Interview with Ypsilanti’s Jaylen Johnson
16 DecJaylen is a six foot nine skilled big man, who can hit a open jumper from the elbow, as well as show off his athleticism for dunks.
Metro Detroit/Saginaw Valley League Challenge
14 DecTomorrow December 14, I will be attending my first high school basketball games of the season at West Bloomfield High School for the Metro Detroit/ Saginaw Valley League Challenge. Here is the schedule for the day:
12:30pm-W. Bloomfield vs. Flint Northern; 2pm-Gibraltar Carleton vs. Saginaw Buena Vista; 3:30pm-Ypsilanti vs. North Farmington; 5pm-Taylor Truman vs. Ann Arbor Huron; 6:30pm-Detroit King vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill; 8pm-Saginaw vs. Detroit Southeastern
A couple games that catch my eye are the King vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill game. The Hill has one of the top C/O 2015 guards in Eric Davis. To complement Davis, Jalen Adams will provide highlights galore in this game. The second game that caught my eye is the North Farmington vs. Ypsilanti. Another top 2015 player, 6-6 Jeron Rogers will be in action and could very well put on a show.
This will be a great day of hoops in the Metro Detroit Area. The defending Class A champs will be in attendance, Saginaw, as well as some other up and coming teams, should be a talent rich challenge.
Players to watch: Flint Northern’s Amari Ivory. Arthur Hill’s Eric Davis and Jalen Adams. Buena Vista’s Vonta Brookins, Armondi Rogers and Carl Moore, Saginaw’s Julian Anderson, Keyon Addison, Jerry Smith and Markell Bradshaw. Truman’s Aaron Foster-Smith, Anthony Wartley-Fritz, Devin Goodwill, Devian Newbill.
Update on Southfield’s Lawrence Marshall
12 Dec
I recently had a chance this week to talk to one of the State of Michigan’s most celebrated defensive ends, Lawrence Marshall of Southfield High School. Lawrence told me that some schools that have offered have been Bowling Green, San Diego State, Toledo, Indiana, and Pitt. This past Friday, the Orange of Syracuse have placed an offer to Lawrence. The two in-state school, Michigan and Michigan State, have offered Marshall, with MSU offering the first week of the state playoffs, and Michigan offering two weeks ago. Lawrence also has had a chance to visit Indiana, Bowling Green, Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State. Some schools that are showing interest in Lawrence’s talents are West Virgina, and the University of Alabama.
U of D Jesuit Out of the Catholic League?
9 DecThis whole week, there has been one rumor that has caught my attention, and that is the consideration of U of D Jesuit to move out of the Catholic League Central Division. The Cubs have long been the laughing-stock of this division in football for the last couple of years, the last time the Cubs beat one of the other four teams in this division was in 2005. I will discuss two main reason why the Cubs should move out of this division and into one where they can actually compete for league titles, and playoffs.
Many who say that the Cubs should stay in the division say “the change would ruin alumni support.” Well, alumni don’t like it when you can’t even make the playoffs in over ten years. Those alumni are the ones writing the checks to support the school, and you think they don’t want to win? In fact, the last time the Cubs beat Rice in the regular season was all the way back in 1972. A rivalry is where teams actually beat each other and have games that make people remember the outcome, getting beat sometimes by 40 points or more is not gonna stay in people’s minds very long and if they do, it wont be a positive feeling.
Another point of emphasis made by those who are defenders of staying in the league say that “this move is only for football.” Well yeah, it sort of is but I don’t see any other team at U of D hanging up banners for league or state titles. Granted the fact that the hockey team is ranked high in the state, they don’t even have a conference, they are independent for hockey so it would not affect them. The baseball and basketball teams have not been setting the world on fire either. The baseball team last year made it to the league title, but got blown out by a much superior Brother Rice team. The basketball team, every year it seems they lose to Pershing in the districts, not to mention a team that has hovered around .500 in league play and have no Catholic League titles to show for it either.
The bottom line is this, U of D has long said that they are an academic school as an excuse for their sub-par performances in sports, that is great but when is enough enough. Seriously they had two years where they only won one game in football. It is time for a change at U of D. This school has not had a taste of winning in a long time compared to other schools in their division. My prediction is that if they are to leave the Catholic League, the best place for them is the Western Wayne Athletic Conference. If they were to go to the OAA, they would be with Southfield, Harrison, Farmington, Oak Park, all teams that are solid in football and other sports. The WWAC would allow them to play teams like Fordson, Dearborn, Edsel Ford, Romulus, schools that would make for some good competition, not only in football, but for all sports.
2012 Basketball Season
8 DecThe boys basketball season has officially begun in the State of Michigan, with many of the states top teams and players located right here in the southeastern part of the state. Teams like Detroit Pershing, Romulus, Detroit Douglass, and Rochester are all locked and loaded to make a deep state title run. The month on December plays host to many of the state’s top showcases/ tournaments. A couple tournaments are taking place right now on December eighth, but as we approach Christmas time, more and more tournaments will show. I am providing a link to a website that has listed on of the state’s top tip-off showcases located in the Metro-Detroit Area. I will be attending these tournaments scouting the courts for talent in an attempt to not only make this a football blog, but also one that consist of basketball as well.
2012 Adidas Max-Ex
5 DecI had the chance to attend the Adidas Detroit Max-Ex combine this past Saturday, and let me tell you, it was a pleasure. For about three hours, I saw the best talent the midwest has to offer participate in drills and one-on-ones. Familiar names like Mike Weber, Jayru Campbell, Damon Webb, and Tim Cason all attended this camp and put on complete shows. I will be providing a link below which reveals who the MVPS of this camp were. There will be another Max-Ex Camp on December 24th I will likely attend. With these many talented athletes, I can’t wait.
Postseason
1 DecThe 2012 MHSAA football campaign sadly came to an end last week. The 2012 season was full of memories for me that I just cannot put into words. From August to Ford Field, there is no other state where I would rather be covering high school football. Many of you are thinking football is over and basketball season is just around the corner. Although that is true, there is still much more football to be played if you know what I mean. We transition to the combine/showcase period in high school football where athletes attend camps to showoff their skills to college coaches and recruiting websites. Detroit is filled with elite camps like this. Tomorrow, December 1st, will be the Max-ex Official Team Tryout. They are a 7-7 team that travels around the country playing in tournaments against elite players and teams from the United States. Metro Detroit will be sending many talented athletes to these camps/combines, so it is important if you love high school football, that you attend/or send your son to one of these camps.
The Prep Ball Report 