Tag Archives: Belleville

Mayor’s Notebook: On The Come Up Tigers

30 Nov

 

Davion_WilliamsI stumbled across Davion Williams at a local travel team’s 16u tryout.  Mr. Williams was by far the best player in the gym.  Who was this kid?  Where did he come from?  Word was that he was hailed from McBride.  Knowing there was a McBride, Michigan, I thought that seemed kind of far just to travel for a workout.  But then it struck me, McBride Middle School in Belleville, Michigan.  Davian Williams was an eighth grader holding his own against players two to three years older than him.

That Summer, Williams played up a grade on the Michigan Warriors 15u team.  Williams averaged around 16 points and seven rebounds a contest.  However, it was in July where Davion flourished, leading his team to final four appearances at prestigious tournaments such as the Brawl for the Ball and the Spiece GRBA Nationals.  It was clear this kid had the potential to develop into a standout for an ailing Belleville program.

In his first high school game, Davion poured in 25 points for Belleville in a comeback win against rival Ypsilanti Lincoln.  Williams assumed the role as sixth man for the Tigers, but started on occasion in his first year en route to 10 points, four assists, and four rebounds a night.

Known primarily for his athleticism entering high school, Davion has rounded out a complete skill-set.  He can now take defenders off the dribble, in addition to developing solid form and consistent range with his perimeter game.  However, Williams’ greatest attribute is a desire to compete on the defensive end of the floor, a must in order to play for Belleville head man Adam Trumpour.  A pleasant combination of both strength and agility, the 6’3″ Williams can guard up to three positions on the floor and equally effective at each.

While Davion is a gym rat himself, Coach Trumpour also deserves a tremendous amount of credit for taking the time to work with a young Williams and develop into a bonafide division one college level two guard.  Coach Trump says Mississippi State, Xavier, Michigan, Michigan State and recently Pitt have made repetitive contact with Davion, while Oakland, Eastern Michigan, and U of D Mercy already extended offers.

Davion enters his tenth grade year as the leader for a particularly young but talented Tiger team.  Belleville laid the foundation as a program in 2014-2015.  Besting rival Romulus for the first time in four years, but fell to the Eagles in the opening round of the MHSAA district tournament.  Look for Belleville to continue their upward trajectory as a force in the highly competitive I-94 corridor on the shoulders of Williams, as he certainly has the Tigers on the come up.

Contributed by Adam Troia

Tags:

Romulus’ Jaylin Walker Scores 23 For Eagles to Dispose Of Rival Belleville

9 Mar

IMG_0219Romulus and Belleville, two schools separated by a mere seven miles along the I-94 Corridor.  A third edition for the Battle of Hannan Road occurred at Westland John Glenn in the first round of the Class A district tournament, the Eagles and Tigers split the two earlier meetings on the year.

It was a strange start to the game.  On a simple break-away, Romulus star guard Jaylin Walker went up for a lay-up, but Belleville senior forward Arlington Hambright wrapped Walker and threw him to the ground.  Jaylin slid into the first row of pull-out bleachers.  After roughly two minutes of discussion, Hambright was awarded an ejection just 1:36 into the contest.

This is not the first time Walker and Hambright have had their on-court issues.  Jaylin said following the game Hambright pulled the exact same move the last time Romulus played Belleville, yet, was not given an ejection.

The young Tigers rallied behind the absence of their senior leader.  Belleville led 16-12 at the end of one, then at one point in the second held a lead as large as eight points.   Senior Andre Dixon and freshman Davian Williams both paced Belleville with 11 and seven first-half points respectively.

However, the Eagles decided enough was enough.  For the last 2:47 of the second quarter, Romulus made a 8-2 spurt to trail by just one at halftime.

The ending to the second was only a preview of what was to come in the third.  Romulus allowed a measly seven third quarter points, while the Eagles were able to hold both Williams and Dixon scoreless in the quarter, as well as allow just two points to Tiger junior stud point guard Mike Bruce in the stanza.  Romulus built a nine point advantage entering the fourth.

Put your stars in positions to succeed, and the team will prosper.  Just ask Walker, “I like doing fast-paced.”

The fourth summed up Walker’s statement.  Jaylin scored nine of his team-high 23 points in the final period of action, a three to shift momentum entirely for the Eagles early in the fourth, and then a show-stopping dunk off an assist from Rio Washington to place Romulus up 15 with 4:22 left.

“There’s not too many people,” said Romulus head coach Jarret Smith, “that can climb the elevator like that in order to get the ball.”

Walker missed one shot the whole night on 10-11 from the field.

“I was just really feeling it,” Walker said.  “My teammates got me into the groove.”

Dixon led the Tigers with 12, and Williams scored 10.  Aside from Walker, D’Angelo Hansbro contributed 12 points, four steals and assists following a sluggish first quarter shooting performance, Rashaan Pope scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter along with six rebounds, and senior center Rio Washington tallied six points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Romulus improves to 15-5 on the season, while Belleville concludes the year with a modest 12-9 record.  The Eagles return to Glenn for district semi-final action against Downriver League champion Taylor Kennedy Wednesday night (15-4).

 

 

Tags: ,

Romulus Defeats Belleville for the Second Time This Year

5 Feb

romulusIn the Battle of Hannan Road between the Romulus Eagles and Belleville Tigers, it was the Eagles of Romulus coming out victorious with a 56-36 decision.   It was clear this rivalry game would be a slugfest, with the first basket of the game not coming until 4:30 in the first quarter, Belleville eventually led 10-7 after the opening frame.  After leading 25-19 at halftime, Romulus came out and started the third quarter on a 6-2 run to lead 31-21 with 5:36 remaining, a double-digit lead the Eagles would not give back for the rest of the game, holding Belleville to only 7 points in the fourth quarter.

This is a huge win for the Romulus Eagles, with starting guard Tyron Hamby and junior Rio Washington out for the game, the Eagles knew others would have fill the void left by Hamby and Washington.  Sophomore D’Angelo Hansbro played arguable the best game of his young varsity career, the 6’0″ point guard started the game, and helped out with a 14 point and six rebound performance.

“We are a very deep team” senior guard Deonte Bell had to say after the win.  “Everyone on our team 1-15 is ready and able to step in and play minutes if needed.”

A consistent starter so far this season for Romulus, Bell scored all eight of his points in the first half, with 5 coming in the first quarter that helped Romulus gain confidence on the offensive-side of the floor after a shaky start to the game.

“Our defense leads our offense,” Bell went onto say, “we just had to focus on defense and we knew the offense would come.”

Along with Hansbro and Bell, junior guard Jaylin Walker contributed in the win with 15 points and ten rebounds, most of which come in the third quarter and were vital for Romulus in taking control in the game, and senior wing Kris Clyburn scored 12 points, hauled down nine rebounds, and played defense coming away with five steals.

Arlington Hambright led Belleville with a team high 13 points.

Tags: ,

%d bloggers like this: