South Lyon East quarterback, Cam Thomas and Walled Lake Western three-sport SUPERSTAR Cam Vieaux both found homes this week in college.

Thomas, an incoming senior gunslinger under center, committed to Western Michigan and Vieaux, a recent graduate of WLW, committed to play baseball at the next level in the Big 10 at Michigan State.

Last fall as a junior, Thomas threw for 1800 yards and 12 touchdowns. He will be the area's top-rated field general when the upcoming campaign kicks off in less than two months.

Starring on the gridiron and the hardwood as well as the diamond during his time with the Warriors, Vieaux has a crowded trophy mantle. An all-league wide receiver in football, he helped take Western to a league crown and an appearance in the final four in 2011. On the basketball floor, Vieaux was a tough-as-nails forward, who started for two years for the Warriors hoops squad.

Baseball is his best sport though and he was a straight killer this spring, both from the mound and the batter's box.

His stats speak volumes:

He accumulated a 1.38 ERA with 108 strikeouts spinning the pill and hit 360 with 25 RBI and a .550 slugging percentage.

MSU and WMU each got itself a real great pick-up by snagging the OC's Two CAMS…….U can take that to the bank!!!!!

Local prep football star Lonnie Bolden kicked off his summer vacation by deciding on where he will be playing on the gridiron in college.

The recently graduated Troy Athens Red Hawk signed with Northwood this week.

Bolden, a sturdy and speedy 5-foot-9, was a first-team all-league pick last fall at running back and defensive back and led Athens to its first playoff appearance in seven years in 2011, closing the regular season with climatic back-to-back wins over Troy and Southfield, before losing in an epic five-overtime district opening thriller to Romeo, 34-31.

In the Romeo game, Bolden scored three TDs, including the tying score in the fourth quarter to take things into the first extra stanza.

Northwood went 2-9 last year.

Current OC grid studs on the Northwood Timerwolves football roster: Leonard Welch (Farmington), Corinthian Gray (Pontiac Central), Jack Daykin (Novi Detroit CC), Kevin Longe (Novi Detroit CC), Kristian Moon (Troy), Kevin Kelly (Lake Orion), Jeremy Altman (Seaholm), Tyler Mouch (Novi), Sean Grissan (Birmingham Brother Rice)

While at Athens, Bolden also lettered in basketball for the Red Hawks hoops squad.

A pair of high-impact transfers have landed at Southfield-Lathrup High School.

One is on the football field and the other is on the basketball court.

Let's take a look:

Football

De'Shun Brown (RB) – Coming over from defending state champion Birmingham Brother Rice, Brown, entering his senior year, will be the Chargers featured running back this fall. A Division I recruit, with an offer already secured from Bowling Green, Brown is strong and shifty and is expected to see upwards of 20 touches per game. He played on Rice's varsity for three seasons – 2009 (final four), 2010 (Catholic League champs) and 2011 (state champs). After getting off to a very good start to his junior campaign last fall, his season came to end mid-year due to injury and he was on the sidelines on crutches when the Warriors raised the D2 state title trophy at Ford Field back in November. Fully recovered, he will be one of the area's best backfield prospects in 2012.

Basketball

Freddie John (F) – Only a sophomore, John is a 6-foot-6 jumping jack that comes over from University Prep. Aggressive and athletic around the rim and a finisher in the open floor, Jean represents the future of Chargers hoops in the newly-installed Desmond Denham era. He will team in the post with incoming junior Ja'Christian Biles, a fast-improving power forward, to give all-state combo guard Jon-Jon Williams (Toledo) two outstanding targets on the fastbreak and on his drive-and-dishes.

A few names to watch out for on the gridiron this fall at Birmingham Brother Rice:

Kyle Marsh (OL) – Recently named a captain of the Orange and Black and after a season spent mostly on the shelf due to injury last year, will team with fellow senior Griffin Anderson to anchor things in the trenches for TEAM FRACASSA

Alex Malzone (QB) – This cannon-armed gunner is the future for Rice under center and will see some time on the field this fall as a sophomore, spelling incumbent senior starter Cheyne Lacarnaria, who quarterbacked the Warriors to a state title in 2011….think Brady and Henson up in Ann Arbor in the late 1990s

Shaun Jones (LB) – The next great Rice linebacker!!! Mad quicks and killer instinct sideline-to-sideline!!

Chris Carter (CB) – The next great Rice cornerback…..will be a vicious LOCKDOWN talent in the secondary!!

Grant Perry (ATH) – The next great Rice playmaker….this kid can hurt opponents at a variety of positions and he WILL very, very soon!!!!

Southfield High School has gotten itself a new point guard.

Word broke this week that Chris Boatman, two-year starter at Southfield Bradford, has transferred to Southfield and joined the Blue Jays basketball team.

While at Bradford, a fast-rising Class C program the last couple of seasons, Boatman was a standout floor general, averaging 14 points and 7.5 assists per game.

His presence in Southfield's lineup this winter will significantly aid the Blue Jays' attack, allowing longtime head coach Gary Teasley to move all-league swingman Quinton Arnold off the ball and over to the wing, best utilizing his specific skill set.

Last season, with Arnold and fellow senior-to-be's Brandon Bean (forward), Earl Swift (forward) and Darnell Butler (center), Southfield took home its third straight Class A district crown.

When they were sophomores, the talented 'Jays foursome, were reserves on the school's 2011 squad that made a trip into the program's second consecutive final four.

Adding the smooth and savvy Boatman to the attack even further solidifies Southfield as one of the favorites in the race for the OAA Red Division title in 2013, alongside six-time defending champ Clarkston, Pontiac, North Farmington and newcomer Troy.

Some news from the Walled Lake Western basketball program:

Senior forward Aaron Prim signed with Delta College up in Frankenmuth this week. The 6-foot-7 Prim is spry on his feet and a powerful presence around the rim. He averaged close to a double-double last season with the Warriors, putting up 11 points and 9 rebounds a game. When he was a junior at Detroit Osborne in 2011, Prim led his squad to a Class B district title, while averaging 14 points and 8 rebounds a night. Finishing 10-13 in 2011, Delta has numerous Oakland County cage studs on its incoming roster, including Ferndale's terrorizing twosome of point guard Jody Hill and forward Rex Jenkins, Troy Athens dazzling big-guard duo of Caleb McIntosh and Marcarius Coakley and Southfield-Lathrup's Bernard Whitehead, a hard working wing with a significant upside.

It appears that star freshman floor general, Jalin Gardner, one of the state's top prep backcourt prospects in the Class of 2015 has left Western and will be playing in the PSL this winter for his sophomore season. Nothing is in stone yet, but Gardner announced his intentions on leaving the Warriors program earlier in the month. Last season, he put up 8 points and 5.5 assists a game, while starting every game at the point and showing tremendous improvement over the course of the up-and-down campaign. I will be sad if Garnder indeed decides not to return to TEAM RA RA. It would be a tough loss for Coach Murray and Western, but also the county high school basketball scene as a whole.

Five For Fighting – The Area's Fastest-Rising Prep Football Recruits

1 Josh Jones (WL Western DB/KR) – "Spiderman" is in the building!!!!! 'NUFF SAID!!!

2 Isaiah Gourdine (Farmington WR/LB/DB) – Versatile playmaker on both sides of the ball who has been blowing up lately!!!

3 Cam Thomas (South Lyon East QB) – The OC's top field general in the Class of 2013 so far

4 Poet Thomas (Birmingham DCD OL) – This road-grader is a prototypical SIR-GRIND-A-LOT with a super high IQ on field and off. GREAT VALUE

5 Derek Edwards (Novi Detroit Catholic Central OL) – From out of the shadows, this ferocious gridiron gladiator and the Shamrocks anchor in the trenches this fall, has been gaining major league DI interest

Stop the presses, stop the presses!!!

One of the area's top young floor generals is on the move.

This past week or so it became official, Press Kampe, a two-year varsity letter-winner at Rochester Hills Adams, has transferred to Clarkston and joined the Wolves perennial juggernaut boys basketball team.

Entering his junior year in 2013, Kampe will assume point guard duties for TEAM FIFE and C-Town in the wake of the six-time defending OAA Red champion Wolves' losing all-league backcourt star Mitch Baenziger to graduation.

Press is the youngest son of longtime Oakland University Men's Basketball Head Coach, Greg Kampe. Baenziger, also an all-league pick as a quarterback on the football field, will be playing college hoops for the elder Kampe starting this upcoming season at OU.

Branch Kampe, Greg's older son and Press' big brother, was an all-state quarterback as a prepster at Royal Oak Shrine who is now playing in college at LSU.

While at Adams, Press helped take the Highlanders to a district crown and an appearance in the Class A SWEET 16 aka the regional finals in 2011. Last winter during his sophomore campaign, Adams concluded the year 13-8.

Clarkston's backcourt is stacked for the near future. Besides the addition of the spunky Kampe to their guard pool, the Wolves feature all-league senior standout Jordan Dasuqi, a nasty combo guard that just came into his own last season, and sharpshooter extraordinaire Nick Owens, one of the best long-distance bombers in the area's Class of 2014, among others (I'm talking to you Blake "Baby B" Pokely).

Under the guidance of legendary sideline general Dan Fife, C-Town will once again be a top-ranked squad in Class A and favorites to raise the program's seventh straight league title.

Here's a look at a few Avondale Yellowjackets to watch out for this fall on the football field

Clark Clancy (OL/DL) – This 6-foot-5, 270 pound MONSTER IN THE TRENCHES has D1 offers from Western Michigan, Bowling Green and Akron and is one of the top lineman prospects in the area for the Class of 2013; Just a grinder!!

Note: Clancy busts a move on the hardwood, too, patrolling the post for Avondale's varsity basketball squad since he was a sophomore on a league title team in 2011.

Michael Johnson (RB) – Burney's No. 1 sleeper at the running back position in Oakland County for the incoming senior recruiting crop!!! Yeah, I said it……A 3-year starter, the word PLAYMAKER comes to mind when speaking of this trailblazer toting the rock

Eric Stubbs (WR/DB) – Another playmaking speedster for the 'Jackets offense that will line up and start at split end and cornerback. Entering his second season as a starter, Stubbs could be in store for a breakout campaign finding the goal line depending on the team's development at the quarterback spot (forced to replace ALL-EVERYTHING GUNSLINGER Mitch Robinson, one of the state's most prolific quarterbacks ever). Burney says, BET ON IT!!

I've decided to nickname Bloomfield Hills Lahser boys basketball star Yante Maten……..WAIT FOR IT……….. "The Big Chill"

Because his game is so so so FREEZING COLD aka he ICES the COMP on the court!!!

The junior-to-be is the best post player in the area, BAR NONE!!! Yeah, I SAID IT!!!!

At 6-foot-7, Maten is long, lean and MEAN. His touch, athleticism and finishing skills around the rim are ELITE and his coachability factor is OFF THE CHARTS aka he's a true character guy!!!

Last season as a sophomore, Maten averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks a night, taking the upstart Knights to both league and district championships.

Maten is one of the state's top college recruits in the Class of 2014 and will lead a Lahser cage crew this upcoming winter that will be favorites to repeat their success from 2012.

Some local small college basketball programs recently got some big-time bargains in the recruiting game when Concordia up in Ann Arbor signed Orchard Lake St. Mary's Justin Barrows and UofM-Dearborn inked Southfield Bradford's Eric Murphy.

Both Barrows (6-foot-7) and Murphy (6-foot-5) are athletic forwards who can equally hurt opponents from the outside with silky smooth 3-point bombs and wicked aggressive moves to the rack.

In Burney's mind, there's no doubt they both also have D1 skill sets.

Murphy simply didn't get enough exposure at Bradford.

Barrows, on the other hand, was being courted by some of the big boys before falling victim to an unfortunate Achilles tear mid-winter that for all intents and purposes derailed his road to the D1 level. When he was a junior in 2011, Barrows was St. Mary's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder on an Eaglets squad that made a run into the Elite 8. This season, Barrows was St. Mary's top scoring threat until he went down with his injury in early January.

Despite Murphy not playing in a high-profile prep program like Barrows did at OLSM, he was unquestionably a high-profile player during his time at Bradford, an up-and-coming Class C team down on 9 Mile and Telegraph. A major reason for the Bulldogs ascension up the local high school ranks has been, yep, you guessed it, my man E-MONEY!!!

Burney wishes both of these MEGA BALLERS the best of luck at the college level!!!

FIVE FOR FIGHTING – Best Performances From Prep State Championship Saturday

1 Kelly Sweeney (Birmingham Marian girls soccer) – The FAB FROSH scored a pair of back-breaking goals in the second half of the Mustangs 3-1 downing of Plainwell in the D2 state title match. Sweeney will be one of the area's highest recruited players on the pitch in two years, barring she doesn't decide on college early alas NDP's Taylor Timko, who committed to Michigan this spring as only a sophomore.

2 Brian Bayliss (MH Bishop Foley baseball) – Burney's MVP of the back-to-back state champion Ventures (sorry Brett) this year for coming out of virtually nowhere to solidify Foley's pitching staff, which was decimated via graduation from the 2011 state title squad. Bayliss was his LIGHTS-OUT self again on Saturday in the D3 state finals, throwing a complete-game gem, striking out 8 in the Ventures 8-2 lambasting of Lansing Catholic Central. 

3 Brett Sunde (MH Bishop Foley baseball) – The state's best players (YEAH, I SAID IT!!!!!) announced his presence in the state championship game with AUTHORITY, hitting his last of many prep moon shots, a 2-run second inning home run bomb that sailed well past Brown Stadium's left field fence.

4 Catherine Anger (Birmingham Marian girls soccer) – The OC SET-UP QUEEN notched two key assists in the Mustangs trouncing of Plainwell in the state finals…..Anger's skill finding her teammates in the best possible positions to find the back of the net is downright UNCANNY!!

5 Julia Greismann (Birmingham Marian girls soccer) – My homegirl JG got things started for the Mustangs with a BANG, scoring the first goal of the game – the eventual game-winner for that matter – in Marian's crowning on Saturday.

Some interesting statistics from the OC's history in Battle Creek & the MHSAA baseball-softball final four

West Bloomfield's 1983 state title baseball squad – led by future MSU football star and NFL'er Todd Krumm – scored the most runs in state finals history when the Lakers throttled Midland Dow 19-3, pounding out a state championship game-record 21 hits.

Derek Fox of Birmingham Brother Rice's diamond attack slapped a state finals-record five hits in the Warriors epic 15-11 extra-inning victory over Lapeer West in 1993

Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes features two former softball stars in the record books:

In 1992, all-state spinner Nicole Williams, one of the best area hurlers to ever take the circle at the high school level, tossed a no-no in the Lakers 2-0 defeat of Mendon in the state finals. Williams is one of only 12 players to ever post a no-hitter in a state championship game.

In 2004, Amber Breault collected a state finals-record four hits in WOLL's 12-0 pasting of Rogers City.

A report from Day 2 of the Adidas Sound Body-Sound Mind prep football camp out at Southfield High School.

Burney was out at SB-SM on Thursday and caught up with some breakout stars from the camp hailing from Birmingham Detroit Country Day and the host Southfield Bluejays:

Birmingham DCD

Huge Day 2 performance from Yellowjackets WR Maurice Ways who got his CALVIN JOHNSON on and showed why he's a fast-riser to watch out for on the recruiting scene. Ways has height (6-3, 210), length, nice wheels (4.5), sticky hands and he is a precise route runner…I.E. he has ALL THE RIGHT STUFF!! He's a genuine sleeper and reminds Burney of the way former DCD receiver and current MSU Spartan Bennie Fowler bloomed on the gridiron late in his high school career.

New 'Jackets QB Tyler Wiegers continued his OUTSTANDING offseason Thursday by cutting up the comp in 7-on-7s, further solidifying himself as one of the state's best field general prospects in the Class of 2014.

DCD star lineman Poet Thomas and up-and-coming defensive back Christian Wright were also impressing scouts with their respective efforts on Thursday. Thomas has a bunch of D1 offers, while Wright, like Ways, is an under-the-radar guy that can do lots of damage on the field.

Wright, Thomas and Ways are all two-sport standouts, too, playing on the 'Jackets nationally-renowned hoop squad that made a run into the final four back in March.

Two more guys to expect big seasons from with TEAM MAC this fall is RB Richie Wilson and lineman Connor Darby. Wilson is a slippery and savvy burner, who made varsity last year as a sophomore and came on real strong late in the campaign in the squad's playoff push. Darby is a beefy, but agile beast in the trenches and will combine forces with Thomas this season to anchor DCD up front.

Southfield

SUPER STUD Bluejays WR Brandon Bean was the star of the day for TEAM CONLEY in Day 2 of SB-SM. Bean was destroying secondaries in 7-on-7s and showing all his best SIR-GRIND-A-LOT attributes in the morning drilling sessions. This kid is the consummate pro in every sense of the word. He'll be an absolute steal for whatever college winds up garnering his services.

Shifty tailback Gerald Gates is another Bluejays offensive weapon that made like a bomb and BLEW UP on Thursday. GG is a blazer with 4.4 speed and moves like a prep version of Arian Foster……Yeah, I SAID IT!! He'll probably be the featured runner in Southfield's backfield this fall and could wind up snaring himself a scholarship to college out of virtually nowhere, since he was playing behind all-state Brandon Watkins last year as a junior and didn't see that many touches to give himself a chance to make noise.

BALLER and BANGER Collin Buchanan, the 'Jay's No. 1 line prospect, picked up a scholarship offer from Akron on Wednesday and was simply overpowering the comp in drills on Thursday, flexing his muscles and demonstrating his excellent foot work and instinct.

A report from Day 1 of the annual Sound Body and Sound Mind prep football camp at Southfield High School

I was out at SB/SM today and caught up with some local gridiron studs from Birmingham Brother Rice and Oak Park.

Here's the breakdown:

Brother Rice

Incoming junior running back Brian Walker looked AWESOME. Shedding about 15 pounds of baby fat, Walker looked sleek and powerful on the field and appears ready to set the field on fire come late August.

Entering SB/SM this week, news broke that star Warriors incoming senior tailback De'Shun Brown has left school, so now the entire Rice backfield belongs to Walker, who Burney knows is more than up for the task to carry the load for the squad's rushing game. CAN U SAY BREAKOUT CAMPAIGN for my homeboy B-WIZARD in 2012?

New Warriors wide outs Isaac Turner and Corey Lacarnaria were showing off their stuff too, giving future opponents worries that the Orange and Black will be ready, willing and quite able to toss the pigskin down field this fall, in contrast to last season's run-centered approach.

Returning Rice QB Cheyne Lacarnaria (Corey's big bro), who was under center last year as a junior when the Warriors won a state championship, was sharp in drills as well, displaying that the perennial state powers' offense will still be in top form and in good hands when the season kicks off in less than three months.

All-State LB and MSU-committ Jonny Reshke was KILLING IT all over the field all day long, but that's really status quo with this MEGA MONSTER MLB, so I questioned even if I needed to report it.....I love to dole out the props to all my Warriors homeboys, so I did!!!

Oak Park

Knights split end Brandon Harding was one of the runaway stars of Day 1 of this event, which attracted elite players from all across the country. Harding is a playmaking specialist who has opened a lot of eyes this postseason and has a good chance at landing a college scholarship before he graduates next spring. He made a few splashes last fall, but expect some MONDO WAVES on the horizon for Harding this year.

The OP cornerback tandem of Mike Cleveland and Johnny Kelly was turning heads in afternoon drills being conducted by the Ohio State coaching staff and making a serious case for themselves as possibly the best lockdown DB tandem in the OAA White entering the 2012 campaign.

Word is from head coach Greg Carter that high-profile transfer Mario Morris (Detroit Community) and incumbent Nate Simms are set to have an epic battle for the Knights starting field general slot this summer. Even if Morris loses out on the job, he was still a star tailback in the PSL last season at Community, after earning all-league honors at QB as a sophomore with Detroit Douglas, and would fit in nicely flanking Simms in the backfield besides Malik Washington. Along with Cleveland (East Detroit), Morris will headline another fresh crop of standout transfers for TEAM CARTER and the Oak Park gridiron gang.

Some great local boys basketball coaches left their posts recently;

 

Southfield-Lathrup's Mike Avery, who had been on the bench with the Chargers since 1997, has been replaced by assistant Desmond Denham. Avery, a member of arguably the best prep squad of all-time in the state - the 1984 and 1985 Flint Northwestern teams - took Lathrup to numerous district and league titles during his tenure. He led the Chargers into the Class A Elite 8 in the early 2000s, with future NFL'er Jason Jones in the line-up.

 

Clawson's Bill Shellenbarger resigned last week to go back to school and earn a graduate degree. Coach SHELL completely turned the Trojans program around since he came on the scene a few years back. Under his superior guidance, Clawson claimed back-to-back league crowns and won more games than they had in almost 20 years.Word out of TROJANSLAND is that Shellenbargers's No. 1 assistant Jasper Ocampo, a former hardwood standout at MH Bishop Foley and then at Rochester College, is in line to take his place roaming the sidelines. Jared Ocampo, Jasper's son, is one of the best shooters in the Oakland County and will be a junior next season with the Trojans.

 

Ferndale's Tom Staton also resigned last week, following several successful seasons on the bench where he led a long-needed resurgence for Eagles hoops. Staton was an all-state guard for Ferndale in the 1970s and played college ball in the Big 10 at Michigan, where he played in a NCAA Final Four and an Elite 8. While heading his alma mater on the court, he navigated Ferndale to a league title in his first year at the helm back in 2010 and then a district championship this past winter.

 

 

With the OC's Shane Battier (Birmingham Detroit Country Day/Duke) about to get his feet wet in the 2012 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat this week, Burney has decided to take a look back at the last OC HOOP HOUND to suit up in the NBA Finals.

I'm taking about none other than the Southfield Bluejays very own Ira Newble.

Graduating from Southfield High School in 1993, this unheralded 6-foot-7 SIR-GRIND-A-LOT played two years of JUCO ball before finding his way to the D1 level with Miami (OH) for his junior and senior seasons in the '96 and '97 campaigns respectively.

As a senior, he averaged 11 points and 7.5 rebounds a night, earning him a slot on the All-MAC honorable mention team, on a Red Hawks squad that won a league title and competed in the The Big Dance aka the NCAA Tournament.

Just like when he was coming out of high school and nobody gave him much of a chance to succeed in college, the NBA scouts ignored Newble after he graduated from Miami (OH), forcing him to prove himself for three years on the minor league hoop circuit before finally landing with the San Antonio Spurs in 2000 and embarking on a solid 8-year career in THE SHOW.

Playing with five different franchises (SA Spurs, ATL Hawks, LA Lakers, Cleveland Cavs, Seattle Sonics), he participated in two NBA Finals, first with Cleveland in '07 and then again in '08 with the Lakers.

Newble averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds a night in his career in the NBA.

He's currently an assistant coach in the NBA's D-League with the Canton Charge, a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Battier and Newble, along with B.J. Armstrong (Birmingham Brother Rice) and Walker D. Russell (Pontiac Central), are the only former Oakland County cagers to play in the NBA Finals. Armstrong won three straights World Championships with the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s and Russell played on the 1988 Detroit Pistons that lost in 7 games to the L.A. Lakers in an epic Finals clash.

The Madison Heights Bishop Foley baseball team has been delivering an offensive masterpiece on the diamond during the state tournament.

Pounding the ball like it stole something from them, the Ventures have outscored their opponents 61-4 in five games so far.

Playing in its third straight ELITE 8, Bishop Foley will face off against Hillsdale on Tuesday in a D3 quarterfinal game at Adrian College.

The Ventures are the defending state champions and feature an overflowing arsenal of BIG TIME hitters in their line-up.

I'M TALKING TO YOU; Brett Sunde, Billy Malack, Brad Baldwin, Brad Jones, Brian Bayliss (We should really start calling these guys the KILLER BEES), Luke Ortel, Garrett Schilling, Austin Lukaschewski, etc…..

Headlining the colossal effort with the stick, Sunde, who was recently drafted into MLB by the Oakland A's, is batting .750 in the postseason.

Toss in a DYNAMITE pitching staff, led by Bayliss and Schilling, and Bishop Foley is a favorite to pull the REPEAT.

With so much young talent in the dugout, a 3PEAT is not out of the question either!!!! YEAH, I SAID IT!!

Some names to look for as X-FACTORS in the final week of the prep girls soccer season:

Alex Arnoldy (Pontiac NDP) – Burney's pick for most underrated goalie in the OC!!!

Jessica Parry (WOLL/Everest) – JP = JWOW around the net!!!

Hannah Grieb (RH Adams) – It's hard to believe Grieb, who notched the Highlanders' game-winning goal in double OT of the regional finals, was playing on JV just a couple of weeks ago…..In a nutshell, this SOPHOMORE STALLION has been playing like a senior since the state tourney kicked off!!!

Jenny Busk (Troy) – The Colts co-captain provides the kind of leadership a team of high-profile studs like Troy needs to win it all!!!

Allie Brodsky (Birmingham Marian) – This junior MEGA MUSTANG is a coaches kid and she plays like it….ALL HEART and PASSION!!!

Rachel Fischer (MH Bishop Foley) The Ventures senior keeper was in HOPE SOLO mode during regionals, posting a pair of impressive shutouts…….Can you say BRICKWALL?

Some news and notes from the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep athletic department:

Former Walled Lake Central assistant Whitney Robinson has been hired as the Fighting Irish's new head boys basketball coach. Robinson prepped at Harper Woods Notre Dame as a crafty point guard in the 1990s, winning multiple district titles alongside all-state forward Greg Stempin (Toledo), and then made waves at the college level as a standout floor general in the MAC with Central Michigan.

Fighting Irish girls sophomore soccer star Taylor Timko has scored a total of 51 goals the past two years. She scored the game-winner in NDP's downing of AA Gabriel Richard in the regional semifinals back on Wednesday and then put in two more and added an assist in the Fighting Irish's 4-1 stomping of Grosse Ile in the regional finals Friday. The University of Michigan-commit has 29 goals and 19 assists so far this year and is also an all-conference track and field runner, qualifying for the state meet in two different events.

A compelling transfer will dot the NDP football roster this upcoming season in former Clarkston quarterback Brendan Newvine. When he was a freshman back at C-Town, Newvine won the job as the Wolves JV field general until being forced into duty on the varsity due to injury and starting three games at the end of the 2010 campaign, including the squad's district playoff opener versus Grand Blanc. Newvine, who will be a junior in the fall, will compete for the Fighting Irish starting signal-calling job in camp come August.

On the subject of TEAM ZIMM and the GREEN & GOLD gridiron gang, expect junior-to-be Jeremiah Johnson to have a HUGE season toting the rock – Burney foresees at least 1250 and 12 TDs….YEAH, I SAID IT!!!

Southfield-Lathrup senior basketball standout Jordan Denham is ready to fly.

Denham, a versatile 6-foot-2 combo guard, will be playing at the next level in the NAIA at Hope College with the Flying Dutchmen.

Hope is one of the top NAIA programs in the state and went 27-2 last season.

A two-year starter for Lathrup, Denham averaged 14 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as a senior in 2012.

Jordan's father, Derek Denham, is one of Lathrup's assistant coaches.

The Chargers were a top team in the OAA this past winter before getting upset in the district semifinals by Oak Park.

The Rochester Hills Adams baseball team could use Tony Annese right about now.

The D1 Cinderella Highlanders are facing favored Hartland on Saturday in the regional semifinals, a squad that features a vaunted pitching staff, and the presence of Annese, last season's all-conference lead-off man, would be a big help.

However, unfortunately for skipper Jeff Hall and his club, Annese, who will be playing football this fall in college at Central Michigan, had to transfer back to Hartland, his original high school, in order to be able to acquire enough credits to graduate.

Annese was at Hartland as a freshman and sophomore before coming over to Adams in 2010 and setting the gridiron on fire with his electrifying antics with the pigskin in his hands the past two seasons. Establishing himself as his new school's star field general, running back and free safety, he navigated the Highlanders to back-to-back playoff appearances being named all-state in both his junior and senior seasons.

He never played any varsity sports while at Hartland during his years as an underclassmen, however he is currently on the Eagles diamond brigade preparing to face-off with his old classmates at Adams on Saturday.

Hall and the Highlanders had an up-and-down campaign this spring without Annese in the lineup, yet found the zone in districts and pulled a major upset against OAA Blue champ Auburn Hills Avondale in the district championship game.

Last season on the baseball field, Annese hit .401 – sporting a .654 on-base percentage – with 35 stolen bases. The fact that Adams will be missing his talent on the base paths against Hartland on Saturday could easily wind up the difference between advancing in the state tournament and not.

That said, Burney still thinks the Highlanders, led by their SULTANS OF SWATS in senior SILVER SLUGGERS Alex Taylor and Alex Borglin, has a legitimate puncher's shot at downing Hartland and continuing their magical run in the 2012 BIG DANCE!

Go get'em fellas!!

From almost out of nowhere, South Lyon East quarterback Cam Thomas will be Oakland County's top-rated prep quarterback come the start of the 2012 season.

Standing 6-foot-4, Thomas can dissect defenses with his powerful arm and pin-point accuracy, but he also has wheels and can hurt opposing defenses with his feet, too. As a junior in 2011, he threw for almost 1,800 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Taking no prisoners on the offseason camp, combine and tourney scene, Thomas, who will be entering his third year calling signals this fall, currently has scholarship offers from D1 Bowling Green and D2 Grand Valley State.

During the winter sports season, he's a high-scoring forward on SLE's varsity hockey squad.

The Cougars have only been a school since 2008.

Last fall, Thomas and the football team finished strong, winning its final two games of the year, while averaging 29 points per contest, to close out the 2011 campaign 3-6.

South Lyon East kicks off the upcoming season on August 24^th at home against Waterford Kettering, an extremely winnable game for Thomas and Co.

Southfield Christian senior basketball studs Chris Dewberry, Gavin Toma, and Lindsey Hunter III aren't getting enough love on the college recruiting circuit.

None of them have finalized their plans for playing at the next level and a lot of that has to do with not enough college scouts taking interest in them.

It's not like they romped their way to a state title this past winter or anything…..Oh, wait, they did!!!

Hunter III will probably be at a prep school next year, with a good shot at landing on a D1 roster in 2014. However, Dewberry and Toma are being virtually ignored.

Some of the lack of interest regarding Toma has to do with even though he was one of the best point guards in the state last season, because of injuries it was his first full season of varsity hoops.

Dewberry is a bit one dimensional – he's strictly a lights-out shooter. That said, he could be the best pure shooter this area has seen in years. IMO, there is not a player in Oakland County that I would rather have taking an open shot with the game on the line….Yeah, I said it, he's that money shooting the rock!!!

Toma and Dewberry are just as good, if not better, than many of the local players that have already secured spots on college rosters for the next season. Hunter's pedigree speaks for itself.

ATTENTION Local college coaches – Get on your game and sign one or both of these CAGER CATALYSTS up as soon as possible!!!!!

Mark my words, wherever these guys wind up playing their college ball, they WILL end up making a SIGNIFICANT impact!!