Butch Harmon
Sports Scene
Lovers of big-time high school basketball in the state of Michigan dodged a bullet in the elimination of powerhouse basketball schools when Saginaw High School was spared closure.
Talks were held this year regarding closing Saginaw High and merging it with Saginaw Arthur Hill. While the merger would have created a Saginaw `super power’ basketball school, it would have eliminated one of the most storied and successful high school basketball programs in the state.
Because of Michigan’s population losses over the last two decades, high school basketball has sustained the loss of some of the most storied programs in the state, especially in Classes A and B.
The list of teams that have fallen by the wayside in the past ten years is staggering. A prime example of the loss of great basketball programs is in Flint. Once considered the greatest high school basketball city in the nation on a per-person basis, Flint saw the loss of flagship program Flint Central in 2009 and Flint Northern just this past year. Over the years, those programs provided the state with legendary stars like Mateen Cleaves, Eric Turner, Mark Harris, Marty Embury, Terrance Greene, Robaire Smith, and many others. Together, Central and Northern combined to win 52 district titles, 20 regional titles, and seven state titles. District basketball time in Flint was the greatest time of the year for a high school basketball junkie, and showcase games played in front of standing-room only crowds were the norm five or six days a week during districts.
Saginaw, too, has been hit by the closure of a school. The closure of long-time Class B and C powerhouse Buena Vista brought to an end one of the greatest Flint-Saginaw rivalries, as Beecher and Buena Vista will play no more. Buena Vista had a basketball tradition second to none, with the likes of Mark Macon, Terrance Roberson, Anthony `Peeper’ Roberson, and Torey Jackson. Buena Vista closed its doors with a trophy case that held 31 district titles, 17 regional titles, and six state titles.
Nowhere has the decimation of great basketball schools been as prolific as in the Motor City. At one time, Detroit was the premier hotbed in the nation for big time high school basketball. The elimination of Detroit high schools has hit both public and private schools. It began in earnest in 2005, when both Detroit East Catholic and Detroit DePorres closed. Those two Catholic schools had combined for 48 district, 34 regional, and 16 state championships. The Detroit Public School League (PSL) has also been ravaged. Gone are legendary programs like Southwestern, Northern, Cooley, Redford, Mackenzie, Murray-Wright ,and Chadsey. Few schools had a tradition like Southwestern. The Prospectors produced superstars like Jalen Rose and Antoine `the Judge’ Joubert and legendary coach Perry Watson. Southwestern won 28 district, 15 regional, and three state titles. Northern, led by the great Derrick Coleman, won 19 district, 11 regional, and two state titles. The Cooley Cardinals, home to Larry Fogle and Michael Talley, won 14 district titles, nine regional, and three state titles.
Other areas of the state have been hit as well. Pontiac is without Pontiac Central High School. Willow Run High School, winner of 33 district, nine regional, and two state titles has closed its doors, as has Albion High School in southern Michigan.
School closings and mergers have gone on for years. Ask people in small towns across mid Michigan who have seen the Barryton Bulldogs, Blanchard Trojans, Crystal Hawks, Dimondale Bearcats, Edmore Panthers, Howard City Bulldogs, Lyons-Muir Lions, Ovid Romans, Stanton Rams, Sheridan Redskins, and Weidman Wildcats pass on into the dusty record books of time.
Time marches on, but the memories last forever, however faded and old they get. And now, new schools have a chance to come to the forefront and establish their own winning histories.