Tradition-Rich Kingston Adding to Legacy
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 31, 2018
Camryn MacGuire remembers watching Kingston varsity basketball games and dreaming about the day she could be on the court.
Evan Neff enjoyed going to games so much as a kid, he kept coming back even after his family moved away for a few years while he was in middle school.
Now both are leading the way for the Cardinals on the court as the Kingston girls and boys basketball teams are inspiring another group of youngsters in their small town.
“I know a lot of little kids come to our games and are huge fans,” said Neff, a sophomore on the boys team. “I know I’ve talked to a couple eighth graders, and they say they can’t wait to play on varsity with me their sophomore year. I think a lot of the littler kids can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Basketball is king in Kingston, and this winter, Cardinals fans have plenty to cheer about. The girls team was 12-0 heading into Wednesday night’s game against Croswell-Lexington, and ranked No. 1 in Class D by the Detroit Free Press and No. 2 by The Associated Press.
The boys started the season on a nine-game winning streak, and are 11-2.
“I think it’s the same thing wherever you’re going to: if you’re winning, if you’re putting a good product out there, you’re going to see a lot of people there,” boys coach Dave Lester said. “In our little town, it seems like everybody is there for the girls games and guys games. We’ve got a great, great student body. Our home games are electric. It’s a fun atmosphere. It’s fun to coach, and it’s gotta be fun to play.
“It’s what high school sports are all about. I think that atmosphere attracts your younger athletes to want to be a part of it. If they’re there and seeing us win, that’s contagious.”
Lester and girls coach Jay Green have been part of it for the better part of the past three decades, first as players for Kingston and now as coaches.
They played together in the late 1980s, and in Green’s senior year, he helped the boys team reach the MHSAA Quarterfinals.
Green returned to coach the girls team and win four District titles in four years – along with his brother, Dave – during the late 90s. Lester took over the girls program in 2003 and coached the team to the Quarterfinal. The Greens came back to the program in 2011, and Lester took over the boys team midway through the 2013-14 season.
“I think there’s probably a little more passion toward what you do, and what you’re trying to instill into the girls and the boys because you are an alumni,” Jay Green said. “I think both of us could say we were successful alumni in the past. And we both learned under coach Leon Westover when we played, then developed our own ideas, and we have that pride of seeing both the boys and girls doing well.”
Green credits his team’s current success, in part, to the parents in the program, who have taken the time to get their girls to the gym for years and been supportive throughout.
MacGuire agreed.
“My parents, and a bunch of the girls on my team’s parents were always pushing us, and always getting us to play as much as we could,” the point guard said. “They were always telling us that big things were coming. Our starting five is all juniors, and we’ve been playing together since the fourth grade or third grade.”
Kingston’s girls aren’t focused too much on the rankings, or the record, but more on preparing themselves for the postseason. They’ve already scored a win against Class C power Sandusky, and the game against Cros-Lex will provide a test against a strong Class B program. A game against another Class B school, Yale, was postponed because of weather this past Monday.
“I love playing bigger schools,” MacGuire said. “It gives you more competition, and you get to push yourself even more; then it’s even better if you come out with the win. It’s going to benefit us in the tournament.”
Their classmates are providing plenty of support to both teams. MacGuire said there’s been a buzz in the hallways all season, and both she and Neff said their teams make sure to cheer each other on whenever their schedules allow.
“I never really watched girls basketball until seventh or eighth grade when we moved back to Kingston,” Neff said. “I remember watching those teams, and I was really impressed. My eighth grade year, they had like four or five freshmen on varsity, and I knew they were going to be outstanding. Those girls work really hard, and they’re great athletes.”
“We try to make it to as many (boys) games as we can, even the road games,” MacGuire said. “We support each other both ways. It’s a good atmosphere.”
No Kingston team has ever been beyond the Quarterfinals, but the conference and District championships have piled up through the years. And as dedicated players keep walking into the program, it could just be a matter of time before a group of them breaks through.
“It’s just a tradition here, and our kids know it,” Lester said. “When you walk into our gym, there’s tons and tons of basketball banners. We really talk about tradition and how it would be great to continue that tradition and put up more banners.
“Obviously, we would like to make a long run. At some point, you want to win a state championship, but it’s a process. We’ve got some kids who were playing a lot of basketball, putting a lot of time into it. They want to win, and they want to be a part of that tradition.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kingston’s Carley Smith, left, pushes the ball upcourt while junior Nathan Cloyd, right, launches a shot. (Middle) Gerilyn Carpenter looks for open teammates during a game this season. (Below) Sophomore Evan Neff works to get around a Bad Axe defender. (Photos by Spot On By Shari.)
Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Boys Report Post-Break
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 8, 2024
Another action-filled holiday break is behind us, and it’s full speed ahead over the next seven weeks as the 2023-24 run to Breslin Center nears the halfway point for Michigan’s high school boys basketball teams.
This is always the time as well that we begin turning our attention to the Michigan Power Ratings, used each winter to seed the top two teams in each District bracket based on results against other MHSAA Tournament opponents during the regular season.
Those lists, showing all teams together, separately by division or broken down even further by District, can be found on the MPR page. A “snapshot in time” look of the top 20 in each division will be provided every Monday on the Boys Basketball Rankings page.
Read on for some of the most notable action from the break and a look at what’s coming up during the week to come. Rankings noted above and reports below all are based on schedules and results reported to MHSAA.com. “Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. East Kentwood 47, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 42 The Falcons (4-2) already were a team to watch this season again, and expectations no doubt grew with this win over Rice (8-2) at the Mike Turner Classic at Albion College.
2. Detroit Catholic Central 80, Davison 65 The Shamrocks (7-2) are making their bid to be the best in the Catholic High School League Central and followed up a 55-53 win over Brother Rice last week with this one over the Cardinals (5-3) at the Grand Blanc Showcase.
3. East Lansing 60, Detroit Martin Luther King 41 The Trojans (8-0) earned perhaps their most impressive win of a strong start over the Crusaders (8-3) at the PSL Holiday Classic at Cass Tech.
4. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 56, Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 52 On the way to winning the Cornerstone University Holiday Tournament Blue title, FHC (8-1) handed Tri-unity (8-1) what remains its lone loss of the winter.
5. Big Rapids 52, Traverse City St. Francis 51 (OT) The Cardinals (7-2) opened the new year by getting past the reigning Division 3 runner-up Gladiators (4-3) in overtime.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
North Farmington (8-0) Off a 22-2 finish a year ago, North Farmington is riding another notable start that’s included only one single-digit win – 66-57 over Zeeland West at Northville’s Winter Shootout. The Raiders opened the season with 58-46 victory over King, and a 17-pointer over Clarkston and 15-pointer over West Bloomfield also are among results jumping off the page.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (7-1) A late rush last season ended with a trip to the Division 1 Semifinals, and St. Mary’s picked right back up to start this winter with its only loss to Detroit U-D Jesuit on Dec. 18; they meet again Jan. 19. The Eaglets bounced back from that defeat with wins over Flint Beecher, Detroit University Prep, Warren Lincoln and Warren De La Salle Collegiate.
DIVISION 2
Flint Powers Catholic (8-1) After finishing 16-8 last season, Powers is halfway to equaling that win total with five of these early victories over teams with winning records including 92-65 over Fenton and 72-67 over Saginaw Arthur Hill on Friday to start the Saginaw Valley League schedule. The lone loss came to Division 1 power De La Salle at the Motor City Roundball Classic, and Arthur Hill is the only other opponent to come within 13 points of catching the Chargers.
Warren Lincoln (6-1) As noted above, Lincoln lost to St. Mary’s, 65-58, at the Roundball Classic. That remains the Abes’ lone defeat as they’ve downed West Bloomfield, Port Huron Northern and Grosse Pointe South among others – the latter two show up among the top 20 in Division 1 MPR as of today. The schedule is filled with several more high-level matchups as Lincoln looks to build on last season’s 19-5 finish.
DIVISION 3
Menominee (8-1) The Maroons finished last season 14-11 overall but with an 8-2 run, and they’ve exceeded that to start this season with their lone loss to the Milwaukee School of Languages. A 67-58 win over St. Ignace on Dec. 8 was especially strong, and Menominee opened the Great Northern Conference schedule with a 70-59 win over reigning runner-up Escanaba as the Maroons look to bounce back from finishing fourth in 2023.
Niles Brandywine (8-1) A 57-55 loss to Riverview Gabriel Richard at the Roundball Classic is all that’s kept Brandywine from a perfect start after finishing last season in the Division 3 Semifinals. Bridgman last week is the only other opponent to give Brandywine a single-digit game, as the Bobcats prevailed 55-46. And the game to circle is Friday’s, as Brandywine heads to Benton Harbor – more on that below.
DIVISION 4
Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (9-1) The Irish have bounced back from an early loss to Wyoming Tri-unity Christian with eight consecutive victories all by at least 12 points. Seven of those wins were against opponents that are above .500 or would be without the loss from Sacred Heart, and the Irish are atop the Mid-State Activities Conference in part because of a 59-39 win over second-place Fulton.
St. Ignace (5-2) That loss to Menominee (see above) and another to Division 2 Detroit Voyageur at the Roundball Classic haven’t kept the Saints from an early No. 3 ranking in Division 4 MPR. Wins over Harbor Springs and Boyne City have helped feed that rise, and Tuesday’s first of two matchups this season with undefeated Pickford should be telling as well.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Detroit Catholic Central (7-2) at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (7-1) – These Catholic League Central rivals are Nos. 2 and 1, respectively, in Division 1 MPR this week, and DCC won both matchups last winter.
Tuesday – Ann Arbor Pioneer (6-0) at Ypsilanti Lincoln (8-1) – This is the first of two matchups between two of the early leaders in the Southeastern Conference Red.
Friday – Grand Rapids Christian (7-0) at Grand Rapids Northview (5-0) – The early leaders in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White face off for the first time after Northview swept last season’s series.
Friday – Niles Brandywine (8-1) at Benton Harbor (9-0) – This is the first of two Lakeland Conference matchups between these two, and Benton Harbor handed Brandywine its only two losses before Breslin Center last season.
Saturday – Detroit Cass Tech (7-0) vs. Davison (5-3) at Ferndale – The night after a likely tough league matchup with Detroit Renaissance, Cass Tech plays in arguably the most intriguing of the Horatio Williams MLK Freedom Classic.
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PHOTOS (Top) Braylon Isom gets to the basket for Saginaw Heritage during the Hawks’ 73-66 win over Chelsea on Dec. 29 at the Motor City Roundball Classic. (Middle) Iron Mountain's Oskar Kangas goes up for a shot while being defended by Ishpeming Westwood's Edward Anderson during the Mountaineers’ 67-43 win Friday. (Photos by Terry Lyons and Cara Kamps, respectively.)