A couple pieces of news from the Holly boys basketball front:

ALL-STAR BREAKDOWN 

Recent Holly grads, Justin Fowler and Thomas Lovachis finished out their respective prep playing careers by being selected to participate in the annual Mott Bruin Club Classic, an all-star game for the top male hoopsters from around the Flint Metro area that was staged last week at Mott Community College. The pair of former Bronchos guards each averaged close to 15 points and five assists per game this past season and were one of the best backcourts in the county. Needless to say if you've ever had the pleasure of watching these two cage kings compete on the hardwood, Fowler and Lovachis both more than held their own with the cadre of surrounding superstars.

Fowler, on his way to play his college ball at Lake Forest College in Illinois with his older brother, Jordan, made an impact on the game as soon as it started by feeding Montrose's William Samms on a back door cut going baseline for a crowd pleasing alley-oop slam dunk. He ended the game with 6 points and three assists. Lovachis, who threw down a pair of dunks in the game himself and is headed to Concordia in Ann Arbor to start his college playing career in the fall, scored 13 points, third highest on his team. Unfortunately for Fowler and Lovachis, their suburban Black team lost to the city Gold team 166-119.

BRONCHOS BOLSTER CONFIDENCE WITH BIG TIME WIN ON SUMMER CIRCUIT

Bronchos head coach Lance Baylis hopes he got a sign of good things to come in the future when his varsity squad beat 2010 state semi-finalist and defending OAA Red champion, Southfield, in overtime at a summer team camp game held last week on the campus of the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Caution: Let's not get too ahead of ourselves with excitement and expectations, since the Bluejays were playing without the services of their "Big 3" aka Carlton Brundidge, Pee Wee Barnes and Patrick Onwenu. However, despite the fact, this was still a big win for the 2011 Bronchos. If Southfield's team minus the "Big 3" competed in the Flint Metro as Holly does, it would almost certainly win the conference on sheer speed and athletic prowess alone.

And guess who the star of the game was for the Baylis Baller Bunch? Yep, as if there was really any question, it was Burney's main Holly homeboy, Josh Fugate, one of the deadliest shooters in the whole area. These days you can add the role of expert playmaker to Fugate's resume as he will be asked by Baylis and his staff this year to run the team's point. Fugate has been a fast learner – his natural pedigree doesn't hurt either with his big bro Mike running the point for the Cards up at SVSU –and throughout the entire spring-summer run schedule has proved a near-flawless varsity floor general.

As I've been reporting on this blog the past few months, Fugate is BLOWING UP this summer, showing everybody that next season is HIS for the taking in terms of personal and team accolades. Against a frenetic, cat-quick 'Jays defense, he went for 20-Plus with close to double digits in dimes in leading the Bronchos to the 'W'. He made several clutch plays down the stretch to send the game into OT and to seal it up in the extra session. This kid is a BALLER and a SHOT CALLER and Burney is super psyched to watch him tear it up at the Horseshoe (Holly's home floor) next winter. Expect Nick Stoll and Austin Hopkin to be major contributors for the Bronchos in 2011, flanking Fugate as coach Baylis and the BOYZ seek a program record third straight 20-win season.