be to win the state title.
Title aspirations: “To win a conference title, it’s a lot more important than just to win the District title or anything like that. It means we’re playing better than anyone in the conference the whole year. “(In the MHSAA Tournament,) we’re like a Cinderella team, like an eight seed, nine or 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It motivates me just to get that spotlight on the team, small East Jordan down there making it that far.”
Father knows best: “I get two points of view from the same person. There’s the coaching standpoint, and then I go home and talk to him as Dad. He’s hard on me in practice, and I like that. I don’t want a soft coach. Then, to love a father figure in this game I love … he’s coached me since elementary school, and we’ve always been able to connect like that.”
He’s got game: “I’m not just going to sit in the corner and shoot. I’m going to create my shot, going to create shots for other people. I like to get my shot off quickly like (Golden State’s) Steph Curry does. I like to try to attack the rim as hard as (Oklahoma City’s) Russell Westbrook does. Try to, at least.”
Leaving a legacy: “I like to leave something like that, for kids coming up to all want to shoot like Jordan Weber. There’s a little youth program my dad holds every Saturday, and I haven’t missed a Saturday. All the kids love seeing me there … (and I like) to be a role model for little kids.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 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, respond 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 protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) East Jordan's Jordan Weber unloads a shot during a game last season; he set his school's career scoring record last week against Mancelona. (Middle) Weber, right, poses with his dad and coach Darrin Weber. (Photos courtesy of the Weber family.)
![Romulus Summit Academy North boys basketball](/sites/default/files/2021-03/210317_Summit_2H.jpg)
Romulus Summit Academy Continuing Impressive Climb
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
March 17, 2021
As a co-founder of Romulus Summit Academy, Leann Hedke was intent on creating an atmosphere conducive to academic achievement.
Summit opened its doors in Flat Rock in 1996 for grades K-5, soon expanding to K-12 once the school moved to Romulus the following year. According to Hedke, in the last 10 years 100 percent of those graduating were accepted to a college or university.
Also, according to a 2017 report, Summit had the highest graduation rate among charter schools in Michigan and was ranked in the top 50 by graduation rate during the 2015-2016 school year. Summit, rated No. 17, had a graduation rate of 98.58 percent, nearly 20 percent better than the state average of 79.65.
Mission accomplished.
But something was missing: a competitive athletics program. Often a viable athletic program will enhance academics. A competitive athletic program can generate enthusiasm and give students a reason to be proud of their school, in addition to academics.
Summit Academy North High School didn’t sponsor varsity sports until the early 2000s and, frankly, they weren’t very good, particularly in the sports of boys basketball and football. From 2004-2016 the football team boasted three winning seasons and made the playoffs once (2007). Until the 2019-20 season, the most wins the basketball team totaled was 10.
“Our focus has been on the scholar-athlete,” Hedke said. “We focus on academics. Our GPA (grade-point average) requirements are higher than what the (Michigan High School Athletic Association) requires.”
Hedke said there’s been quite of bit of turnover in the coaching ranks in boys basketball over the years. Part of this is due to the lack of success, as far as wins and losses, but some of this can be attributed to the high standards Hedke and her fellow administrators demand. Swearing is taboo, and a coach is expected to be a stickler for discipline, and must adhere to a strict decorum.
With the backing of Summit athletic director William McKoy, veteran coach Mark White, less than a month before the start of the season, was hired in November of 2018. Summit was 9-12 during White’s first season before showing vast improvement last winter finishing 16-4. Highlighting that season was the school’s first division title (within the Charter School Conference) and a spot in a Division 2 District Final against Flat Rock. Summit has never won a District title so this game loomed as the most important in school history.
Then COVID-19 hit, ending the season.
Summit returned four starters from that team and is off to a 15-0 start with the MHSAA Tournament less than a week away. Most of its victories have been by double digits including last Saturday’s 71-53 victory over Taylor, a Division 1 school, and Tuesday’s 72-46 victory over Detroit Community in a conference tournament quarterfinal. Summit’s semifinal is scheduled for Thursday.
Two wins stand out in particular, and both came on the road. Summit defeated Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy, 54-51, on March 1 and then upset No. 3-ranked (in Division 2) Detroit Edison, 49-46, on March 8. Edison’s only other loss this season was to Warren De La Salle Collegiate, a Division 1 school, 72-68. Both Chandler Park and Edison are Charter School Conference members and have had strong programs over the years.
White starts one senior, guard Jamel Johnson, who’s averaging 10 points per game and was selected second-team all-conference. Sophomore James Wright averages 17 points and nine rebounds. White’s top player is junior and three-year starter Orlando Lovejoy, Jr., a 6-2 guard who was selected conference player of the year. His 23 points led Summit in its victory over Community. Lovejoy averages 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists per game.
“All of our players got better during the offseason,” Lovejoy said. “(White) is an intense coach. He’s demanding. He’s constantly pushing us. He’s a perfectionist.”
Much of the credit goes to White for the recent success, but one can’t overlook the talented players within the school. Take the recent success of the football program for example. The football team was 0-9 in both 2015 and 2016. The Dragons went 5-4 the next two seasons before finishing 8-3 in 2019, a run which included an 18-12 victory over Redford Union in a Division 4 District opener, the program’s first playoff win. This past regular season was shortened to six games because of the pandemic, and Summit won two playoff games finishing 7-2.
“Summit is an excellent school,” White said. “They’re in line with what I want to be as a coach.
“There are more accolades for a team that hasn’t been that good in the past. (Winning) has never been done before here. I feel the best is yet to come, and not just for the team, but for the school as well. Gaining recognition in basketball helps promote the school. People will find out about how good Summit is as a school.”
Winning is anything but new for White. His first season as a head coach was at his alma mater Detroit Renaissance in 1998. In 2000 Renaissance, which had never played for a Detroit Public School League title, won the PSL defeating Detroit Redford, 41-37, in the championship game. Renaissance won the title again in 2002 and 2003. Renaissance then won two MHSAA Class B titles (2004, 2006) under White.
White left Renaissance after the 2005-06 season to become head coach at Adrian College, another alma mater. He spent seven seasons there before returning to the high school level at River Rouge. White guided River Rouge to the Class B Semifinals in 2017 and 2018.
White said he couldn’t be happier, at this time in his professional life, than he is now at Summit. In addition to his duties as the boys basketball coach, White is also the school’s academic interventionist and assistant athletic director.
Lovejoy is aware of the success his coach has had at other schools. And even though Summit hasn’t achieved that type of success, he said anything is possible.
“We want to win our conference tournament, a District and Regional title, and the states,” Lovejoy said. “To some that’s farfetched, but it is realistic. We’re with a coach who’s done it before.
“This is special. (Summit) has never won a District, and here we are undefeated. We’re soaking it all in. We want to give the school something to cheer about.”
Lovejoy and his teammates recently gave Hedke a gift from their hearts. It’s a poster, a collage of sorts, with photos of the team in addition to pictures the players painted. This was in response to Hedke being a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer this past November and now is cancer-free.
“Mark is a wonderful coach,” Hedke said. “He focuses on what (the players) do well. He talks about who they are and what they represent. He teaches them to be aware. When I was going through my cancer, he told the players that we’re fighting on the court to win a game. She’s fighting for her life.”
The players have since dedicated their season to Hedke.
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Raevon Thomas (10) gets up a shot during Summit Academy’s Senior Night win over Taylor. (Middle) Summit’s Orlando Lovejoy makes a move to the basket Saturday. (Below) Dragons coach Mark White huddles his team. (Photos by Aaron Goodman.)