Breslin Bound: Girls Report Post-Break
January 6, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Welcome to 2020 as we charge full steam ahead into the post-holiday portion of a girls basketball season that has begun with the usual mix of predictability and surprises – and will end with a bit of a twist.
Remembering that this season will see the top two teams in each District seeded for the first time, we’d like to take this week to introduce the Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) on MHSAA.com. Teams are searchable and comparable both by division and District number, and every Monday during the regular season we’ll also pull a top 20 in each division and post them on our Second Half rankings page.
There’s a full explanation of how MPR is calculated, and for the rankings teams were considered this week that had played at least four games against opponents that also are eligible for the MHSAA Tournament, since MPR includes only those opponents in its calculation. So you won’t see undefeated Detroit Edison or Menominee in this week’s Second Half rankings – but those teams are sure to join the list over the next week or two as they play more MHSAA opponents.
Below is a look at some of what you may have missed in holiday hoops during the break. “Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com. Send corrections or missing scores to [email protected].
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grass Lake 43, Pewamo-Westphalia 40 – The Warriors continued building what’s shaping up as a special season by edging the reigning Division 3 champion at the Grand Valley State Holiday Classic.
2. East Grand Rapids 42, Southfield Arts & Technology 41 – The Pioneers should be dangerous contenders in league play and more after finishing their 2019 part of the schedule with a win over last season’s Division 1 runner-up.
3. Detroit Edison 68, Columbus Africentric Early College 59 – The reigning Division 2 champion avenged its lone loss of 2018-19 to move to 6-0 this winter.
4. St. Ignace 65, Ann Arbor Huron 52 – Even with a loss two days later to Ann Arbor Pioneer, Division 4 St. Ignace had to be happy heading home having dealt Division 1 Huron its only defeat.
5. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep 53, Southfield Arts & Technology 50 (2 OT) –Arbor Prep finished a tough couple of days for A&T. But although the Gators also lost two days later by two to Division 1 Brighton, in both games they showed they’ll again be tough against the teams in their Division 3.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Midland (6-0) Dow has most recently ruled the Midland area in girls basketball. In fact, Midland High went only 5-16 last season. But the Chemics have bounced all the way back, with double-digit wins in all but one game – their 38-31 victory over Dow on Dec. 19. Also impressive was a 15-point win over another Division 1 team on the rise, Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, at the Motor City Roundball Classic.
Temperance Bedford (6-0) The Kicking Mules’ Southeastern Conference Red is loaded, with Saline also unbeaten and Ann Arbor Huron and Pioneer with just one loss apiece. But after opening with a seven-point win over Flat Rock, Bedford has won its next five by an average of 29.4 ppg – a big return after last season’s Quarterfinal run.
DIVISION 2
Grand Rapids Christian (7-0) After 13-9 and 11-11 finishes the last two seasons, respectively, this one could see the Eagles take a step back into the elite. They earned a Cornerstone Holiday Tournament title with wins over Forest Hills Central and Zeeland East and have only one other single-digit win among their first five – a 54-46 overtime avenging of last season’s loss to Holland Christian.
Menominee (7-0) The Maroons followed up two straight .500 finishes by going 15-9 with a District title last winter, and the surge has continued. A 52-47 win over otherwise-unbeaten Ishpeming Westwood on Dec. 18 was impressive, and Menominee spent part of its holiday break winning a tournament in Gillett, Wis., with a pair of double-digit victories.
DIVISION 3
Manton (6-0) Manton is one of two Highland Conference teams entering 2020 unbeaten – rival Lake City being the other – and the reigning league champion Rangers have won six straight by double digits after opening with a 52-49 win over Charlevoix. Along the way, they also handed the lone losses to Kingsley and McBain Northern Michigan Christian – and get another major test Wednesday against Maple City Glen Lake.
Niles Brandywine (6-0) Solid wins over Berrien Springs and Kalamazoo Christian highlight Brandywine’s perfect start as it looks to build on last season’s Quarterfinal run. The Bobcats headed into the break with a 71-23 win over last season’s Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red champion Comstock, and they’ll see co-leader Buchanan for the first time Jan. 16.
DIVISION 4
Fruitport Calvary Christian (5-2) The Eagles’ season has been book-ended so far by a pair of losses to Division 3 teams, the most recent to one-loss Hart on Saturday. But a 50-46 win over Division 2 Central Montcalm the day before can’t be overlooked – the Hornets are 4-2 but hadn’t lost a regular-season game for two straight heading into this winter. Senior Kelsey Richards’ scoring gives Calvary a shot to make a run at any time.
Pickford (7-0) The Panthers closed the 2018-19 regular season with seven straight wins and 13 over their final 14 games to claim the Eastern Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference title by a victory ahead of Cedarville and Rudyard. They don’t see either of those teams until later this month, but they’ve set the standard so far with all double-digit wins and four by 30 points or more. A 62-46 win over Gaylord St. Mary on Dec. 4 remains the Snowbirds’ only defeat.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Southfield Arts & Technology (4-3) at West Bloomfield (5-1) – This will surely affect the Oakland Activities Association Red race; both are perfect in league play, and both teams’ losses have come against some of the state’s best.
Tuesday – Detroit Edison (6-0) at East Lansing (5-0) – Contenders in Divisions 2 and 1, respectively, face off with one accepting its first defeat of this season.
Tuesday – Bloomfield Hills Marian (5-0) at Farmington Hills Mercy (6-0) – These Detroit Catholic League Central rivals could set the conference pace again after Marian finished first and Mercy second last season.
Wednesday – Manton (6-0) at Maple City Glen Lake (4-1) – These two sit No. 5 and No. 4, respectively, in Division 3 MPR as of Monday afternoon.
Thursday – Calumet (5-1) at Ishpeming Westwood (4-1) – These two are looking early like two of the Upper Peninsula’s best in any division, and that means they could see each other in the Division 3 postseason as well.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” reports are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Midland earned a 38-31 win over rival Midland Dow on Dec. 19 to help spark a perfect start this season. (Photo courtesy of the Midland girls basketball program.)
1,000-Point Pair Setting Tone for Watervliet's Hoops League Champions
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2022
Watervliet High School’s varsity boys basketball team was trailing Fennville on the road Feb. 8 when senior shooting guard Andrew Chisek reached 1,000 career points. His milestone was acknowledged during the contest, but Chisek reduced the cheering to a low-frequency buzz as he went back to work — like that of the faint mechanical hum from furnaces and lights bouncing around the walls of an empty gymnasium.
Gym rats know that sound.
The Panthers (15-3) ended up losing that night, a rarity this season for coach Dan Hoff’s re-energized program, which shared the Southwestern Athletic Conference Lakeshore title. Watervliet won just nine games combined during Chisek’s first two seasons. The Panthers won 13 games during last year’s COVID-shortened slate and have a shot at 16 this winter with one regular-season game remaining.
Like all the hours spent with a shooting machine and no one there to witness it, Chisek wasn’t concerned about individual praise.
“I’ve just been focusing on the next game, but I’m sure it will hit me after the season how crazy that is,” Chisek said. “I just want to play more and more games. I haven’t really focused on my achievements as much as team achievements. It’s kind of a next-game mentality. It’s an effort thing. I’m hoping to win a District championship.”
Hoff, who took over in 2019-20, explained how Chisek’s example set the tone for a rebuilding process at Watervliet.
“The biggest adjustment for Andrew was he began playing with players who were capable of scoring like he was,” Hoff said. “He did a wonderful job of getting them more involved in the scoring part of the game. Previous to that he didn’t have to and shouldn’t have because he was such an important scorer for the team.”
Chisek’s production this season includes 13.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He’s the third 1,000-point scorer on the boys side in Watervliet history, joining the likes of Kevin Bryce (1,114 points in 2009), Dan Hutchinson (1,016 points in 1983) and Jason Forrester (1,158 points in 1992).
“To Andrew’s credit and the type of person he is, it appeared to me that he just wanted to help the team try to win the game (against Fennville),” Hoff added. “It was a brief moment of recognition, but his focus was immediately back on what we can do to be successful. The team approach of these guys has been remarkable. With all of my years of coaching I’ve had, I’ve been amazingly impressed with how these guys have buried their egos, buried their personal goals and really focused on what we can do every day to get better.
“When you’re working to start a new program like we have in my first three years, to have one of your best players be so dedicated to improving himself while having other kids join him, has been so instrumental in our progress.”
The student-athletes who do the extra work when nobody’s around are often the ones that require the least attention.
Samantha Dietz, a junior forward for the Watervliet girls squad, knew she was approaching the same feat this past Saturday after leading the team in scoring the last three seasons, needing eight points to join the exclusive club. After she knocked down a free throw in the second quarter at Paw Paw, the public address announcer made note of the accomplishment and Dietz admitted the pause in action rattled her. She missed the second free throw and was happy the moment had passed so she and the Panthers could get back to the task at hand. They closed out the game for a 54-37 win — their 18th of the year.
“It was cool that it happened,” she said. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect, I guess. It was good to get it out of the way before tournament time. Now I can just focus on that. What has helped the most is having those rough years. It was a struggle my freshman year. It helped to go through that. We all play all the sports we can, and we’ve all been together and work hard.”
Her father, Watervliet athletic director and varsity girls coach Ken Dietz, has had the best seat in the house during this journey. In an undoubtedly proud dad moment, he didn’t stray from his role of coach. The two can look back on the memory as father and daughter later.
“It was just business,” said Ken Dietz, whose team is preparing for a Division 3 District Semifinal matchup Wednesday with Cassopolis. “I fist bumped her after the game and told her ‘Congratulations,’ but we keep it separate. We just keep it that way. It has worked that way. It sounds simple. It’s fun and it’s not stressful at all. I don’t think I treat her any different than anyone else on the team. I’m one of the blessed ones.
“I’m just so proud of her work ethic. If your best player doesn’t work hard every day in practice and doesn’t work hard in the game, it’s tough to get everybody to work hard. In high school, if you work harder than everybody, you’re going to be a better-than-average player. Her work ethic is impressive, and it has created a standard for our kids. She’s a good teammate. When she’s not playing, she’s cheering for the other kids. That’s infectious to everybody else.
Dietz is averaging 17.4 points and 13.3 rebounds per game this year, and she’s the sixth girls basketball player at Watervliet to eclipse 1,000 career points. She joins Nicole Winter (1,086 points in 2013), Rachel Sheffer (1,490 points in 2009), Kim Gear (1,062 points in 2005), Lisa Ashton (1,299 points in 1997) and Kim Carney (1,057 points in 1981) on the esteemed school list of all-time scorers.
But after experiencing only five wins as a freshman in 2019-20, it is how the program has made such a stunning turnaround that is most impressive.
“It wasn’t too long ago that we couldn’t get the ball across half court,” Ken Dietz said. “We played Schoolcraft four years ago when I first took over and we could not get the ball across half court in the first half. It was just ugly. So, we have come a long way in a few years. I’ve told the girls, ‘You’ve built this place, so live in it, enjoy it and have fun. You deserve to be here.’”
Putting his AD hat back on, Ken Dietz is thrilled to see where the school is as a whole.
“We’re headed in the right direction,” Ken Dietz said of Watervliet athletics. “One, we have great kids representing our school right now. Andrew and Sam are obviously two of those. There is nobody who has shot more baskets and put more time into boys basketball than Andrew the last few years. He has set that standard. They are leaders because they work hard and do the right things.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Samantha Dietz and Andrew Chisek both have reached 1,000 career points for Watervliet this season. (Middle) Chisek pulls up for a jumper; he’s averaging 13.4 points per game this season. (Below) Dietz gets a shot up over a pair of Gobles defenders. (Photos courtesy of the Watervliet athletic department.)