Frustrated teams trying to stay calm during shutdown
Many local boys hoops squads are right back where they started last March – in a strenuous, anxiety-provoking waiting game.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, North Farmington and Troy were each getting ready to play for Division 1 district championships when the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on the 2020 state tournament. The waiting game then only lasted a few weeks before the tournament was finally cancelled all together in April.
Defending Catholic League Central champion St. Mary’s was the No. 1 team in the state last season and will be a powerhouse again in 2021. Well, “if” there is a 2021 campaign might be a better way to put it.
The MHSAA is on a threeweek pause due to rising COVID-19 numbers. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will soon decide if she will extend the shutdown past Dec. 8.
Practices for boys basketball
teams across the state are slated to begin the following day (Dec. 9), with live game action beginning in January.
St. Mary’s head coach Todd Covert is optimistic.
“I’m very confident we are going to have a season,” he said. “The MHSAA and specifically (Executive Director) Mark Uyl
have handled all of this so well and between them and the vaccines on the horizon and the therapeutics we have in place, I think we’ll play. Games might not start until February and might not end until April, but I believe it will happen.”
Covert’s club will be led by Mr. Basketball candidate Julian Roper ( Northwestern) this winter. Junior Kareem Rozier might be the best point guard in the area and sharpshooter Will Smythe comes over from Warren De La Salle to help fuel St. Mary’s loaded backcourt attack.
North Farmington is the early favorite in the OAA Red race. Senior forward Basheer Jihad can be a dominant force in the frontcourt on the wing for the Raiders and senior guard Deon Hayes impresses with the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.
Raiders head coach Todd Negoshian worries pandemic concerns are trending in a troublesome direction.
“I feel bad for the kids, they deserve a season,” he said. “I can sense we’re losing momentum though. You see people on social media playing without masks, people not wearing them when they should be and when it
comes to some situations, parents supporting it (not doing everything one can to limit COVID-19 spread). We as adults need to set a better example. It’s on us to not cheat these players out of a year of basketball.”
Troy enters the 20202021 season as the frontrunners in the OAA White. The Colts feature one of the premier backcourts in Metro Detroit spearheaded by Oakland University- commit Brody Parker, the OAA’s most prolific scorer, and the Emerzian twins (allleague point guard Ethan and shooting guard and defensive stopper Jake, who recently committed to Madonna University).
“The only thing that is certain right now is that things are uncertain,” longtime Troy head coach Gary Fralick said. “It can be very frustrating. Everyone’s hoping for some good news in these next few days.”