Triple Trouble

Three local boys hoop squads were having three times the fun on Wednesday night as the "Big Three" at Southfield, Waterford Kettering, and Farmington Hills Harrison all came up with monumental outings in big time wins for their respective teams in the state tournament.

It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's………Captain Amazing to the rescue

Southfield's juggernaut junior trifecta of Carlton "Captain Amazing" Brundidge, Desmond "Pee Wee" Barnes, and Patrick "The Money Man" Onwenu, each delivered great performances for the Blue Jays in their marathon 82-78 win over a well-balanced Detroit Henry Ford team in a district semi-final game. After being hampered with foul trouble in the first half of action, the Michigan-bound Brundidge went insane in the second half, scoring 22 of his game-high 28 points, and almost personally willing the 'Jays to the win in front of an energetic home crowd. Every time the cat-quick Trojans took a lead or tied the game, it was Captain Amazing to the rescue again and again. 14 of Brundidge's 22 second half-points catapulted Southfield (16-5) into a lead. And it wasn't just the scoring binge displayed by the cool as ice Brundidge. He also grabbed nine rebounds, gave out five assists, and swiped away four steals.

 Oh yeah and please, please, please let us not forget about Captain Amazing's running-mates, Pee Wee and the Money Man. Making their presence felt all over the floor, Barnes and Onwenu significantly augmented their star-teammate's super performance. Quickly developing into a masterful presence in the paint, Onwenu posted a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. His slam dunk off a perfectly-thrown alley-oop pass from Captain Amazing himself with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter gave the 'Jays a 58-52 lead and brought the capacity grandstand to its feet with a series of "oos and ahhhs." Barnes flanked his backcourt-mate and best friend Brundidge with 17 points, six assists and five steals.

Southfield will play Ferndale (18-3) on Friday with a chance at claiming the program first district title since 1984. The Bluejays OAA-Red conference crown won by the team last week was the first league title since 1992.

"I was frustrated in the first half because of the foul trouble I was in, but I re-focused at halftime and came out and did what I do best, take it to the rack and score points" said Brundidge of his 22-point outburst over the game's final 16 minutes. "It feels good to be sitting here right now with a chance to play for a district championship. Me and my boys turned the program at Southfield around this year. We're doing things that no Southfield team has done in a real long time. That was our goal at the start of the season and that's what we're doing. When I get up to Michigan in a little while that's what I'm going to be doing there too.

Getting Hot At The Right Time

With its 67-61 win over AH Avondale in a district semi-final contest, Kettering (13-9) has now won seven straight ball games and the Captains "Big Three" of senior point guard Ryan Dingman, senior shooting guard Brett Hoffman, and senior center, Brandon "The Big Hoss" Carlson have the team peaking at the exact right time of the year. Against Avondale, the Captains backcourt gave the Yellow Jackets problems all night.  Hoffman, a shooting guard with dead-eye range, led all scorers with a game-high 21 points and Dingman was once again as steady as a neurosurgeon running the Caps' offense, putting up 19 points (3 triples and 7-10 from the stripe) and handing out seven dimes. Carlson took it to Avondale's smaller frontcourt by scoring 17 points and corralling 10 rebounds. Kettering will try to make it eight straight 'W's' on Friday when the Captains play Pontiac for the district crown at home.

Hungry Hawks

It seems fitting that after doing such an amazing job turning around the FH Harrison boys bball program this season that head coach Pete Matayla should get a shot at playing for a district title on Friday night – And against his former sideline mentor, Tom Negoshian too. Thanks to all-around solid contributions from Harrison's top three scorers, David Evans, Raymond Hall, and Jailin Kelly, the Hawks (16-8) defeated Farmington 48-40 in the district semi-finals and will square off with crosstown-foe North Farmington on Friday at West Bloomfield with a district championship banner at stake (This one should be a battle for sure). Hall had 13 points, Evans had 12 points and Kelly had 10 points for Harrison in the win on Wednesday. Matayla was an assistant under Negoshian at NF back just a few short years ago. Who will win the Teacher or the Student? I for one can't wait to find out. On a final note regarding the Hawks, I've decided to nickname Ray Hall, "Payday", cause if you don't come correct on defense against this underrated sparkplug guard, he's going to make you pay, inside and out, all day long!

Finally, on a personal note, I love to see Clennie Brundidge on the bench this year for Southfield as Gary Teasley's top lieutenant and I've decided to nickname him "The Sweater," because this dude sports some bad ass sweaters while he's getting his coaching gig on. I'm talking about some fly prints and custom made knit-patterns that bring back memories of Bill Cosby and Lou Carnesecca. Brundidge gives tough love on the sidelines (his West Point hoops background would allow no less) and is a great 'x and o' man to help coach Teasley with tactical in-game decision making. Playing for Coach K as a college athlete, my main man Clennie knows a thing or two about the bball game and I'm extra glad he's getting to impart that knowledge on the superballers at Southfield this season and hopefully beyond.