MHSAA March Miscalculations

<p>While it did not begin with the trademarked March moniker that I cannot use. The Michigan state basketball tournament commenced earlier than usual this year with plenty of surprises. Accordingly, "February Frenzy" has made some of my earlier predictions for the tournament look silly. Thus consider this my "walk of shame" article. Highlighting the things I missed during my earlier Bracket projections. I'll provide one from each division.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division I: Rockford's Big Three is Special</h2>   <p>Simply put, I did not think the Rams could walk into the Muskegon area in back-to-back years and win a district championship from the storied Big Red program. I underestimated how good this unit is. While one of the top freshmen in the state has added some nice punch. Don't overlook Rockford's returning core from last year's squad. Kalamazoo College commit [player_tooltip player_id='2218161' first='Dylan' last='Gross'] is in that core and is very underrated. All that being said, Rockford's big three is arguably the top collection of high-level talent in state.</p>   <p>It sounds like a Wall Street law firm but the trio of Bascom, Bascom & Wolfe are the engines of this well-oiled machine. I've written it before, but it bears repeating. There are better players and athletes in class. I'm not sure there is a better competitor than 6-6 Central Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id='2218021' first='Jake' last='Bascom'] The senior has been Rockford's anchor down low. He is a connective offensive player with his versatile skill set. Often initiating offense out of the high post. Deceptive athleticism, long arms, and above average defensive instincts make him an elite defender at high school level. </p>   <p>If Bascom is the base of this power triangle. The hypotenuse comes from the 2028 class (I think my geometry is right there) Point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2140494' first='Eli' last='Wolfe'] is my top player statewide in this still emerging class. Electric with ball in his hands with sudden burst and change of direction ability. He is playing through a serious hip injury that will sideline him for the grassroots season. Wolfe's top competition at the top of class might come from his teammate. Everything I wrote about the elder Bascom above. You could just copy and paste for his brother. [player_tooltip player_id='2539741' first='Josh' last='Bascom'] is a versatile jack-of-all-trades forward who plays like a college freshman already. The 6-4 forward might have even more upside offensively. Like Wolfe he missed the previous AAU season due to serious foot injury. While many have two, I'm not sure any other program can stake claim to three Division I players in their starting lineup (probably four) That's why the Rams are arguably the Division I favorite moving forward.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division II: Unity Christian's Big... Five is Equally Special</h2>   <p>It doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue, but if Rockford has a the best big three in the state. Who has the best big five? Despite losing to the Rams early in the season. Hudsonville Unity Christian has a strong case. Especially if you confine it to just the Division II classification. The skeleton key for this group of Crusaders is continuity. No other way to say it, this group loves to play together. The starting five has mostly ran in the same grassroots program (West Michigan/Northcoast Premier) and are currently slated to continue their careers at the same college (Calvin)</p>   <p>Don't let Calvin's D3 status fool you. The focal point of the Unity attack, 6-7 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1806491' first='Owen' last='Vanderwaal'] had interests and opportunities from bigger schools. While he has a sturdy and large frame. He is able to venture from the basket due to the presence beefy 6-9 post <strong>Luke Tubergen</strong>. Tubergen is much improved after not earning much time last year. Nobody in the state has bigger and more talented frontline. The perimeter attack is fronted by [player_tooltip player_id='2387504' first='Kyler' last='Berghuis'] (6-2) and [player_tooltip player_id='2387295' first='Jack' last='Kamminga'] (6-3) This skilled duo has good size and plays within the offense well. The only member of the starting five not slated to attend Calvin is senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2387214' first='Brogan' last='Sherd'] Sherd has some bounce to his game and plays above the rim at 6-0.</p>   <p>That is a lot of a depth, size, and next level talent. However, going into the tournament. A home Freeland loss had me wondering if Unity had peaked too early. After dispatching two very good teams (Grand Rapids South Christian and Paw Paw) by 21 points and 40 points respectively. Those concerns might have been unfounded. If they post a similar result against a solid Holland Christian squad. Like Rockford, Unity Christian will be in good shape to play for a state championship for the first time since 2019.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division III: ATAP is Real </h2>   <p>The ATAP Lions seemingly came out of nowhere to appear in a Division III state championship game. I wondered how they would fare this year with the target squarely on their back. They also suffered some serious graduation attrition and transfer losses. The Pontiac charter school is back in the regional final and arguably better than last year. This is primarily due to the continued development of 2028 point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2630702' first='Lewis' last='Lovejoy'] (pictured at top) If [player_tooltip player_id='2140494' first='Eli' last='Wolfe'] isn't the top point guard in the sophomore class, it is most likely Lovejoy.</p>   <p>About the only thing you could ding the dynamic sub six-foot prospect for is size. He has just about everything else. Explosive and fearless at the rim. Gets there often with one the best ball handling skill sets in the state. An intense and hardnosed competitor who gets after it on the defensive end as well. The Lions are more than a one man show though. The transfer portal giveth and take away for the Lions. Junior <strong>Aiden Reeves</strong> (Macomb Dakota) and senior [player_tooltip player_id='1588213' first='Jaiden' last='Price'] (Pontiac) have added perimeter pop to a squad that frankly didn't need anymore. Junior returnee [player_tooltip player_id='2951449' first='De'Vontae' last='Grandison'] has continued to be a major contributor on the wing. Grandison could also play a very important role for the Lions. At 6-3 he could help down low as ATAP does not feature much size.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Division IV: Traverse City Christian is Resilient </h2>   <p>For what is worth, I picked to Sabers to get to the quarterfinal round. However, after a close early district victory against Frankfort. Doubts were starting creep in. These were centered around the midseason loss of star junior point guard <strong>Asher Coats</strong> (ACL) However, Christian has showed resilience and bounced back nicely behind senior leadership. <strong>Garrett Schutlz </strong>has slid over from his forward spot and capably manned the point. The versatile 6-3 prospect has added a scoring touch to the Saber point attack.</p>   <p>While Schultz is a senior, the future of Saber program has stepped up as well. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2873437' first='Ethan' last='Johns']</strong> is a fellow 6-3 forward who has stepped into similar backcourt role with Schultz. That is a lot size skill for a Division I high school program in Michigan. It is a particularly difficult matchup at the Division IV level. The backcourt attack is completed by 6-1 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2844376' first='Isaac' last='Torbet'] Torbet has the ability to play the point but doesn't need to with this unit. Junior <strong>Sam Bigger</strong> (6-2) slid into Coats' starting spot but does most of his damage down low. That is deep Division IV squad. If is enough to loosen the Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian/Fowler stranglehold on the division? I'm not 100% convinced it will happen this year (maybe in the future) However if Traverse City Christian can get past a strong Onekema team tonight, we will certainly find out.</p>   <p></p>

While it did not begin with the trademarked March moniker that I cannot use. The Michigan state basketball tournament commenced earlier than usual this year with plenty of surprises. Accordingly, "February Frenzy" has made some of my earlier predictions for the tournament look silly. Thus consider this my "walk of shame" article. Highlighting the things I missed during my earlier Bracket projections. I'll provide one from each division.