Tate's Return Sees Cass Tech Return to Elite
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
February 13, 2020
It didn’t take LaTonya Tate long to begin her basketball coaching career. But it took her 20 years to find the right fit.
Tate is in her fifth season as girls varsity basketball coach at Detroit Cass Tech, and the Technicians are experiencing success not seen since Tate was one of the state’s top players for Cass Tech during the mid-to-late 1980s.
As a senior in 1987, Tate led the Technicians to the Class A championship, scoring the go-ahead 3-pointer as Cass Tech came back from 20 points down to defeat reigning champion Saginaw 52-51. Tate that fall also finished runner-up for the Miss Basketball Award, to Salem’s Dena Head.
By returning to her alma mater as coach, Tate has energized the program. Last season Cass Tech won its first District title in 25 years, and this winter the Technicians are 15-1 heading into Friday’s Public School League final against Detroit Renaissance.
For her, it’s been worth the wait.
“This is home, Tate said. “This is a good group of young ladies I have. I’m blessed.
“The first two (seasons) were tough. I was like Cinderella. I was like an outcast. I was the new kid on the block.”
For any new coach, gaining players’ trust is paramount. It takes time. Tate has earned that trust, and the results are taking shape.
A few games this season stick out when assessing the Technicians’ play to this point. A 52-51 victory over one of the top teams in the Chicago Public League, Chicago Phillips, in a December holiday tournament is notable. The following day (Dec. 29) Cass Tech lost to Davison, 53-47, in the same tournament. Davison (8-7), a member of the Saginaw Valley League, recently lost to state power Flint Carman-Ainsworth (13-2) in overtime 52-48.
On Jan. 25, Cass Tech defeated Southfield Arts & Technology, last season’s Division 1 runner-up, 46-40, and five days later defeated its fiercest rival, Detroit Martin Luther King, 68-43, in a tune-up for the PSL playoffs. This past Monday, led by junior Precious Fields’ 29 points and six rebounds, Cass Tech defeated King, 70-38, in a PSL semifinal.
It was King which Cass Tech defeated (64-56) in the District Final last season, and that win did much to rid the program of some unwanted distinction. King had owned the Technicians since Tate’s departure as a player. King not only became the dominant team within Detroit, but the Crusaders, with William Winfield as coach, became a program everyone looked to as a front-runner statewide. From 1990-2016, King won four Class A titles under Winfield and reached the Finals six other times.
“It’s been 25 years since we beat King, and we beat them two of the three times we played them last year,” Tate said. “It was very gratifying. I’ve taken a lot of beatings from that organization. The entire team did their job (in the District Final).”
Tate’s return is half of a feel-good story for this sport at Cass Tech. Tate’s longtime friend and classmate, Steve Hall, took over the boys basketball program in 2015, coinciding with Tate’s hiring. Hall took over a program that was competitive, but he has taken it to another level. Three years ago Hall’s team won the school’s first PSL title since 1998, and his team won the title again last year. This season the Technicians are 15-1 and ranked No. 4 in the latest Associated Press rankings heading into tonight’s PSL semifinal against Detroit Communications and Media Arts.
Tate’s team is riding a 10-game winning streak; Hall’s has won 11 consecutive heading into the PSL semifinal.
Hall also serves as the school’s co-athletic director (with football coach Thomas Wilcher) and, although he was not responsible for the hiring of Tate, did inform school administrators of his high regard for his old friend.
“Indirectly, I did speak on her behalf,” Hall said. “Our careers have mirrored each other’s. We both had successful high school careers, played in college (Tate at Iowa, Hall at Virginia Tech and Washington) and both of us coached in college.
“It was a home run to get LaTonya. I’m excited for her program. She has a junior-laden team. She was a great player and uses that experience when she talks with her players. She cares about the girls and is passionate about the game.”
Tate began her coaching career at Kansas State as a part-time assistant in 1994. The next season she went to Syracuse as a graduate assistant. Tate was a member of the Detroit Mercy women’s basketball staff for two separate stints, from 1995-97 and 2004-07. She was also an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago (1997-2001).
As a player at Iowa she was captain of the 1991-92 Hawkeyes squad and played on three Big Ten championship teams. Four times Iowa went to the NCAA Tournament with Tate.
Tate is all in with her program and the school. A substitute teacher in physical education since her return, Tate is working toward her teaching certificate and looking forward to the day when she becomes a full-time teacher.
“The last three years have been great,” Tate said. “We have our study table, and that’s where the girls bond. That’s where they get their work done. That’s where they can loosen up away from the court.”
Even when Tate struggled her first two seasons (finishing below .500 both times), Hall was in her corner. Expectations are high at Cass Tech. Often parents and supporters of the program expect positive results to come quickly.
“When people were impatient, I was there to talk about how much she means to the program,” Hall said. “She’s a real humble and modest person. She doesn’t talk about herself. But I (talk about her). Back when we played the girls played in fall, before we did. They set the bar high. We’ve been friends a long time and we’re competitive, but in a good way.”
As Hall noted, Tate’s team is young but does have experience. Shooting guard Kennedy Tidwell is a returning starter and one of two seniors. Kristen Jones is the other senior and sees playing time at the point.
Fields, a 5-10 forward, leads the team in scoring (18 ppg), rebounds (10) and steals (3.5). Tidwell is next in scoring at 14.3 ppg. Fields is a three-year varsity player and returning starter.
The other top players are 6-1 junior center Kianna Johnson, junior point guard Desiree Jackson and sophomore guard Taylor Williams. Williams became a starter with the start of the MHSAA Tournament last season.
“We’re better this year,” Fields said. “We were good last year, but our chemistry wasn’t as good. The maturity has changed. Experience has played a big role. Everyone is bigger and better.
“Personally, my shooting is better. I’ve always been a confident shooter, and I worked hard on my game. And I’m more versatile now. I can score and rebound. And I’ve gained maturity. I didn’t think I had to work hard before. I’ve worked hard this season. Even in practice I still push my (post players) to rebound. I take pride in that. I put it into my head that every rebound will be ours.”
Fields said it means a lot to her and her teammates that Tate is a Cass Tech graduate, has won a state title and demands so much of them. The players are proud of what their coach has accomplished and respect the fact that Tate is tough on them.
“It’s the accountability,” Tate said. “It means a lot for us (Hall and Tate) to be here. We walked these halls. There are standards here. Just having pride in what Cass Tech means, academically and as student-athletes.”
Click here to watch Cass Tech's 1987 championship game win over Saginaw.
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also 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) The Detroit Cass Tech girls basketball team will bring a 10-game winning streak into Friday's PSL final. (Middle) Precious Fields is the team's leading scorer and rebounder. (Photos courtesy of Precious Fields.)
Breslin Bound: 2021-22 Girls Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 14, 2022
We’re another step closer to starting the MHSAA Tournament in girls basketball, and we don’t have many steps left as the regular season draws to a close.
The formula for determining which teams will be placed on which lines was released today. This week’s games will be the last before the top two seeds in every District are determined and those brackets filled in Sunday.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Hudsonville 72, Rockford 62 The Eagles (14-2) finished a regular-season sweep of the Rams (14-2) to gain a two-game advantage in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red with four league games to play.
2. Frankenmuth 65, Saginaw Swan Valley 37 The Eagles (10-0) ran their league winning streak to 25 and pulled two victories from clinching a repeat in the Tri-Valley Conference 8 as Swan Valley (14-3) fell back into a tie for second.
3. Williamston 37, Haslett 33 The Hornets (12-6) can this week claim a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Red title after avenging a Jan. 6 loss to the second-place Vikings (11-4), who also have only one loss in the league but more games left to play.
4. Hartland 48, Howell 36 The Eagles (15-1) avenged their only loss of the season to create a tie atop the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West with the Highlanders (12-4).
5. Sparta 57, Belding 33 The Spartans (13-2) pulled ahead by half a game to lead the the O-K Silver, but second-place Belding (13-2) will hope to make up ground in tonight’s rematch.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
Division 1
Dexter (14-2) The Dreadnaughts will finish with at least a share of the Southeastern Conference Red title and likely more with a three-game lead and three league games to play. They moved to the Red after finishing second in the SEC White last season and sharing that league’s championship in 2019-20. After opening with a loss at Salem, Dexter has been nearly unstoppable with its only other defeat to Division 2 contender Redford Westfield Prep (16-1), 66-59 on Jan. 20. The Dreadnaughts have downed Temperance Bedford (11-4) twice and Saline (13-3) once, and see the latter and old rival Chelsea (14-2) during the final week of the regular season.
East Lansing (11-4) The Trojans clinched a share of their seventh-straight CAAC Blue championship, and that doesn’t include what could’ve been during last season’s 16-1 run to the Division 1 Quarterfinals when league standings weren’t kept because of the abbreviated schedule. There are a few more defeats this winter, but they came against Division 2 powers Detroit Edison (7-2) and Portland (15-1) and also-Division 1 contenders Parma Western (15-1) and Haslett (11-4). The Trojans have handed pairs of losses to DeWitt (11-3) and Holt (11-4) with wins over Williamston (12-6) and Muskegon (10-5) also helping push them into the No. 3 spot in Division 1 MPR.
Division 2
Clawson (14-2) A win tonight over Warren Woods-Tower will lock up a share of the Macomb Area Conference Silver title after Clawson won it outright the last two seasons. The Trojans showed how much difference a few weeks can make, falling to league co-leader St. Clair Shores South Lake (15-3) by 22 on Jan. 21 but winning the rematch 53-51 last Tuesday. The team’s only other loss was to Division 3 contender Madison Heights Bishop Foley (12-1), and Clawson has a pair of victories of Madison Heights Lamphere (11-5) and close one over a league champ in New Haven (11-4).
Sault Ste. Marie (13-4) The Blue Devils are likely to finish second to rival St. Ignace in the Straits Area Conference, but other intriguing possibilities are ahead for a team that’s tested against the best of the Upper Peninsula with some solid downstate games in the memory bank as well. Sault Ste. Marie split the season series with the Saints (14-2) and is 6-0 against Big North Conference opponents with a win over league leader Petoskey (10-6) and two apiece against second-place Alpena (10-7) and Gaylord (10-6). The Blue Devils also have defeated Great Northern Conference leader Marquette, with other losses to Division 1 DeWitt (11-3) and Muskegon Mona Shores (14-2).
Division 3
St. Ignace (14-2) The Saints are 11-0 during calendar year 2022, avenging an early 22-point loss to Sault Ste. Marie with a 47-36 win Feb. 4 to move into first alone in the Straits Area Conference after finishing league runner-up last winter. Always one to schedule tough, St. Ignace’s only other defeat came to Division 1 Port Huron (11-6), and the Saints are up to No. 3 in Division 3 MPR thanks in part to wins over Mackinaw City (16-1), Pickford (12-2) twice, Engadine (10-5) and Gaylord. Only Pickford and Gaylord have come within single digits since the new year began.
Schoolcraft (14-1) After falling to Division 4 contender Plymouth Christian Academy in the season opener, Schoolcraft is unbeaten and rarely challenged. A five-point win over Vicksburg (10-6) on Dec. 7 is the last time the Eagles have played a single-digit game, and that’s included pairs of matchups with Kalamazoo Christian (13-4) and Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (11-6). They defeated both last week on the way to clinching the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley title outright and moving into No. 5 in Division 3 MPR. A Jan. 25 win over Buchanan (14-3) also is a booster for a team that finished second in its league a year ago but surged all the way to the Quarterfinals.
Division 4
Fowler (13-2) This winter has worked out almost as well as the reigning Division 4 champion could have wanted, save for its games against one opponent – Portland St. Patrick, which has won both regular-season meetings to all but lock up the Central Michigan Athletic Conference title. But the Eagles should get another opportunity against the Shamrocks in the District, and they have plenty to boast with wins over Saginaw Nouvel (12-3), Plymouth Christian (14-3) and Stockbridge (12-5) and a nice test this week against reigning Division 2 champion Portland (15-1). They also have all-state sisters Mia and Emma Riley still leading the way after scoring 34 of the team’s 54 points in last season’s Final.
Saginaw Nouvel (12-3) A 1-3 start against some tough competition no doubt vaulted Nouvel into its 11-game winning streak that has the Panthers a half-game ahead of the field in the TVC 10 and No. 8 in Division 4 MPR. Nouvel avenged its lone league loss, in December in overtime to Standish-Sterling (13-3), with a 55-33 victory Feb. 1. The Panthers also have wins over Hemlock (12-3), Saginaw Valley Lutheran (10-6), and Midland Bullock Creek (10-6) twice. Nouvel had finished second to Standish in the TVC 10 a year ago before reaching the Division 4 Quarterfinals.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Midland Dow (15-1) at Flushing (15-2) – This is a rematch of a 2021 Division 1 Regional Final, won by Dow by 10 as the Chargers eventually reached the Semifinals at Breslin Center.
Thursday – Hart (14-2) at Montague (13-3) – Hart won the first meeting 37-36 on Jan. 11 and can clinch a share of the West Michigan Conference title, but a Montague victory would set up the likely possibility of a shared championship.
Thursday – McBain (15-2) at Lake City (16-1) – As long as both win their Tuesday games, this will be a winner-take-all for the Highland Conference championship and with Lake City having won the first meeting 44-42 on Jan. 18.
Thursday – Harbor Springs (16-1) at Elk Rapids (14-2) – Elk Rapids has a half-game lead on Harbor Springs in the Lake Michigan Conference, but also must go through third-place Traverse City St. Francis on Tuesday.
Thursday – Detroit Edison (7-2) at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (13-1) – This was previously scheduled for last week but would be one of the biggest games statewide no matter when it would be played.
Second Half’s weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews 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 Frankenmuth’s Clare Conzelmann (10) moves the ball around the arc during last week’s win over Saginaw Swan Valley. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)