Clarkston's Matt Kamieniecki staged his own personal dunk contest in the first half of the Wolves 69-58 win over RH Adams in the squad's district opener, getting down right abrasive with the rim to the rune of five thunderous dunks in the opening 16 minutes of the district opening-contest. Kamieniecki (Ball State) went on to score 31 points – 29 of which came in the first three quarters of play – and grab seven boards in the win. Teammate and fellow front court menace, junior Marcus Hardy augmented Kamieniecki's monster effort with a workmanlike-triple double of 13 points and 14 rebounds
Senior superballer, Kyle "The Natural" Vinales announced his presence in the final state tournament of his exploit-filled career with overwhelming authority, by busting up the nets for a career-high 47 points in North Farmington's 83-68 defeat of West Bloomfield. Like a body-ravaging disease that starts to take affect the moment its hits the bloodstream, when "The Natural" decides to get busy on the hardwood, there's no anecdote for the ailments he inflicts on the opposition.
Alec Schimke made sure BH Cranbrook kept its magic season alive by scoring a game-winner at the buzzer, lifting the Cranes to a dramatic 49-47 besting of Clawson. The Morrow Brothers (Sterling and Steven) combined for 17 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists for Cranbrook and head coach, Shane Finney, who are coming off a regular season where they captured league and league tournament crowns for the first time in 20-plus years. Schimke finished with 8 points, his final two being the most important of the season so far for the crafty Cranes. Cranbrook's 15-6 record is the best the boys program has sported in quite some time. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Coach Finney is all class and does a great job with his kids!
Burney feels bad for West Bloomfield's Larry Johnson, Jr., one of the toughest competitors in the county who was forced to close out his prep career with a less than momentous final campaign of 5-16. "Lil' Gran Mama" was a very good high school ball player and much like his pops, has a game that is half-finesse and half-guerilla warfare attack mode. If Johnson was playing at Clarkston, OLSM or DCD, he'd probably be receiving a few more looks from college coaches. Here's to hoping that LJ finds a home at a mid-major or top-tier D2 school next season and continues his always-tenacious playing career.
Watch out Oakland County, Waterford Kettering is getting smoking hot at just the right time. The Captains have won 6 straight and could end up being a dark horse in Class A after taking care of Troy 70-60. Playing the district tourney on their home court won't hurt either. Senior floor skipper Ryan Dingman dropped a team-high 19 points. Dingman is the consummate point guard and with Ethan Chizek and Brett Hoffman hitting from the outside on the regular and Kettering's "Big Hoss" Brandon Carlson (17 points, 7 rebounds against Troy) doing his thing in the paint, the Captains could end up pulling the upsets over Avondale and Pontiac and be the last ones standing come late-Friday night when the trophy is presented.
Attention All OC Hoop Heads – JESUS SHUTTLESWORTH HAS LEFT THE BUILDING (alert the school officials at Southfield-Lathrup so the flag can be placed at half mast on Tuesday morning). The SL Chargers' Roy Marble, Jr. went out with a bang, ending his more than stellar prep career with a 36-point effort in an 82-73 loss to Detroit Henry Ford. Marble, Jr, set to take off to Iowa next year in the Big Ten to play his college career, will go down as one of the best to ever put on the Lathrup Red & White. The 6-7 cage stud is much improved from last year too – this is after he got his ride to Iowa and that says something about this kid's tireless work ethic – and will end his career collecting both district ('09) and conference ('10) titles for his resume.
I was also sad to see my main homeboys Joey Dillon, Connor Boyle, Austin McClelland, Jordan Littleson of Adams have to end their careers on Monday night. All four "pepper pots" were integral in the scrappy Highlanders success this season. If I was in a fox hole, these are the kind of guys and coach John Hall is the type of general, I want to be in there with. Congrats fellas on a great prep career and good luck next year in college.
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