Don't expect much of a drop-off in production from the defending Class D state champion Southfield Christian boys basketball team in 2013.
The Eagles will be flying high once again and still has a good chance at being the best small-school squad in Metro Detroit.
The battle-tested backcourt of sophomore Bakari Evelyn and junior Lindsey Hunter IV are the top two returners for second-year head coach Josh Baker's squad.
Evelyn is one of the most lethal point guards in the state regardless of school-size and Hunter IV is a proven scorer, averaging double-digits in the scorebook last season as a sophomore.
Transfers DeMarco White (Southgate Anderson) and Blake Washington (Birmingham Brother Rice) will be big impact additions in the frontcourt. White is 6-foot-7, long and jumps out of the gym. He will provide major match-up problems in Class D ball and could dominate around the rim. Once he becomes eligible in January, Washington will slot in the Eagles lineup at the small forward spot.
Fab freshman Marlow Brown, a crafty 6-foot-4 combo guard, will be hard to handle as well and along with Evelyn signifies a blazing hot future for the program.
Ben Cookingham, Kameron Garner and Christian Bankston, reserves on last season's state-title team, are back in the mix and are all reliable and spunky role players. Bankston is the team's only senior on the roster.
"We're young, we only have one senior, so we might take a few lumps early on, but we have a shot to be a pretty tough ball club by the end of the year," Baker said. "The first part of the season will be a learning process. But I'm confident these guys will be up to the task to get better and keep working hard until we work out all the kinks."
In Baker's first season on the bench last season, the Eagles never lost to another Class D team en route to the state crown. Their only two defeats of the year came to Class A Southfield and Class B Birmingham Detroit Country Day.
This winter Baker has loaded his schedule with powerhouse opponents, like Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Southfield-Lathrup, Walled Lake Western, Country Day and Detroit Community.
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