Performance: Jesuit's Cassius Winston
March 31, 2016
Cassius Winston
Detroit U-D Jesuit senior - Boys Basketball
Winston said his team's trip last weekend to the Breslin Center was like a final exam for his high school career – and he earned a perfect score. Winston led the Cubs to their first MHSAA basketball championship and the final victories of a 28-0 season to earn the Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week.
The 6-foot-1 guard, who earlier in the week received the state's Mr. Basketball Award as the top senior in Michigan, scored 27 points and dished 12 assists in a Semifinal win over then-undefeated Macomb Dakota to send U-D Jesuit to its first championship game. He had 31 points in the Final, making 14 of 16 shots to go with nine assists in the 69-49 win over North Farmington.
For the season, Winston averaged 21.9 points and 7.5 assists per game and also started on the U-D Jesuit teams that reached the Semifinals his sophomore and junior seasons. He has signed to continue his career at Michigan State University, and as the Detroit Free Press reported earlier this season carries a 3.5 grade-point average while taking a number of honors classes.
Coach Pat Donnelly said: "Nothing Cassius does surprises me. He's been doing this for four years. He was 14 of 16 from the floor, and a lot of that is great shot selection. He's one of the most unselfish players I've ever coached, if not the (most unselfish). The reason he shoots such a high percentage is he's talented, and he also takes great shots; he doesn't force things. If he does get double-teamed or there's help, he finds the open man."
Performance Point: "(Saturday) was definitely one of those days where I knew I had to have my best performance. It was going to be my last high school game, last chance at winning a state championship. I was just kinda zoned in, focused and ready to go. ... We've been working for this moment right here."
Hot hand: "I just do what I can. I was scoring the basketball. My teammates, they kept going to me. They kept ball-screening for me every time. If I was open, I was getting the ball because I was making shots. So they provided for me."
Openings and opportunities: "Last year we didn't have as many dudes that could score the basketball, so everyone would just be waiting in the paint for me. This year, we had Scotty (Nelson) have 13, 14 points - he's been hot from the 3-pointers. We've got Ike (Eke) and Greg (Eboigbodin) down there who would be making plays. The defense couldn't just focus on me. There's a lot out there that they have to focus on. So it was kinda easier for me to get to the basket."
Perfect finish: "Everything that you want in a basketball team, we had. Matt Schearer, I don't think he shot a shot (Saturday), maybe one if that, but he doesn't mind. He's going to play defense, he's going to rebound, he's going to do whatever you need to do. We got Ike and Greg averaging 10 points, 10 rebounds. We've got dudes that come off the bench. Everything that you would like in your basketball team, we had this year, and that's how we became successful."
Green and White: "It's just a good feeling knowing I'm going to step into that huge family that's going to support me. I know there's probably a lot of Spartan fans out there who are coming out to support me and watch me do what I do. I just want to say thank you to the Spartan family."
– 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, 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 protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
March 23: Kierra Fletcher, Warren Cousino girls basketball - Read
March 16: Jacob Montague, Grosse Pointe South swimming & diving - Read
March 9: Kyle Tuttle, St. Charles boys bowling - Read
March 2: Brittney Schnicke, Caledonia girls bowling - Read
Feb. 24: Kamari Newman, Detroit East English boys basketball - Read
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit U-D Jesuit's Cassius Winston (5) looks for an open lane during Saturday's Class A Final against North Farmington. (Middle) Winston (left) and teammate Matt Schearer join the rest of the Cubs in beginning the title celebration.
Benton Harbor Aims to Add to Legacy
March 23, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Benton Harbor is wearing the weight of history, with the last name of Don Farnum across the chests of the team’s warm-up T-shirts.
But this season’s Tigers have been aiming to add to their school’s long legacy of boys basketball success – and become its first MHSAA champion in the sport since Farnum led the team to back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965.
Benton Harbor earned another championship opportunity Friday at the Breslin Center with a 60-49 Class B Semifinal win over River Rouge.
The victory sent the Tigers back to the title game for the 11th time and first since 2014.
“It’s a lot of weight, but we don’t let it get to our heads,” Benton Harbor senior guard Dennie Brown said. “We know this is a great group. We’ve had chemistry since back in middle school. So we knew coming into the season it would be something magical if we’d play the way we’ve been playing our whole lives.
“So it’s not much weight, just motivation.”
Benton Harbor will face Grand Rapids Catholic Central in Saturday’s 6:45 p.m. finale.
The Tigers (26-1) fell to New Haven 78-49 during last season’s Semifinals, as the Rockets went on to win their first Class B title.
A number of Benton Harbor’s players are the same this time around, but this is a new team.
Senior guards Shawn Hopkins (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Elijah Baxter (17 points) and sophomore forward Carlos Johnson (nine points, nine rebounds, six blocks) also started last season and set the tone Friday.
“It’s been a dream season. We’ve gone 27-1, and we had a bad half against Hazel Park – we should be undefeated,” said Benton Harbor coach Corey Sterling, noting his team’s lone loss 77-70 to the Class A Vikings. “But we want that ring tomorrow.
“This senior group earned it. They worked hard in the offseason. We lost last year … and they did everything I asked them to do. And they’re great character kids off the court with high GPAs; I’m so proud of them.”
Facing 14-time champ River Rouge, Benton Harbor saw another team both rich in history and also back at the Semifinals for the second straight season. But Rouge brought only one returning starter to East Lansing.
“It was a great experience to be here, especially as I have a young team,” River Rouge coach Mark White said. “After coming here last year and losing a lot of key players, just the magnitude of experiences, it was great for us. It was great for us, a great achievement to make it here, to play a really good team.”
White then added: “I’m not in the excuse-making business, but I’m looking forward to our guys being seniors.”
White’s young squad kept up with Sterling’s veterans for a half, and the score was deadlocked 25-25 at the break. But starting with a Johnson basket with 2:49 to play in the third quarter, the Tigers put together an 11-4 run to run out the quarter with a 10-point lead. The advantage got as large as 14 but no smaller than eight the rest of the way.
Junior guard Nigel Colvin led River Rouge (23-2) with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals while coming off the bench. Junior guard Donovan Freeman added 12 points, and freshman forward Legend Geeter added eight points and nine rebounds in 14 minutes of sub time.
Brown added eight points and four assists for the Tigers, and senior guard Devan Nichols had six points and five rebounds as the starting five scored all but two of the team’s points.
The “Farnum Boyz” shirts worn by the Tigers are more a dedication to their home court, the Don Farnum Gymnasium, than to the man himself. But a first championship in more than a half century surely would bring a lot of pride to the building and the many who have shined playing in it.
“Coming in, we just knew we had to stay focused,” Baxter said. “We have a goal, and we’ve had this goal since we were young. Coming into this game, we wanted to prove a point we didn’t prove last year.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Benton Harbor’s Carlos Johnson gets past three defenders on the way to the basket Friday. (Middle) Johnson (11) gets a hand up as River Rouge’s Nigel Colvin drives.