2007 Press Release

Download the press release

Team Capsules

By Sam Hosey Jr.
PrepSpotlight.com and the Lansing State Journal

DeWitt High School

Players to watch: Sam Celentino 6-5 sr. forward, J.T. Whitman 6-4 jr. center/forward, Dan VanDreumel 5-11 sr. point guard, Brandon Binkley 5-11 sr. shooting guard

DeWitt, which finished 15-10 last season, has an experienced team returning four starters and eight seniors overall. On the perimeter Dan VanDreumel, a three-year starter and the state’s new single-season touchdown passes record holder (38), quarterbacks the basketball team as well with poise and leadership. Backcourt mate and team gym rat Brandon Binkley is a good long-range shooter and they complement Sam Celentino and J.T. Whitman, two productive players in the paint. Both are built more like wing players, but still have the strength and toughness to finish and score inside. And in Celentino, DeWitt has some versatility as he can step outside and face the basket. Their most athletic player is sub-6-footer Jason Fleet, a Division II wide receiver prospect known for his tremendous hands and great speed. He is also the Panthers’ defensive stopper.

Fowlerville High School

Players to watch: Sean Romsek 6-3 sr. shooting guard, Joe Lane 6-4 sr. power forward, Garrett St. Charles 6-0 sr. guard

Fowlerville finished 14-10 and returns all five senior starters. Sean Romsek, a deadly outside shooter, who heads to Division II Massachusetts-Lowell next year, is the returning scoring leader at 17 points a game. He along with point guard Garrett St. Charles are four-year varsity starters. The Gladiators have lofty goals this season and with their depth and additional experience with players like Joe Lane, Bryan Ross and Wyatt Huggett, Fowlerville seems poised for a big year. “We’re expected to compete for a (CAAC Gold) league championship and a district championship, make a long run in the playoffs and just have a lot of wins a long the way,” Fowlerville head coach Fred Hackett said.

Reese High School

Players to watch: Ty Graham 6-3 sr. guard, Isaac Zimmer 6-1 sr. guard/forward

Reese returns six players from last season’s team that went 17-6. With its strength being on the perimeter, Reese looks to push tempo and create opportunities in transition. Morgan Walters, a 6-5 junior, and Brad Ivy, a 6-3 senior, provide some size to help balance Reese inside. “Anytime you get a chance to play at Breslin, what a treat for the kids,” Reese coach Jeff Casler said. “We’re just excited to be a part of this whole thing.”Reese returns six players from last season’s team that went 17-6. With its strength being on the perimeter, Reese looks to push tempo and create opportunities in transition. Morgan Walters, a 6-5 junior, and Brad Ivy, a 6-3 senior, provide some size to help balance Reese inside. “Anytime you get a chance to play at Breslin, what a treat for the kids,” Reese coach Jeff Casler said. “We’re just excited to be a part of this whole thing.”

Lansing Catholic

Players to watch: Max Grover 6-5 sr. forward, Jake Clark 6-3 sr. center, Mike Repovz 6-5 sr.

Lansing Catholic returns nine seniors from last year’s team that went 21-3. This year’s group is a blue collar bunch that features Max Grover, but has some hardnosed guards that like to get after it on defense and use turnovers to fuel their offense. Grover is a versatile player for Lansing Catholic and things run through him in the halfcourt offense. Austin Nichols, a 6-foot junior, is another to watch. “For us, we’re really relying on our defense to get us going on offense,” Lansing Catholic coach Darren Zwick said.

Leslie High School

Players to watch: Charlie Snow 6-4 sr. wing, Kyle Corts 5-10 sr. point guard, Evan Barrett 6-6 jr. power forward, Trent Page 6-4 jr. forward

Leslie went 19-3 last year and has size, experience and depth to perhaps do it again. Having a 10-man rotation of players going as tall as 6-foot-6, gives Leslie a strong team. But as most teams, Leslie won’t go any further than its point guard -- in this case Kyle Corts -- takes them. Beyond that they have a good scorer in Charlie Snow and the size and depth to play up-tempo and wear teams down.

Frankenmuth High School

Player to watch: Brad Redford 6-0 sr. guard

Frankenmuth’s chances begin with Brad Redford, one of the leading candidates for the 2008 Mr. Basketball award. Redford, a Xavier recruit, has proven to be the state’s best shooter and one of the elite snipers in the nation. He hit 100 3-pointers last season, the fourth highest single-season total in Michigan history while averaging 25 points and four assists. Guard Nick Shelton is another player to watch. The philosophy for Frankenmuth is simple, push the tempo and get Redford as many clean looks as possible. This was no more obvious than in Frankenmuth’s first game this season, a 92-77 win over Flint SWA, when Redford buried 11-of-14 three-pointers and 15-of-21 for the game en route to scoring 47 points.

Carson City-Crystal High School

Players to watch: Sean Jones 6-11 sr. center, Corey Schneider 6-0 sr. point guard

Carson City-Crystal has been one of the more dominant teams in recent years. They finished 19-2 last season, largely on the slender shoulders of 6-foot-11 center Sean Jones, who averaged 17 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks last year. Jones, who will attend Drake on a basketball scholarship next year, isn’t the only threat, however. Point guard Corey Schneider averaged 14 points a game and shot 50 percent from 3-point range last year providing an excellent perimeter complement. And with their balanced attack, Carson City-Crystal prefers a deliberate, halfcourt style of offense and on defensive things are funneled towards Jones because of his shot blocking prowess.

Port Huron Northern

Players to watch: Jay Thames 6-9 sr. forward, John Nevado 5-10 sr. point guard

Port Huron Northern comes in looking to improve its 8-13 record from a year ago. Fortunately they have Oakland University commitment Jay Thames, a versatile 6-foot-9 forward prospect that averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks last season. Guards John Nevado and Don Caluyo provide quickness on the perimeter on both ends of the floor. Port Huron Northern would rather push the tempo, but because it has a go-to player in Thames, who is still learning to take over games, it can be successful in the halfcourt as well.

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

Players to watch: Dion Sims 6-5 jr. wing forward, Davide Curletti 6-9 sr. power forward, Chris Clarke 6-9 sr. power forward, Jake Shockey 6-8 sr. center

Gone is Kalin Lucas, but Orchard Lake is still loaded with size, athleticism and multiple Division I players. Dion Sims, a 6-5, 230-pound forward with skill, is being recruited by MSU, Florida and U-M for basketball. He also holds scholarship offers from U-M, MSU and others in football as a wide receiver prospect. Chris Clarke has signed with Southern Methodist University and Davide Curletti, a 3.9 student who scored 28 on his ACT, is also being recruited at the mid-major level in basketball. OLSM will look to pound the ball in to its post players, but in Sims they have a talented point forward that can put the ball on the floor, create and nail the deep jumper.

Lake Orion High School

Players to watch: Drew Maynard 6-5 sr. wing forward, Chris Lum 6-2 sr. forward, Anthony Fields 5-10 so. point guard

Lake Orion features a strong starting five anchored by Oakland University commitment Drew Maynard, who averaged 20 points per game last year. Maynard is a dynamic athlete that has worked on his perimeter shot and has become proficient from out there as well. Point guard Anthony Fields is an up-and-comer in the state already drawing recruiting interest from U-M, Ohio State, Kentucky and Syracuse. He’s got quickness and the ability to score. With more experience he could develop into a special player. Chris Lum, who is recovering from a fractured elbow in football this fall, Steve Jorgensen and Chad Nieswand round out a nice lineup for Lake Orion as they’ll look to push the ball. The question mark, however, is their bench and how that will develop.

Wyoming Park High School

Players to watch: Bryan Powell 5-10 jr. shooting guard, Rey Medina 6-3 sr. forward, Javi Negron 5-10 sr. guard,

Wyoming Park doesn’t have much size but they have good guard play, depth and lots of shooters. Going 10 deep allows them to rotate several players in and out of the lineup without much drop. Bryan Powell, a 5-10 junior, averaged 17 points a game last year and senior forward Rey Medina averaged a double-double giving Wyoming Park a nice one-two punch. Javi Negron, a crafty 5-10 senior, averaged 13 a game and he brings a lot of skill to the table for Park.

Detroit Country Day

Players to watch: DaShonte Riley 6-11 jr. center, Darnell “Dee” Brown 6-1 sr. guard, Jordan Dumars 6-5 jr. wing

Detroit Country Day is the defending Class B state champion and they’re loaded with talent. Dashonte Riley is on the recruiting radar of every national program in the country including Michigan and Michigan State. He’s a tremendous talent, but struggles with consistency and intensity. Darnell Brown, a Bowling Green commitment, is Country Day’s leader who seems to always hit the big shot. Dale Brundidge is a small guard who provides defensive pressure and quickness on the perimeter. Country Day will be without 6-8 junior transfer Donnavan Kirk and 6-9 freshman Amir Williams until the second semester.

Game Previews

By Sam Hosey Jr.
PrepSpotlight.com and the Lansing State Journal

11 a.m. – DeWitt vs. Fowlerville

This game is the lone league match-up of the day. DeWitt and Fowlerville are CAAC Gold rivals and they were selected by the league coaches to finish first and second, respectively, so this game has the most at stake. Once both teams forget about playing at Breslin Center this could be the day’s most intense and competitive game as the teams are almost mirror images on paper.

Each team wants to get out, push the tempo and run at every opportunity. Fowlerville will need its sharpshooter Sean Romsek to shoot well and be effective in transition, but he can expect to see a lot of DeWitt’s Jason Fleet all game. DeWitt’s Brandon Binkely can be Romsek’s equal in terms of perimeter shooting. Inside DeWitt’s Sam Celentino and J.T. Whitman will have to battle Joe Lane and Bryan Ross. With solid point guards in Dan VanDreumel for DeWitt and Garret St. Charles for Fowlerville, and all of the senior experience on both sides, the team that limits its turnovers – as each runs a press at times – and remains poised should come out on top.

12:30 p.m. – Reese vs. Lansing Catholic

Reese is a solid club that runs a balanced halfcourt and up-tempo attack depending on what the defense allows. Lansing Catholic is a team that likes to smother its opponents and pick its spots to run, but when in doubt they’ll turn to all-conference performer, 6-foor-5 Max Elber. Reese will counter with senior wings Ty Graham and Isaac Zimmer, who provide leadership and versatility.

Defense will be the key in this match-up as both teams will try to contain the opposing teams’ go-to players, as each presents a unique match-up problem

2 p.m. – Leslie vs. Frankenmuth

This game will be a battle of wills. Can Frankenmuth star Brad Redford will his undersized team to the win or will the size, depth and pressure of Leslie be too much? Leslie is a team that likes to run, but an up-tempo game is the only style a team like Frankenmuth can play because they have no true inside players. If Leslie slows things down a bit, they can absolutely dominate the glass. But if they don’t shadow Redford, whose shooting range goes out comfortably to 26 feet, he’s capable of carrying Frankenmuth to a win.

This game will be a chess match and Leslie coach Kevin McDaniel seems to hold most of the options. Then again, Frankenmuth still has Redford.

4 p.m. – Carson City-Crystal vs. Port Huron Northern

This match-up will feature two of the better big men in the state of Michigan in Port Huron Northern’s 6-9 Jay Thames and Carson City-Crystal’s 6-11 Sean Jones. Thames is the more versatile and athletic of the two and with quick guards on the perimeter, Port Huron Northern will look to push the tempo and try to run Jones. Carson City-Crystal, on the other hand, will look to slow things down and feed Jones in their halfcourt offense.

Whichever team is able to control tempo, or get the opposing big man in foul trouble, will have a big advantage in this contest.

6 p.m. – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s vs. Lake Orion

These are two heavy-hitters in the state this year and neither will be intimidated by the other. Orchard Lake has the size advantage and should control the glass, but Drew Maynard might be the best individual player on the floor and with his strength and pure athleticism he’ll be a tough cover.

Then again, OLSM has Mr. Versatility in Dion Sims. A very interesting match-up but look for Lake Orion to try and force tempo and Orchard Lake to be a bit more methodical, but they have enough athletes to run if needed. The difference could be in the depth as the jury is still out on Lake Orion’s bench.

8 p.m. – Wyoming Park vs. Detroit Country Day

On paper it appears Country Day has the advantage, but they have not yet regained their late-season form in which they won the Class B state title. Expect Wyoming Park to come out aggressive and try to force tempo against Country Day.

While most will be watching Country Day’s shot blocker supreme, 6-11 center DaShonte Riley, the game’s most compelling match-up will be on the perimeter between Wyoming Park guards Bryan Powell and Javi Negron and Country Day’s Darnell Brown and Dale Brundidge. If Wyoming Park is able to hit from the outside and create a few turnovers, then this game could be interesting. But if Country Day is able to handle the pressure, then expect them to pull away as the game wears on.