Performance: Edison's Rickea Jackson
March 27, 2019
Rickea Jackson
Detroit Edison senior - Basketball
One of the most celebrated basketball careers in MHSAA history came to a close Saturday, as Jackson in her final high school game led Edison to a 77-58 win over Freeland at Van Noord Arena that clinched the Division 2 championship. The 6-foot-3 guard had 28 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in earning the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Jackson, who also had 26 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s Semifinal win over Haslett, previously had keyed the Pioneers’ runs to back-to-back Division 3 titles in 2017 and 2018. Edison became just the sixth school to win at least three straight MHSAA girls basketball championships. The Pioneers finished 27-1 this winter and went a combined 71-7 over the last three. Jackson leaves a massive legacy, with an interesting side note that she also was continuing a family hoops legacy – her mother Caryn (Shinn) Jackson starred for Detroit Murray-Wright during the early 1990s and played at University of Kansas.
Earlier in the week, Rickea Jackson was selected as the 38th Miss Basketball Award winner by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. She finished this season averaging 22.4 points, eight rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 steals and a blocked shot per game and averaged at least 21 points and eight rebounds per game all four seasons of high school. Jackson will play as one of 24 selections for the McDonald’s All-American Game and has signed to continue her career at Mississippi State University, which entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 4 nationally and has advanced to this weekend’s Sweet 16. She also excels academically, carrying a GPA above 3.0 into this school year according to her USA Basketball bio.
Coach Monique Brown said: “Just the competitiveness that she has – just pushing in practice, always getting everyone going – that’s the biggest attribute that she really gives us as far as preparing for games. She’s always pushing and pushing, talking and creating practice wars in practice. That makes games look a little easy for us because we’ve been working so hard in practice.”
Performance Point: “I believe my teammates and I have left a huge legacy,” Jackson said of the three-title run. “They’re letting me go off to college with three championships, and I can’t do nothing but thank them for that. It's bittersweet. I'm going to definitely, definitely miss high school, but time goes fast and now I'm going off to college."
Every day against the best: “It started in practice with the major DI (college) prospects we have on our team, it just makes it easier when we go against these other (teams). We’re going against DI prospects every day in practice, and they’re pushing me and not letting up on me, so it definitely takes pressure off me in the game, because I do it in practice every day, so in a game it’s no different.”
All special, in different ways: “The first (championship) was definitely the one that was crazy for us, with all the doubters that we had, but we just fought through adversity and no one thought we could do it. So I would have to say our first championship was the one that really hit me. But this championship means a lot, too, because there was an even bigger target on our back and everyone knows who we are, everybody can see our games on the internet. This is probably one of the hardest ones.”
The next chapter: “My high school career is officially over, which is crazy to say. But I just can’t wait to get down there, show them what I can do and play on a big court.”
- Paul Costanzo, Second Half correspondent
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes 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 protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
March 21: Noah Wiswary, Hudsonville Unity Christian basketball - Read
March 14: Cam Peel, Spring Lake swimming - Read
March 7: Jordan Hamdan, Hudson wrestling - Read
February 28: Kevon Davenport, Detroit Catholic Central wrestling - Read
February 21: Reagan Olli, Gaylord skiing - Read
February 14: Jake Stevenson, Traverse City Bay Reps hockey - Read
February 7: Molly Davis, Midland Dow basketball - Read
January 31: Chris DeRocher, Alpena basketball - Read
January 24: Imari Blond, Flint Kearsley bowling - Read
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Edison's Rickea Jackson brings the ball upcourt during Saturday's Division 2 Final against Freeland. (Middle) Jackson launches a shot from the baseline.
Sandusky's DeMott: 700 and Counting
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 3, 2018
When Al DeMott took the Sandusky girls basketball coaching job in 1979, he wasn’t planning on it being a long-term gig.
A few losing seasons motivated him to turn the program around, however – and nearly 40 years later he’s not only succeeded in doing so, he’s become one of the most successful coaches in state history.
DeMott hit the 700-win mark on Dec. 5, joining Detroit Country Day’s Frank Orlando as the only girls basketball coaches in Michigan to reach the milestone.
“I’ve been coaching for a long time, and I know I’ve been blessed,” DeMott said. “I’ve had a lot of good kids and parents and assistant coaches who have been part of it. I’ve been blessed with great kids that work hard, and want to work hard.”
DeMott is 703-187 in his time at Sandusky, with 19 league titles, 25 District titles, seven Regional titles and one MHSAA Finals runner-up finish (1999). He’s also had the joy of coaching his three daughters, Marissa, Allison and Desiree.
“They have all actually helped me in my program,” he said of his daughters. “It’s been a lot of fun. I planned on getting out a few years ago, but I’m still having a lot of fun. I’ve got kids that are so fun to work with, and it’s hard to walk away from that. Thank God my wife has always been supporting me, too.”
It did take about five years for him to get things moving in that positive direction, though.
“We got a piece of the league title for the first time in 1984, then in 1985 we upset Flint Academy in the Regional,” he said. “That really sparked these younger kids, and we had pretty good success ever since.”
Starting a youth program in the early 1980s was a key cog in the turnaround, but also a sign of Sandusky and DeMott adjusting to the changing climate of girls basketball at the time.
“When I started, the level of play compared to what it is now is night and day,” he said. “Girls basketball has come a long way. Nobody did anything in the summer, but now they’re as active as the boys, or more active.”
As the game has changed, DeMott has, too. He’s won games with teams that lit it up from outside, he’s won games with teams that pounded the ball down low, and most recently, he’s won games with suffocating defense.
“Year by year it can change,” he said. “Depending on the personnel.”
What doesn’t change is DeMott’s commitment to the game and his team.
“There are so many secrets to his success,” Sandusky senior Haley Nelson said. “But he prepares us so well. He does his research. We know the other team’s plays just as well as they know them sometimes. He’s always scouting and he watches so much tape.”
Nelson is a four-year player for DeMott, and recently committed to continue her career at Saginaw Valley State University. She said playing for DeMott is something players in Sandusky look forward to from a young age.
“Coach DeMott is known by everyone in Sandusky,” she said. “If you say, ‘Al DeMott,’ everyone knows who he is. If you go other places, everyone knows who Al DeMott is. He’s very well respected.”
It’s partly because DeMott has coached so many members of the community, including those who eventually watched their daughters play for their former coach.
“I personally think it’s pretty awesome,” said Nelson – whose mother didn’t play for DeMott, but her older sister Keegan did. “If you could talk to your mom about your coach and it would be the exact same coach, that would be pretty awesome.”
Although, Nelson said, she’s heard he’s not exactly the same as he was back in the day.
“I hear back in the day he was a screamer,” Nelson said. “Clearly, he’s not like that anymore. He’s the calmest coach in America.”
This season’s Sandusky team is 7-1, and DeMott thinks it has potential to finish strong, despite a recent injury to a key player.
No matter how the rest of the winter goes, however, this year’s team will always be able to look back on the 53-26 win against Unionville-Sebewaing that put its coach into elite company.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Nelson said. “I felt like we just needed to do it for him, because he’s done so much for us.”
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.
PHOTO: Sandusky girls basketball coach Al DeMott stands with his team as they celebrate his 700th career win last month. (Photo courtesy of the Sandusky girls basketball program.)