At the beginning of the league schedule nobody would have predicted that Tuesday night's game between Milan and Huron would be a battle for first place.
The Big Reds were struggling record wise and and entered January without a win. Meanwhile, Huron simply picked up where they left off last season. The Chiefs plowed through their non-conference scehdule and were the odds on favorite to repeat as Huron League champs.
What a difference a month has made for Milan. The Big Reds led by first year headcoach Josh Tropea have yet to lose in 2010. Milan was just 2-19 last season but the arrival C.J. Luvene from Ypsi Lincoln along with the emergence of underclassman Andre Duffin, Tory Martinson and C.J. Turnage have changed the fortunes of the Milan hoop program. Those four form what many are calling the most athletic team in the league and a team that could give Huron fits.
Huron has been riding high on succcess over the last two years much in part behind the athleticism of a very strong 2010 class and the excellent coaching of veteran Jim Kalbfleisch. Kalbfleisch has shown a knack for making the right move in nearly every close game over the last two seasons. Huron is led by four seniors who are multi sport athletes and probably none of them can claim that basketball is their best sport. Zac Richardson was the Huron League and Monroe County Region Player of the Year as a goalie in soccer. Tyler Weclowski was the Defensive Player of the Year in Monroe County as a linebacker. Caleb Tavtigian and Dave Stockert both excelled on the football field as well and use their competitiveness, athleticism and size to their advantage on the hardwood.
Tuesday night's game is everything that High School basketball should be about; an up and coming team challenging the defending league champs, a big crowd and excellent players are on both sides of equation.
Look for this to be a fast paced highly competitive game. The team who plays the best defense will probably win this game. Look for my preseason all-league choices of Zac Richardson and C.J. Luvene to have a major hand in the outcome. I anticipate that Huron's veterans, defensive pressure and homecourt advantage will lead the Chiefs to a 56-55 overtime victory.
Milan will win!!
ReplyDeleteRichardson will struggle with a big, quick, strong, and fast Milan defense
WHITE OUT BABY!!! HURON ALL DAY!!! RICHARDSON IS PUMPED! STOCKERT IS PUMPED! TAVTIGAN IS PUMPED! WECLOWSKI IS PUMPED! THE TRUE LEAGUE CHAMPION WILL WIN TOMORROW!
ReplyDeleteBLACK OUT BABY!!! MILAN ALL DAY!!! LUVENE IS PUMPED! DUFFIN IS PUMPED! TURNAGE IS PUMPED! MARTINSON IS PUMPED! THE TRUE LEAGUE CHAMPION WILL WIN TOMORROW!
ReplyDeleteWell I think the fastest player on the court is Zac Richardson so you can't say Milan will be to quick for Huron. But I think Milan has the better basketball players. This game wont be a close as the score. Milan 61 Huron 53
ReplyDeleteoh my god Zak Richardson will not even be close to the quickest... you Huron players are really really really underestimating the speed of Milan and the Athletic Ability and dont let them get a break because i guarantee they will dunk and dunk it with authority...
ReplyDeleteMilan will win and Richardson will hvae no more then 12 with levene guarding him who will be in his shorts all night
LETS BE HONEST HEAR. THE ONLY REASON HURON WON A LEAGUE TITLE LAST YEAR IS BECAUSE THE LEAGUE IS TERRIBLE. THE LEAGUE HASN'T BEEN GOOD SENSE THE DAYS OF ARAON WHITE AND CO. MILAN WILL WIN TONIGHT. I GURANTEE IT. WEAR YO9UR BLACK!
ReplyDeleteif huron wins tonight do they get the respect they deserve, finally, after the last two years?
ReplyDeletein my opinion the only way milan wins is if they can get up 20 in the first... if its a close game toward the end Huron will take it because of their senior leadership and coaching.
it's going to be a great game, and that gym is going to be juiced on both sides.
Luvene's gonna lock him down
ReplyDeleteMilan by 10. Far too talented for Huron.
ReplyDeleteMay the best team win - I think it will be Milan's victory.
ReplyDeleteHow can milan even call there self milan you bring in some kids from some other school.Last year what did you win one game.Huron made there team from there kids they had at there school.Kalby did'nt bring kids with him when he came here.I hate the rules now where kids can transfer from school to school.Huron will win but if milan wins i would not feel to proud with your rent a team.
ReplyDeletemilans 1st six league games where 4 at home 2 on the road.There next 8 league games are 3 at home 5 on the road.And all there games where pretty close the biggest margin was 10 points at home vs airport.And thats with the boys they brought in from some other school.
ReplyDeleteI think its ridicuous that any school has to bring students from other schools to make their sports team good. Its dumb. Play for your school and be proud. Airports softball has brought girls to come from Huron [who are great at it] to go to Airport, Milan has people coming from Ypsilanti to play for basket ball [they weren't good last year] and now Monroes going to have Airport players going from Airport to monroe for football.... Play with the school your suppose to. If your not pychsically moved then you shouldn't be allowed to transfer during the school year. If it wasn't for the transfers? Milan would be like the rest of the teams Hurons versed this year if it wasn't for transfers. You all think they're so good but they're not! lol the TRANSFERS are good. Huron has natural, from the school, raised, talent! Milan doesn't. Period.
ReplyDeleteHuron you have no room to talk!!
ReplyDeleteWhere did your 6'9 kid come from -- Romulus
I agree you had two teams on milans bench. all the ypsilanti kids sat together and all the milan kids sat together.And when they left they left seperatly.And it looked like a couple dad asst.coaches to.How could the parents let the school sell there kids out just to get some wins.Plus i herd some of the kids are still liveing in ypsilanti.That does not say much for milans BB program or there ad.
ReplyDeleteWho cares! Open enrollment has changed the face of athletics in Michigna but it is the same for everybody. Don't you think Milan is a better option for a kid in the Ypsi Lincoln District? It's the same with the Belleville and Romulus kids that continually come to Huron. Huron is simply a better environment than those schools.
ReplyDeleteFor the person on the 6'9" kid? He was at huron for I do believe 2-3 years, not just one year for a sport. Kthx
ReplyDeleteSo what will happen to those schools if kids keep leaveing.Who cares i bet thoses other schools you listed care.You realy beleave those kids left because of there environment i thought they left with there coach. There should be pride in where you live and go to school.Alot of people care and have pride in where they live and try to make it better.But for you to say who cares is sad. To some people there school is there home not a places.My kids have stuck with huron through the good and bad and many coaches.And we know there's been more bad then good.But this is there home and they have always wanted to be a chief even when they have had other choices.I know your not at fault for open enrollment. But all it does is make a few power houses and weaken the other schools.And you end up loseing what sports is all about heart and pride.
ReplyDeleteSo for pride you think a kid shold stay at a place like Lincoln? Walk through those halls one day and see if your opinion changes. It's a war zone. Make sure you don't walk down the wrong hall.
ReplyDeleteWhen kids transfer in the middle of the season they should have to sit the bench until the following season. What about the kids that busted their butt all preseason in practice and then to have a transfer come and take his starting position away beginning/mid season?
ReplyDeleteEven if he is a Senior. Now I can kinda see it if the kid actually moved and had a change of address. But this is rarely the case.
Stop makeing up why they left and bashing LY.They left to follow a coach who made there fathers asst. coachs to come with him.If the coach would of stayed there so would of the kids. If the halls are that bad then it's up to the parents to fix them.If people think like you where do you think all are schools will end up.Will just let them all run down and then move on to a new one.So tell me do you realy think those kids had plans to move to milan or get a address in milan before there coach left.Hard work and devotion in makeing things better is how you create pride.And if a coach or parent does not beleave that then the kids will not.So what are we teaching are kids and where do you think sports in are schools will end up if we follow what you say.
ReplyDeleteHow do you know they left just for sports?
ReplyDeleteYou know my only point in this whole thing was who cares if kids open enroll. Just play the game! Every school in the league with the exception of GI gets open enrollee transfers regularly. (GI only allows employees of the school to use school of choice).
As for my bashing of Lincoln. I have personal feelings on that issue but quite frankly I believe they can be applied to districts such a Belleville and Romulus. Doesn't Huron have open enrollees from that district.
Annonymous at 8:34....
ReplyDeleteOkay thats fine and your right sum1 should go make sum of those schools great!!!! You stand up to the gang violence and tell me how that works for ya. Look I live in the Huron district, but if I lived in Romulous or Bellville, as many people I know do, I would high tail it back across to merriman and huron river drive ASAP.
All 12 Huron BB players have been playing in the Huron school district sence they where 7 years old. Except for Will B. who came here in the 7th grade.It took a lot of hard work and many bad seasons to get where they are now.Thats how it should be done.I have some old vhs tapes of the 6 seniors playing BB together when they where in grade school. It is so sweet to see them still playing BB together 10 years later.
ReplyDeleteIf a kid does transfer in the middle of the season, he does have to sit. Levene is the only kid that came in for one year and he played football too. Some of those kids played on Milan's freshmen team last year but you wouldn't know that would you. Where do you get your info about dads being asst. coaches because that's not even close to true.
ReplyDeleteI know they left for sports because they left with there coach come on at least be honest.You say who cares if kids open enroll just play ball.Well don't you think that is bad for the schools who are trying to build there programs and school up.Don't you think in time there will be a few power houses schools and the rest will be junk is that what you want.Where ever you pick to live is up to you.But is also up to you what happens at your school.Why is huron gang free because we the parents don't allow it.Im sure lincoln,bellville,romulous where nice schools at one time what happend.Every time your car breaks do you go buy a new one or do you fix it.If your anwser is to just keep moveing soon are only school will be in the UP.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a basketball blog?? Or is it Huronleagueschoolofchoice.blogspot.com?? I'm confused.
ReplyDeleteIt is a basketball blog but the subject of transfers was brought up and a conversation ensued.
ReplyDeleteI have a quick question for anonymous. Would you send your son or daughter to a Country Day, U of D Jesuit, Cranbrook, Novi Catholic Central, Livonia Ladywood or on a bigger scale a Phillips Exeter Academy or Culver Academy if you had the means?
I here what your saying huronleaguefootball and i understand.But i still beleave open enrollment is a bad thing for sports.Thanks for your time talking about it.This may not make sence to you but in a way it's kind of like a salery cap in the nfl it stops power houses.Every year every team has a shot at the championship.With open enrollment the strong schools get stronger and the weak get weaker.That can't be good for sports in high school.
ReplyDeleteBecause open enrollment is an educational option; sports and the MHSAA were not consulted regarding open enrollment. I think a great way to keep kids from moving regularly would be to implement a one year period where the athlete must sit out. A good example would be a player who transferred today (2/3/10) from a school wouldn't be elgible to play sports until 2/3/11. This would go for any reason a student changed schools with the exception of a move or family situation.
ReplyDeleteAnnonymous at 9:16 A.M.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to assume that you are either quite young, quite old, or an overly proud parent which are all fine but those are the only reasons that you could possibly attribute gang violence to poor parent involvment. Of course parents can help, but in the end issues like drugs, gangs, and violence tend to always point towards the amount of poverty in a community. It is hard to find a rich school with those problems and a poor school without. Huron is a community with more wealth, maybe less poverty is a more apt description, than romulous and the ville and therefore does not have those problems. It is sad but if your the one on the sinking ship, trust me you'd jump.
I like that chris.KEYSER I don't understand when you say how can i blame gang violence on the parents. Those kids in gangs must have parents and they must suck.Start throwing them parents in jail get them kids out of school.I brought my kids up in a gang drug infested area.My kids stayed home with there family or did sports.That was it family ,school,sports.I could not move because of money reasons so thats what i had to do.When it comes to kids you must blame the parents there in charge.
ReplyDeleteto the poster at 8:51 AM who said the league hasnt been good since Aaron White played, what about 06 when Airport beat GI for a district champ, CC won a district, FR won a district, and Riverview won a district
ReplyDeleteAlright annonymous I concede, you are a great parent and if everyone in those areas was like you those schools could become good places, but the world, as in most people, doesn't work that way and you gotta know that. The only point I was trying to make, and I'll pose the question to you, if you lived in Belleville but could send your kids to Huron for the same price and slightly less convenience would you? Remember that your original point was that those kids from Ypsi who go to Milan should stay in community and make thier schools better instead of seeking greener pastures.
ReplyDeleteKEYSER
ReplyDeleteMy point is they left because there coach left ok not for greener pastures if there coach would of stayed they would of to.The coach was leaveing and he talked some parents to come with him.Did you notice the new parent asst. coach.Don't turn this in to some thing it's not.I think this happens alot and it's bad for sports that kids can move around so easy.One more time if there coach would of stayed so would of the kids.So throw out that greener pasture stuff.
I have no idea about the specific Milan issue, I'm just saying that there are other very good reasons why it could have happened. I wasn't arguing in defense of the Milan/Ypsi kids, but kids in general who do this not for sports. I never said I was arguing about this specific situation only that some of the things you said in defense of your point were not true. You attacked them for bailing on their own school because it sucked and said that was not a valid point even though it is, but if they did it purely for sports than I agree it is a poor thing for a kid, and more importantly their parents, to do.
ReplyDelete