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.
Improved Dundee Enjoys Memorable Start
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 12, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Dundee boys basketball team has stacked up a pair of accomplishments already this winter – one to enjoy right now, and another to take pride in for years to come.
The Vikings, after finishing last season 10-11, are off to an 8-0 start this winter. The early run has included a 67-64 win on Dec. 15 over Onsted, last year’s Lenawee County Athletic Association champion.
The significance of that accomplishment is easy for players to get, especially since the majority of this year’s rotation went through the growing pains of last season. But the historic meaning of the win that came after Onsted probably will take some more time to sink in – even as it’s bound to be one of the most lasting achievements of these players’ careers.
Dundee’s 60-50 win over Carleton Airport on Dec. 20 was the 1,000th victory in program history, making the Vikings one of at least 12 in Michigan high school history to have reached that milestone and the first from Monroe County.
“I don’t think at their age they understand how big of an accomplishment that is – that you’d basically have to go undefeated 50 straight years to get to 1,000,” said second-year coach Jordan Bollin, who is in his 11th season total as a coach in the southeast part of the state. “We tried to explain it to them, and I think they do (get it more) now.”
Dundee is the Applebee’s “Team of the Month” for December in part for both headlining moments this season, pulling off its first five wins during that first month and seven of eight so far by double figures.
The Vikings are paced by six seniors, including four who start alongside junior Ben Miller, who also started last season as a sophomore and leads with team with 12.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. To make this season's jump, they put in the necessary time; Bollin said he held four-player workouts three times a week during the offseason, in addition to the players honing their skills during open gyms and over a busy summer.
Bollin also emphasized that while the program has undergone a system change – introducing a more free-flowing offense and shorter practices this winter – it’s maintained the same culture of toughness that exists throughout the community and is often most recognizable with the school’s best-known team – a wrestling program that has won three of the last four MHSAA Division 3 championships.
“I’ve coached at a couple places, and the kids at Dundee are tougher bred,” said Bollin, who graduated from Temperance Bedford, then assisted there and at Blissfield before coming to Dundee as an assistant three seasons ago. “I don’t know how to explain it. The parents do a great job of raising them. A lot of the parents played at Dundee, and it’s a well-versed culture there. It’s a very tough community … and it’s always ‘Yes coach. No coach,’ very respectful kids.
“The wrestling program sets the tone, and if our kids ever get tired or feel that our practice is tough, we ask, ‘Do you want to go wrestle?’ Tim (Roberts) is one of the best coaches probably in the nation, and they probably outwork any team in any sport in the state, and I can say that in confidence.”
It’s certainly worth noting that Dundee’s basketball program also is making this impressive run sharing winter athletes with that wrestling program in a school of just under 500 students. That might make the Vikings’ basketball depth notable as well; Bollin said in 11 seasons he’s never had a team with this many contributors, as six players have scored at least 13 points in a game. Senior guard Brayden Federer is another top scorer, pouring in 12 points per game while also serving as the leading lockdown defender.
For Dundee’s next game after winning 1,000, against Flat Rock on Dec. 22, the Vikings welcomed the school’s 1987-88 team that advanced to the Class C Semifinals and is considered the program’s best of all-time (Dundee’s 1937-38 team also made the Class C Semifinals, but no team has won a Regional title since 1988). Those past players were recognized with an on-court ceremony and visited the locker room before the game to meet the current players before these Vikings went on to a 44-30 win to close the month.
Bollin had an idea before this season that this team might be lined up for a special run too. So far it’s included a couple of meaningful accomplishments, and the Vikings hope they’re just getting started.
“We’re a starless team … and even in my second year, I’m improved as a coach. We’re prepared for anything they see, but a lot of it is on them,” Bollin said of his players. “People take it for granted, that experience, but it’s a big deal. These guys don’t get rattled much this year. Last year if a team switched defenses on them, it would set them back a couple of plays.
“(And) we’re a really close-knit unit, and they don’t let each other slack. It’s easy to coach when you have a team like that.”
Past Teams of the Month, 2016-17
November: Rockford girls swimming & diving - Report
October: Rochester girls golf - Report
September: Breckenridge football - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Dundee’s Tyler Turner looks to get past an Onsted defender during the Vikings’ three-point win last month. (Middle) Dundee players and coaches commemorate the program’s 1,000th win after defeating Carleton Airport. (Photos courtesy of the Dundee boys basketball program.)