Best of the Decade part 5 - 'Yactown Pride

Oakland County's Best Boys Basketball Teams of the 2000s

No. 1

2001 & 2002 Pontiac Northern Huskies

There's really no question here. The 2001 and 2002 Pontiac Northern squads were unquestionably the best team(s) of the decade, if solely for the fact that the Huskies are the only team in Oakland County history to repeat as Class A state champs. 

These fellas might not have been your prototypical juggernaut, but man, were they lethal on the hardwood!!

Without the services of anyone over 6-4, head coach Robert Rogers and the Huskies were forced to out-quick, out-shoot, and out-hustle almost every opponent on their schedule and they did it with a rare combination of finesse, high court IQ and brute force.

Headlining the Huskies were a BIG 3 that can rival any trifecta of talent any team in the county has featured in the last 25 years, if not ever.

Point guard Ricky Morgan (Iowa State) was the catalyst running the Northern offense with precision and showmenship. There was a good reason why his nickname was "Tricky Ricky" and he showed it every night by being the consummate whirling dervish of the backcourt. Starting forwards Lester Abram (Michigan) and Derek Ponder made up the other two-thirds of the terror-inducing trio and were formidable to say the least. Abram was a hard-nosed and crafty-scoring wing and Ponder was only 6-4 but played like he was 6-10.

The role players on these teams could have easily been stars and top of the line starters anywhere else and were a key to Northern's success. Antonio Bond, Romel Murray, Bates Gay, James Smith, John Cantrell, George Walton, Dominque Hardiman, Sean Moore and David Stephens all played major roles in raising those consecutive banners.

In 2001, the Huskies beat Kalamazoo Central 87-71 in state finals, a day after just slipping past Detroit Mackenzie 66-63 in the semis in a dramatic come from behind win – Northern was down 15 at the half.  To get to the Final Four, the Huskies tripped up Detroit Central 59-52 in the quarterfinals and a Paul Davis (Michigan State)led Rochester team in the district championship.

In 2002, Northern defeated all-state guard Dion Harris (Michigan) and Detroit Redford 66-58 for the state crown, following winning an 85-77 shootout over Saginaw and a Trojans squad that featured Anthony Roberson (Florida) and Lamar Woodley (Michigan/NFL) in the semis. The Huskies took care of Southfield-Lathrup in the elite eight and a Chargers team that was led by Jason Jones (Eastern Michigan/NFL)