From a fan's perspective, when it comes to high school basketball, Muskegon Heights is the place to be if you enjoy prep basketball.
The crowd loves their hoops, and they pack the place in support of their Tigers. Led by PA announcer John Mason and a crowd that arrives early, the house rocks. An independent, the Heights bring in some of the state's most talented teams. For first time visitors, it must rank as one of Michigan's most intimidating places to play. The open expanse of their lobby to the gym is lined with trophies, most highlighting the school's achievements in prep basketball. From the rafters hang banners celebrating their success in state tournaments. Come showtime, the place is electric.
It was all on display this past Saturday evening when the Maroon Giants from Kalamazoo Central, ranked No. 3 in Class A, came to town. The Tigerettes even made their first appearance of the season, entertaining the crowd with a dance number during halftime.
Word was the Class B Tigers would have their hands full against the visitors, who feature 6-5 junior forward Devin Oliver and 6-5 senior center Doug Anderson. K-Central ran rampant against Rockford 77-52, and according to Frank Majerle, father of former NBA star Dan, and current Rockford coach Steve, it could have been much worse.
"I doubt Heights will be able to stay with them," said Majerle while watching his grandson, sophomore Ryan Majerle, drop in 21 points against conference rival, Muskegon.
As expected, it was a "March Madness" match-up played out on a chilly February evening at the Heights.The Tigers, ranked No. 5 in Class B, held their own on the court, leading 33-32 at the half, then jumped out to a 39-32 lead to open the third quarter. Scott DeCamp of the Kalamazoo Gazette was on the scene to capture the festivities as well as the action down on the floor. Sadly, my local paper ran a "From Local Reports" version of the game. (DeCamp, by the way, is the former sports editor of the Grand Haven Tribune, and a Ravenna graduate.)
While Anderson picked up two quick fouls, and landed on the sidelines for much of the first half, Oliver delivered 24 points and 12 rebounds, including 16 before the half, to lead K-Central to a 82-70 win. A 13-4 run late in the third was the difference. Heights hit only 35 percent of their shots from the floor - a credit to Kalamazoo's defense, height and depth. But, with a hot hand and solid free throw shooting, the result certainly could have been different.
DeCamp notes that, with 11 straight wins, the Maroon Giants haven't lost since falling to Detroit Country Day at the end of December. He then quotes senior T.J. Cameron.
"I guess we feel that we can make it all the way to the Breslin (for the state semifinals and finals)," Cameron said. "We feel like that - we can make it to the Breslin."
It was, indeed, a big-time win in a big-time environment for the Maroon Giants against an old Southwestern Conference foe (any of my readers remember the old SWC, Gene Thomas and Bob Quiring, and all those state titles?). They'll need many more come March, when the foes turn into the cream of Class A from Saginaw and Detroit.
Setting sights on Breslin is great, but I hope the Maroon Giants take it one game at a time. I'd love to see them win in Class A. They have made a total of 11 trips to the finals, however their last crown came in 1951. They have made only a single appearance in the title game since then, in 2001.
Stephen Bell, who posts his High School Basketball Bulletin for MLive.com also has a great write-up on the game. Concerning the Heights,
The game's best dunker wasn't Anderson, who had one, but Heights' 5-9 senior Lemarcus Beckem. He plays more like a 6-5 athlete than a guard. Beckem jumped over two players, one from each team, for a put-back jam. But he did miss two dunk attempts at unfortunate times in the second half. Also for Muskegon Heights, 6-6 junior Julian Plummer is coming into his own and is becoming an impact inside player. He was a man on the glass, and is more agile and athletic than I remember, going out of his space to get the ball. 5-9 Heights senior Ricarri Stimage was typically fearless. He hit some 3s but became a volume shooter unable to finish at a high rate inside. But Stimage had to carry the backcourt workload, because 6-2 senior Sean Davis misplaced his game. He continued to force the issue, with no reward. He may have been suffering from PTSD after Anderson blocked two of his shots, throwing a layup into the bleachers then coming out to get a piece of a three-point attempt.Stimage finished with 21 points, while Plummer had 12, with 15 rebounds.
I'd also love to see the Tigers at Breslin. They will be a long shot this year, but I would never count them out. At the Heights, the regular season is simply a warm-up for the post season. Fans always expect a long run come tournament time, and rightfully so. The Tigers have been to the finals on 13 occasions. Only River Rouge, with 19 trips to the title game, has more. Along the way, the Heights has won six crowns. Their most title in 1979, while finishing the year as runner-up in 1993, 2003 and 2005.
| MHSAA State Basketball Crowns School | Titles |
| River Rouge | 19 |
| Muskegon Heights | 13 |
| Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 12 |
| Flint Northern | 11 |
| Kalamazoo Central | 11 |
| Detroit East Catholic | 10 |
| Detroit Southwestern | 10 |
| Saginaw Buena Vista | 10 |
| St Joseph | 10 |
| Benton Harbor | 9 |
| Detroit St. Martin dePorres | 9 |
| Saginaw | 9 |
| Detroit Pershing | 8 |
| Detroitry Day | 8 |
| Kalamazoo Christian | 8 |
| Bridgman | 7 |
| East Grand Rapids | 7 |
| Flint Beecher | 7 |
| Grand Haven | 7 |
| Jackson | 7 |
| Lansing Sexton | 7 |
| Saginaw Arthur Hill | 7 |
| Covert | 6 |
| Holland Christian | 6 |
| Lansing St. Mary | 6 |
| Orchard Lake St. Mary | 6 |
| Reed City | 6 |
| Saginaw Nouvel | 6 |
| Saginaw SS Peter-Paul | 6 |
| Wyoming Tri-unity Christian | 6 |
| Detroit Northern | 5 |
| Detroit Northwestern | 5 |
| Detroit St. Theresa | 5 |
| Grand Rapids South Christian | 5 |
| Highland Park | 5 |
| Ishpeming | 5 |
| Kalamazoo St. Augustine | 5 |
| Muskegon | 5 |
| Pontiac Central | 5 |
| Stevensville | 5 |
| Detroit St. Andrew | 4 |
| Flint Central | 4 |
| Flint Northwestern | 4 |
| Grosse Pointe St. Paul | 4 |
| Harbor Springs | 4 |
| Holly | 4 |
| Mt Pleasant | 4 |
| Negaunee | 4 |
| Niles | 4 |
| Saginaw St. Stephen | 4 |
| Sturgis | 4 |
| Albion | 3 |
| Alma | 3 |
| Ann Arbor St. Thomas | 3 |
| Bath | 3 |
| Brimley | 3 |
| Buchanan | 3 |
| Charlevoix | 3 |
| Chassell | 3 |
| Crystal Falls Forest Park | 3 |
| Dearborn Fordson | 3 |
| Detroit All Saints | 3 |
| Detroit City | 3 |
| Detroit Cooley | 3 |
| Detroit Redford | 3 |
| Detroit Rogers | 3 |
| Detroit Southeastern | 3 |
| East Lansing | 3 |
| Flint St. Matthew | 3 |
| Flint St. Michael | 3 |
| Fowler | 3 |
| Grand Rapids Covenant Christian | 3 |
| Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills | 3 |
| Grand Rapids Union | 3 |
| Holland | 3 |
| Lakeview | 3 |
| Maple City Glen Lake | 3 |
| Marshall | 3 |
| Mt Pleasant Sacred Heart | 3 |
| Okemos | 3 |
| Shelby | 3 |
| Three Oaks River Valley | 3 |
| Willow Run | 3 |
| Ypsilanti Central | 3 |
| Allendale | 2 |
| Baraga | 2 |
| Bay City All Saints | 2 |
| Beal City | 2 |
| Berrien Springs | 2 |
| Birmingham Brother Rice | 2 |
| Britton | 2 |
| Cass City | 2 |
| Coldwater | 2 |
| Dearborn Divine Child | 2 |
| Detroit Austin | 2 |
| Detroit Catholic Central | 2 |
| Detroit Central | 2 |
| Detroit Holy Redeemer | 2 |
| Detroit Murray-Wright | 2 |
| Detroit Renaissance | 2 |
| Ecorse | 2 |
| Ewen Trout Creek | 2 |
| Ferndale | 2 |
| Flint Carman-Ainsworth | 2 |
| Flint Holy Redeemer | 2 |
| Flint Holy Rosary | 2 |
| Flint St. Mary | 2 |
| Freesoil | 2 |
| Grand Rapids Christian | 2 |
| Grand Rapids Godwin | 2 |
| Grandville Calvin Christian | 2 |
| Gwinn | 2 |
| Hamtramck | 2 |
| Holt | 2 |
| Horton | 2 |
| Houghton | 2 |
| Howell | 2 |
| Hudsonville Unity Christian | 2 |
| Iron River West Irony | 2 |
| Lansing Eastern | 2 |
| Lansing Everett | 2 |
| Manton | 2 |
| Mass | 2 |
| Milan | 2 |
| Mio AuSable | 2 |
| Muskegon St. Joseph | 2 |
| Oak Park | 2 |
| Pontiac Northern | 2 |
| Port Huron | 2 |
| Redford Bishop Borgess | 2 |
| Romulus | 2 |
| Southgate Aquinas | 2 |
| St Clair | 2 |
| St Ignace | 2 |
| Stephenson | 2 |
| Traverse City | 2 |
| Adrian | 1 |
| Algonac | 1 |
| Allen Park Baptist | 1 |
| Alpena St. Anne | 1 |
| Alpena St. Bernard | 1 |
| Ann Arbor | 1 |
| Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard | 1 |
| Ann Arbor Pioneer | 1 |
| Ann Arbor University High | 1 |
| Ashley | 1 |
| Auburn Hills Avondale | 1 |
| Baldwin | 1 |
| Bangor | 1 |
| Bark River-Harris | 1 |
| Baroda | 1 |
| Battle Creek Central | 1 |
| Bay City St. James | 1 |
| Bellaire | 1 |
| Belleville | 1 |
| Benton Harbor St. John | 1 |
| Benzie Central | 1 |
| Boyne City | 1 |
| Brethren | 1 |
| Brooklyn | 1 |
| Byron Center | 1 |
| Cadillac | 1 |
| Carson City | 1 |
| Cassopolis | 1 |
| Cedarville | 1 |
| Cheboygan | 1 |
| Clarksville | 1 |
| Coopersville | 1 |
| Copemish | 1 |
| Corunna | 1 |
| Dearborn | 1 |
| Decatur | 1 |
| DeTour | 1 |
| Detroit Cass Tech | 1 |
| Detroit Crockett | 1 |
| Detroit DeLaSalle | 1 |
| Detroit Kettering | 1 |
| Detroit Mackenzie | 1 |
| Detroit Servite | 1 |
| Detroit St. Martin | 1 |
| DeWitt | 1 |
| Dimondale | 1 |
| Dryden | 1 |
| Eben Junction-Superior Central | 1 |
| Elk Rapids | 1 |
| Elkton-Pigeon-Bayport | 1 |
| Evart | 1 |
| Ewen | 1 |
| Farmington | 1 |
| Fenton | 1 |
| Flint Hamady | 1 |
| Flint Powers | 1 |
| Fremont | 1 |
| Gaylord St. Mary | 1 |
| Gobles | 1 |
| Grand Blanc | 1 |
| Grand Rapids East Christian | 1 |
| Grand Rapids Lee | 1 |
| Grandville | 1 |
| Greenville | 1 |
| Grosse Pointe | 1 |
| Hamilton | 1 |
| Hanover | 1 |
| Harper Woods | 1 |
| Haslett | 1 |
| Highland Park St. Benedict | 1 |
| Hillsdale | 1 |
| Iron Mountain | 1 |
| Jackson St. Mary | 1 |
| Kalamazoo Hackett | 1 |
| Keego Harbor | 1 |
| Kent City | 1 |
| Kingsley | 1 |
| Lake Linden | 1 |
| Lake Odessa Lakewood | 1 |
| L'Anse | 1 |
| Lansing Catholic Central | 1 |
| Lansing Waverly | 1 |
| Leland | 1 |
| Leroy | 1 |
| Ludington | 1 |
| Maple Rapids | 1 |
| Marine City | 1 |
| Marion | 1 |
| Marlette | 1 |
| Marquette Bishop Baraga | 1 |
| Marquette Pierce | 1 |
| McBain | 1 |
| McBain Christian | 1 |
| Menominee | 1 |
| Merrill | 1 |
| Michigamme | 1 |
| Michigan Center | 1 |
| Muskegon St. Mary | 1 |
| Negaunee St. Paul | 1 |
| New Buffalo | 1 |
| Newberry | 1 |
| Northport | 1 |
| Olivet | 1 |
| Owosso St. Paul | 1 |
| Parma Western | 1 |
| Peck | 1 |
| Pellston | 1 |
| Petoskey | 1 |
| Pewamo-Westphalia | 1 |
| Pickford | 1 |
| Pigeon | 1 |
| Portage | 1 |
| Portland St. Patrick | 1 |
| Powers North Central | 1 |
| Redford St. Mary | 1 |
| Remus | 1 |
| Rock | 1 |
| Rockford | 1 |
| Roscommon | 1 |
| Roseville Eastland | 1 |
| Saginaw Carrollton | 1 |
| Saginaw Eisenhower | 1 |
| Saginaw Lutheran | 1 |
| Saginaw St. Mary | 1 |
| Sand Creek | 1 |
| Scottville Masony Central | 1 |
| South Haven | 1 |
| Southfield | 1 |
| Southfield-Lathrup | 1 |
| St Clair Shores Lake Shore | 1 |
| St Clair Shores Southlake | 1 |
| St Joseph Catholic | 1 |
| St Louis | 1 |
| Stambaugh | 1 |
| Stockbridge | 1 |
| Three Oaks | 1 |
| Trout Creek | 1 |
| Unionville-Sebewaing | 1 |
| Vanderbilt | 1 |
| Wayland | 1 |
| Weidman | 1 |
| Whitehall | 1 |
| Williamston | 1 |
| Wyandotte Smith | 1 |
| Zeeland | 1 |
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