#TBT: Hoops Titans Meet in Class A Final
July 26, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The talk of the 1998-99 high school boys basketball season in Michigan revolved around a pair of Class A stars who went on to meet in one of the most highly-anticipated MHSAA championship games in recent memory.
It’s been two decades since Lavell Blanchard led Ann Arbor Pioneer to a 54-47 win over Jason Richardson and Saginaw Arthur Hill, holding off the Lumberjacks’ third-quarter comeback attempt to claim the program’s lone boys basketball championship.
Richardson, who claimed the state’s Mr. Basketball Award just ahead of Blanchard earlier that week, had 16 points, nine rebounds and six steals in only 24 minutes of action with four fouls forcing him off the floor. Blanchard scored a game-high 29 points to go with 14 rebounds in his final prep game, staying on the court for all 32 minutes of the Pioneers’ victory.
Richardson played at Michigan State and then 14 seasons in the NBA, while Blanchard went on to University of Michigan and then played professionally in Europe.
This summer, Blanchard has found his way back to making an impact at the high school level. He was one of 30 first-year athletic directors in attendance at the MHSAA’s New Athletic Director Orientation Program at the MHSAA Office on Thursday and is readying to lead Manchester High School’s athletic department this school year.
PHOTO: Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Lavell Blanchard, left, defends the rim as Jason Richardson drives during the 1999 Class A boys basketball championship game.
Flashback 100: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend
September 13, 2024
Known for his roles in "Field of Dreams," "The Sandlot," "Star Wars," and several more, James Earl Jones graduated from Dickson High School in Brethren in 1949. During his senior year, he served as his class' vice president and wore number 27 on the varsity basketball team. He died on Sept. 9, at the age of 93.
Jones was born in Arkabutla, Miss., in 1931 and later moved to live with his grandparents in Dublin, Mich. After Dickson High School, Jones graduated from the University of Michigan – and he leant his iconic voice to the Wolverines years later for the hype video played before each home football game (watch here).
There is a life-sized bronze statue of Jones and his mentor, Donald Crouch, in Brethren. Jones struggled with a stutter and, with Crouch's help, overcame it and went on to a well-documented acting career. Jones won an Academy Award in 2011, Emmy Awards in 1990, 1991, and 2000, a Golden Globe Award in 1970, a Grammy Award in 1977, and Tony Awards in 1969, 1987 and 2017.
Dickson High School consolidated with Kaleva and Norman High Schools in 1964 into what is now Brethren High School.
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Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS James Earl Jones is pictured alone and with his basketball teammates at Brethren Dickson. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)