'Ville' Coach Driven to Make Difference
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
December 30, 2015
DETROIT – It’s unlikely. But if Juan Rickman ever gets bored, he would be a prime candidate to participate in a sleep-deprivation study.
Rickman, 32, spent five seasons as the boys basketball coach at Detroit Crockett, then became the coach at Detroit East English Village Prep when Crockett merged with Detroit Finney for the start of the 2012-13 school year.
His fulltime job is serving as an attendant agent for the Detroit Public Schools. In layman’s terms, he’s a truant officer. He also works for Wayne County in its juvenile detention department.
And if that’s not enough, Rickman and a partner are in the process of starting a medical transportation business. Rickman said he has the drivers lined up. Purchasing the vehicles is the next step.
Rickman also is a husband and a father. He and his wife Kateena have a 16-month-old daughter, Amira.
A graduate of Detroit Cass Tech and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Rickman is driven. Achievement is the driving force that supplies the motivation for himself and his family, and for the students for whom he is responsible.
“I’m grinding, just grinding,” he said. “My wife and I have a budget.
“She’s totally into my life. You want a means to an end. We want to buy a house.”
A typical day for Rickman begins at 7:45 a.m. at East English. School ends at 3:30 p.m., and then study table begins a half hour later for his players and lasts an hour and a half. Practice runs from 5:50-8 p.m. His job with Wayne County begins at 11 p.m. and he’s off at 7 – then he’s back at East English.
Rickman isn’t Superman, so this routine isn’t played out every day. But there are weeks where he’ll work three nights for Wayne County, then work a Sunday.
“There are some days I don’t sleep,” he said. “This past week I got up Monday morning and didn’t sleep until 11 (p.m.) on Wednesday.
“When my wife wasn’t working, I had to (work extended hours). Sometimes I’ll take some time off (from Wayne County). The thing is, I know when I need to tone it down.”
Kateena returned to work for an insurance company soon after giving birth. Though this helps monetarily, it also forces the Rickmans to send their child to day care.
It can be a dilemma, and it is a balancing act. But they’re determined to create a good life for themselves and their child.
Juan Rickman said he planned on cutting back on his hours during the holidays to spend more time with his family.
Along with the rewards financially from their hard work is the satisfaction of knowing they are contributing to their community. Because of his jobs within DPS and Wayne County, Juan Rickman deals with many troubled youths. He knows he’s in a position to set an example as a positive role model, and there is a responsibility to fulfill these expectations.
“I take it seriously,” Rickman said. “A big part of my job is to get these kids into college. I’ve had six of my players go on to a Division I school, but what I’m most proud of is the others. I didn’t have to work hard to get the Division I kids in school. College coaches came after them. I’m more proud of the D-II and the (players who went to) NAIA (schools). Look at Jaylin McFadden. We worked hard to get him into Ferris State.
“And these players come back around. Even the ones I kicked off the team come back. It’s a good feeling.”
Rickman and others at East English also helped the team manager earn a scholarship. Devin Smith is a senior and he’s earned a scholarship to Madonna University in Livonia through a fund the university set up.
East English is off to a 1-2 start, but the Bulldogs are expected to be a significant factor in the race for the Public School League title.
“I’m content coaching high school basketball,” Rickman said. “I’ve had opportunities to go to the next level. I didn’t like the situation.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously 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) Detroit East English boys basketball coach Juan Rickman works with his players during a practice. (Middle) Rickman, with wife Kateena, holds daughter Amira. (Photos courtesy of the Rickman family.)
Warren Lincoln Closes Boys Basketball Season with All-Time Accomplishment
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2024
EAST LANSING – You can't say Warren Lincoln is wary of rematches. Not even when the opponent is ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season.
The Abes proved winning a midseason meeting was no fluke by outlasting top-ranked Grand Rapids Christian 53-39 in Saturday's Division 2 Final at the Breslin Center.
Lincoln had defeated the Eagles 49-47 in Grand Rapids on Jan. 20, but Abes players say that win had limited influence on the outcome of the championship game two months later – and that they had no problem facing Grand Rapids Christian a second time.
"Honestly, I thought it would be different," junior guard Da'Marion Bozeman said. "We beat them the first time, so we knew they'd be ready. But we wanted to win so bad, so there was that motivation."
The Abes used a 10-1 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for their first Finals title.
The Eagles (26-3) were within 34-33 during the waning seconds of the third quarter, but Lincoln junior guard Markus Blackwell went to work. He hit a pair of 3-pointers, a layup and two free throws over a four-minute stretch to up his team’s lead to 47-39 with three minutes to go.
Blackwell has his own theory on playing Grand Rapids Christian a second time. If the teams' first meeting showed anything, it's that Warren Lincoln (24-4) – which then won 13 of 15 games after downing the Eagles the first time – had to play well inside.
"We knew what they can do and that was stopping their big man, but what we do best is play defense," he said.
"I was locked in offensively because you have to score to win. My teammates put me in a position to score, I just had to make the shots."
Blackwell finished with 24 points, including hitting 4-of-5 3-point attempts. Moses Blackwell added 12 points.
Jaylan Ouwinga had 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals for Grand Rapids Christian. Malachi Hooser had 14 points for the Eagles.
Grand Rapids Christian shot just 34.9 percent (15 of 43) from the floor this time, missing 13 of 15 3-point tries. Warren Lincoln also held a 53-39 rebounding edge.
"We knew they had the one-two punch with the (Blackwell) brothers, and they have others who can shoot," Eagles coach Eric Taylor said. "We cut the lead and had to weather the storm. I thought at the end of the third quarter and going into the fourth we were in good position. They went to a zone, and we went a little stagnant."
Lincoln coach Wydell Henry said going to a zone was risky but paid off.
"We don't typically go to zone, we want to press teams,” he said. “We want to turn you over and speed up the game."
The championship game appareance was Lincoln's first. The Eagles were playing in their first Final since 2017.
"They're a big team. We knew that," Henry said. "We beat them in Grand Rapids, which was big. We weren't scared. We just told the kids to stick it out."
PHOTOS (Top) Warren Lincoln’s Moses Blackwell (0) soars into the lane as Grand Rapids Christian’s Jaylan Ouwinga (32) attempts to block his path Saturday night at Breslin Center. (Middle) Ouwinga gets a hand up as Lincoln’s Markus Blackwell looks for an opening. (Below) Abes players raise their championship trophy. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)