Linked Up: 12/19/11

December 20, 2011

We've hit a bit of a slow spot with schools out for break and most contests reserved for holiday showcases and the like.

Here are some suggestions if you have some time for some reading between now and the start of 2012.

High school coaches try to bring basketball back to basics (Detroit News)

For most of the last decade, we've heard about the recessing of basketball fundamentals even among elite high school players. Enter Ben Kelso, Marshall Thomas and a number of other Michigan coaches who have pledged to end that trend. Tom Markowski tells us how the Metro Detroit Basketball Coaches Association aims to do so.

Lantzy retires after more than 4 decades as Ike grid coach (Macomb County Advisor & Source)

Utica-Eisenhower coach Bob Lantzy has been his school's only varsity football coach. He took four teams to MHSAA Finals and this fall became one of only nine state football coaches to win more than 900 games. He has retired after 41 seasons, and Kevin Lozon fills us in on the legacy.

Tabahn Afrik poised for greatness in pool for West Ottawa (Holland Sentinel)

The Holland area has its next big swimming star. Dan D'Addona introduces us to Tabahn Afrik, a freshman at Holland West Ottawa who qualified for the MHSAA Division 1 Finals in two events in his first meet this season.

High school basketball: History of class hoops is just that (South Bend Tribune)

"Hoosiers" made Indiana's former one-class basketball tournament known on a grander scale. But Indiana went to classes (similar to Michigan's) beginning in 1997-98. Al Lesar tells us how some in the state are attempting to revert to one class.

Today in the MHSAA: 3/8/24

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 8, 2024

1. BOYS BASKETBALL Grand Rapids Christian downed Benton Harbor 61-51 to clinch a Division 2 Regional championship – Grand Rapids Press

2. HOCKEY No. 2 Trenton advanced to the Division 2 Final with a 5-0 win over No. 6 White Lake Lakeland – Southgate News-Herald

3. HOCKEY Top-ranked Byron Center will meet Trenton on Saturday thanks to a 6-2 win over Saginaw Heritage – FOX 17

4. BOYS BASKETBALL Zeeland West claimed its first Regional championship with a 56-51 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in Division 1 – Holland Sentinel

5. BOYS BASKETBALL Jackson Lumen Christi claimed a Division 3 Regional title by handing Laingsburg its lone loss, 53-47 in Division 3 – Jackson Citizen Patriot

6. BOYS BASKETBALL St. Ignace ended reigning Division 4 champion Munising’s repeat pursuit with a 58-42 Regional Final win – Cheboygan Daily Tribune

7. BOYS BASKETBALL Flint Powers Catholic delivered the end to Saginaw Arthur Hill’s century-long basketball history with a 59-51 Division 2 Regional Final win – WJRT

8. BOYS BASKETBALL Crystal Falls Forest Park avenged an earlier loss to Lake Linden-Hubbell to clinch its first Regional title since 2007 with a 66-52 win in Division 4 – Upper Michigan’s Source

9. BOYS BASKETBALL Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice clinched its first Regional title since 1984 with a 76-44 win over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley in Division 1 – Oakland Press

10. GIRLS BASKETBALL Battle Creek St. Philip avenged a pair of losses to Climax-Scotts with 41-36 Division 4 District Final win – Battle Creek Enquirer