LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT BRESLIN TRIP
Eaglets already thinking title repeat with core intact
The last time that Orchard Lake St. Mary’s put up a state title banner, assurances weren’t necessary that underclassmen would be returning to make a repeat run. Times, of course, have changed. Eaglets junior Trey McKenney was questioned about the subject after leading his team to glory in Saturday’s Class 1 final against North Farmington in East Lansing.
The highly sought-after prospect confirmed that he had thoughts of a repeat even prior to his 32-point, 10-rebound performance against the Raiders. “I’ve been thinking about it,” he said. “Everybody has one state championship, but if you get two, you’re a legend. That’s what I’m gonna try to do.”
Raiders head coach Todd Negoshian had nothing but praise for McKenney, saying, “He’s tough. He’s got an NBAstyle game right now with floaters, fadeaways. He’s so strong. I think the biggest thing people need to realize about him is how good of a kid he is. Very nice, very cordial to us as a staff and our players. Most kids, when they’re that skilled, they don’t behave the way he does and carry themselves like he does. He does an unbelievable job of representing his family and himself the best he can.”
And while so many coaches have given McKenney glowing reviews, Negoshian had the same rhetorical question as the others are likely asking following Saturday’s result: “Can he graduate early?”
McKenney laughed when told of Negoshian’s question. “No, I’m gonna try to get one next year, too … a state championship at Orchard Lake.”
Questions of whether a top-20 recruit in the Class of 2025 would entertain a prep school are far from unreasonable. Regardless, he did his best to squash any doubts.
“Mostly every prep school in the country wants me right now, but I’m just focused on graduating from Orchard Lake,” McKenney said. “I’m going to do that next year and hopefully win a state championship.”
No one is more steadfast in that belief than Eaglets head coach Todd Covert.
“He ain’t going anywhere,” Covert said. “He is St. Mary’s. He’s vice president of his class. He led Black History Month last week for the school. He is St. Mary’s as much as anybody.”
Clearly, McKenney is at the heart of what St. Mary’s brings back for another goaround at the title, but he’s not alone.
Two starters — Andrew Smith, and Daniel Smythe, who scored 18 points on six 3-pointers in the semifinal win over Ann Arbor Huron — will graduate, as well as two other reserves, Mason Wisniewski and Angel Kechovski.
And sure, McKenney accounts for about half of it,
but that still means over 80% of the Eaglets’ scoring from the final returns next season. That includes Sharod Barnes, who had 11 points in both the semifinals and finals, and forward Jayden Savoury, who had 14 points and eight boards against Huron and helped neutralize the interior on defense in the title game. Quincy Wright, a freshman forward listed at 6-foot-8, could be one to watch, too.
Seems like some of those guys have joined McKenney in having visions of making it back to the Breslin as well.
“Before we even won, I was thinking about the next one,” said Savoury, who also has double-digit Division 1 offers for football. “Definitely, the (chance to) repeat is there. We want to go backto-back.”
The runners-up, North
Farmington, have much more to replace in the D1bound pair of Landon Williams (Niagara) and Tyler Spratt (Cleveland State), as well as 6-9 post Dylan Smith.
But Negoshian can at least rest easy knowing that returners like Rob Smith and DJ Morgan, who will be a senior and junior next year, respectively, have had fine leadership examples.
“You can’t duplicate what these guys mean to our program,” Negoshian said. “They’re four-year guys who went through the process, who loved the hard work, the weights, just the grind of the season. They’re such unbelievable students. They’re leaders in our building and in our community. You can’t replace kids like that, you just hope to get kids who can come close to it.”