Linked Up: 12/19/11

December 19, 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: 10/4/24

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 4, 2024

1. BOYS SOCCER Division 1 No. 5 Troy clinched the Oakland Activities Association Red championship by handing No. 7 Oxford its first loss, 2-0 – Oakland Press

2. BOYS SOCCER Division 2 No. 7 Mason clinched the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup with a shootout win over No. 3 DeWitt – Lansing State Journal

3. BOYS TENNIS Midland Dow – top-ranked in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – won the Saginaw Valley League Tournament, wrapping up its 19th-straight league title – Midland Daily News

4. GIRLS GOLF Caledonia followed Copelin O’Krangley to the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green Tournament championship – Local Sports Journal

5. BOYS SOCCER Division 1 top-ranked Portage Central claimed a third-straight Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference Tournament championship with a 3-1 win over Kalamazoo Loy Norrix – Kalamazoo Gazette

6. BOYS SOCCER Division 2 top-ranked Fruitport secured the O-K Silver title with a 9-2 win over Wyoming Godwin Heights – MuskegonSports.com

7. VOLLEYBALL Division 3 No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis downed No. 6 Elk Rapids 3-1 – MI Sports Now

8. VOLLEYBALL Division 1 honorable mention Temperance Bedford handed Division 3 top-ranked Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central its second loss this fall – Monroe News

9. BOYS SOCCER Melvindale downed Division 2 No. 13 New Boston Huron 1-0 during a night of special recognition for a past standout – Southgate News-Herald

10. BOYS SOCCER Division 3 No. 12 Elk Rapids handed No. 11 Grayling its lone Northern Shores Conference loss, 2-1 – Traverse City Record-Eagle