Bryer is New Girls Basketball Coach at Oxford.

Written Saturday April 30th at 11:30 PM

Last week it was Steve Laidlaw taking over the Boys Basketball team. This time it is Rachel Bryer taking over the Girls Basketball team.

In a move that really didn't surprise anyone, the Oxford Wildcats named Bryer their new head Girls Basketball Coach replacing Steve Emert whom resigned after the pre-district loss to Waterford Mott.

There were hints though that Bryer would be named the head coach, she attended the OAA meeting last month and Emert recommended her to Oxford officials.

Bryer has served three seasons as Emert's assistant coach and also two seasons as coach at Oxford Middle School and was formally an assistant Varsity and JV Coach at Edwardsburg before coming to Oxford.

I don't expect much to change in the culture at Oxford though but it will be a more smooth transition from Emert to Bryer. The Wildcats bring in a strong eighth grade class along with returnees Madeline Morris, Grace Cleland, Ashley Hershmann, Jordyn Zyniger, and Monae Evans.

The Wildcats will move down from the Red to the White and will see the likes of Orion, Royal Oak, Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, and Harrison. Oxford finished 4-17 last season but they played in the Red division and the move down will help them this upcoming winter.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for this developing story.

Crighton could be a possibility at Adams.

 Written Saturday April 30th at 7:35 PM

Well a new name has been thrown into the fire for the coaching job at Rochester Adams.

Brad Crighton.

Crighton was the former Girls Basketball Varsity Coach at Stoney Creek resigned from coaching the Cougars last season but his name was brought up and for good reason to coach the Highlanders Boys Basketball program.

Adams coach John Hall resigned last week to take over at Almont and Crighton could be a perfect replacement for Hall.

Crighton played at Adams in the mid 1990's and is an alum at the school. He is a teacher next door at Van Hoosen Middle School and his child is there as well. Crighton is no stranger to coaching Boys Basketball either as he coached the Junior Varsity boys at Stoney Creek from 2002 until 2007 when he went to coaching girls full time due to the switch in seasons.

There are others in play as well for the job like Chris Flynn, and Bob Lineberger, both were assistants under Hall then there is Jeff Hall whom coaches baseball at Adams and could very well fill the shoes for his brother. Another name mentioned is Jeff Jayson, whom coached at Waterford Mott. The Corsairs have struggled lately and Jayson might be in need of a fresh start. If the Highlanders wanted to go elsewhere there is Stephan Henning whom is a Rochester resident, he played basketball at Rochester, went to Rochester College, and coached at Oxford, or the wildcard in the coaching search is Jeff Haney. Haney coaches the Rochester Junior Varsity Boys Basketball team and has had stints coaching Varsity in the Boys and Girls levels at Rochester, could he be temped to make the move to Adams???

Also the Junior Varsity job is in play at Adams as well as long time Highlanders Coach Larry Franklin retired this previous season.

It will be an interesting couple of weeks for Highlanders Athletic Director Jason Wrapp but the list of coaching candidates will be interesting to keep an eye on.

Oakland County, including the OAA lost a Great Pioneer of Sports Writing.

Written Saturday April 30th at 10:00 AM

High School Sports throughout Oakland County, including the OAA lost a pioneer in sports writing in Keith Dunlap.

Dunlap was the MIPrepZone High School Sports Coordinator for the Oakland Press but the newspaper on Friday made budget cutbacks and Dunlap's job was one of them that was cut.

A lot of people, including teams have came out and supported Dunlap through Social Media like Facebook and Twitter.

Dunlap worked at the Oakland Press for 15 years as High School Sports coordinator and writer for the newspaper.

It is unknown where Dunlap will be at for his next job but he is always reliable, committed, and hard working. I personally think the Oakland Press Upper Management made a mistake for letting him go, no one deserves to get their job cut but whomever gets him is getting a great man with great talents.

We'll see what happens but today Oakland County High School Sports and the OAA lost a great pioneer and a great man due to cost cutting moves.

NCAA lifts Satellite Camp Ban, will be back to normal.

Written Thursday April 28th at 8:00 PM

Well mark this as a win for players and scouts all around.

On Thursday the NCAA rescinded its ban on Satellite Camps effective immediately making the way for camps like the Sound Mind Sound Body Camp, which will take place at Wayne State on June 9th and 10th to get back to where it was suppose to be and coaches to go where ever they want to be at.

This move was a huge victory for high school players who uses the camps for exposure along with the Big Ten and Mid American Conferences who uses the camps to recruit players and losses by the SEC and the ACC.

End of the day this issue won't go away anytime soon as the NCAA want recommendations from the Board of Governors for improving football recruiting due by September 1st.

For now everything will stay the same as it was last summer and Satellite Camps will be allowed for another summer.

Thomas Commits to Oakland.

Written Wednesday April 27th at 10:30 PM

Oakland University got a heck of a player coming in Billy Thomas.

Thomas committed to the Golden Grizzlies after leading the North Farmington Raiders to the State Championship Game last winter.

Thomas played his freshman and sophomore seasons at University of Detroit-Jesuit but transferred to a Virginia Prep School but then came back to Michigan to play for North Farmington. Thomas was forced to sit out his junior season due to MHSAA Transfer rules but he had an excellent Senior campaign for the Raiders.

Its also nice to know that the Negoshians (Tom and Todd) are still close to the Golden Grizzlies program and Thomas to Rochester is a perfect fit to go along with Brandon Neely. Both Neely and Thomas will be impact players for Coach Greg Kampe with the departure of Kay Felder.

We shall see what happens but Oakland University got a heck of a player coming to them in Billy Thomas.

Hall Steps Down as Adams Coach, will take job at Almont.

Written Tuesday April 26th at 7:05 PM

Tuesday night was probably one of the most heartbreaking announcement that the Rochester Adams community has endured.

Longtime Highlanders coach John Hall stepped down as Adams coach and will take the Almont job that was left by former Seaholm coach Jose Andrades whom resigned last month.

The move was a sudden shock to the Highlanders community including Athletic Director Jason Rapp and other Adams administrators.

Hall said the reason why he left Adams was because of his kids, they are going to start school sports in Almont and he wants to see them play. Hall is from Almont, which is in Lapeer County but he will continue to make the travel to teach at Adams everyday.

Hall was at Adams for 17 years and had a 243-142 record with four district titles as Highlanders coach.

The Highlanders went to the regional final falling to Macomb Dakota on the road.

Hall will take over the Almont Knights. The Knights went 7-15 and 3-11 in the Blue Water Area Conference which was second to last in the league last season falling to Croswell-Lexington in the district semifinals. Instead of competing with the likes of North Farmington, Clarkston, Southfield, Stoney Creek, Rochester, and Orion in the OAA, he will play top notch teams like Yale, Richmond, and Imlay City, all in Class B.

Adams will now have to search for a new head coach for the winter season but a possible coaching candidate could be longtime assistant Chris Flynn whom has been in the program for 12 seasons. Also Bob Lineberger will get some attention as well and has spent eight seasons at Adams. Not to mention there is Highlanders baseball coach Jeff Hall, whom is the brother of John Hall. Hall was the Freshman Coach for John until last season when he focused on baseball, could he make the move again back to the hardwood. One last candidate is Jeff Haney, whom is the Rochester Junior Varsity Coach and knows the Rochester area very well. Haney could be an interesting candidate to coach at Adams, anything is possible.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest developments on this story.

DeHart to Berkley, possiblity.

Written Sunday April 24th at 2:25 PM

The Berkley Bears are in search for a new Boys Basketball Coach after former coach Dave McGlown resigned last week. One name could possibly come up in the coaching search.

Steve DeHart.

DeHart could be what the Bears wanted. He knows how to build a program from scratch and is very good to students.

DeHart was the Junior Varsity Coach at Lake Orion from 2012-2016 and has worked for two very good coaches in Tom Risi and Jim Manzo. DeHart in his second campaign finished 18-2 and has had winning records since, finishing 14-6 last season.

Berkley has went up against DeHart a couple of times with DeHart being 3-1 against the Bears when he was coaching the Junior Varsity with the Dragons.

DeHart is more than capable of building a program up and had success in doing so in Northern Oakland County. If I'm the Bears, I'd look at him, he is available.

Now the Bears could look at other coaching candidates like their assistant coaches but we'll see what Berkley does with their coaching search.

Kelso Out at Pontiac, McGlown Out at Berkley.

Written Saturday April 23rd at 5:00 PM

Boys Basketball in the OAA is about to get a major makeover.

In wake of the major coaching hire that Oxford made bringing back Steve Laidlaw two more coaches have officially left their boys basketball programs according to an accurate source.

At Berkley, coach Dave McGlown stepped down after spending seven seasons as Bears coach. It is not known why McGlown stepped down from Berkley. It is unknown whom will take over the Bears program.

Ben Kelso is now out at Pontiac after two seasons as Phoenix head coach. Last season Pontiac shared the White crown with Bloomfield Hills and West Bloomfield. Kelso previously coached at Waterford Kettering, along with Southfield in which he coached the girls (won two State titles), and in Detroit at Detroit Cooley where he won three State titles in the late 1980's-early 90's along with being at Detroit Mumford for a time.

Kelso and school officials have not gotten along at Pontiac lately, it was very similar to Waterford Kettering and he left on bad terms. Also mentioned was that his name was rumored to be linked with Oak Park as the Knights are in search for a new boys basketball coach.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest information on this developing story

Laidlaw is Back at Oxford.

Written Friday April 22nd at 11:58 PM

A familiar face is coming back to Oxford.

Confirmed via Facebook, the Wildcats hired Steve Laidlaw to coach their Varsity Boys Basketball team replacing interim coach Dave Brown whom replaced Stephan Henning after a scandal. Laidlaw now joins a list of returning coaches to return to coach their former school such as Jim Manzo last season at Orion and Tim Morton at Avondale three seasons ago.

Here is the Facebook Post from returning Wildcats coach Steve Laidlaw.

"Truly honored and privileged to be the new Varsity coach at Oxford. So incredibly thankful for my last six years at Avondale. I made so many lifelong relationships. We had a great first team meeting in Oxford today and the kids sure made me feel at home. I GET to do this again!! Blessed!!"

Laidlaw spent six seasons at Avondale coaching the JV team over in Auburn Hills from 2010-2016 but he is well known for being at Oxford for six seasons from 2003-2009. Laidlaw was forced out in 2009 after an issue with the school board but now he is back as the head man for the Wildcats.

Many Oxford alumni appreciated what Laidlaw did for the Wildcats Boys Basketball program, creating a family like atmosphere despite the 51-97 record he has in six seasons at Oxford coach.

Oxford will return players like Jordan Jayden, Ray LaVine, and Justin Lavalis along with a solid JV team from a season ago. It is unknown if Laidlaw will bring back current assistant coaches that worked under Brown. The Wildcats finished 6-15 last season which concluded with a district semifinal loss to Clarkston.

The Wildcats will compete in the Blue this upcoming Winter with their arch rival Orion along with Stoney Creek, Rochester, Groves, and Seaholm.

Thoughts:

This is a big addition for the Wildcats that I didn't see coming, to bring back one of their own in Laidlaw. He will bring enthusiasm, discipline, chemistry, and a family atmosphere to Oxford, something they have really needed since he left.

This reminds me of the situation very similar to the one at Orion when Jim Manzo returned to the bench. Manzo turned the Dragons into a 12 win team a season ago. Could Laidlaw do the same thing at Oxford??? It's possible.

Stay tuned to OAA Now for this developing story.

Proposed New League Could Give OAA oppertunity to Expand if they so choose.

Written Thursday April 21st at 11:15 PM
Updated Friday April 22nd at 9:40 PM

The KLAA will be different in two years.

On Thursday Morning, ten KLAA schools decided to leave the conference and form their own league effective the 2017-2018 school year according to Hometown Life's Brad Emons.

The schools that are leaving are nine in Oakland County and one in Livingston County. They are Waterford Kettering, Waterford Mott, Lakeland, Milford, South Lyon, South Lyon East, Walled Lake Northern, Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Western, and Pinckney.

The move will bring the KLAA down from 24 to 14 schools.

Last month, the league voted down Proposal B which was suppose to realign the league based on competitive balance but travel concerns and student enrollment voted down that proposal thus forcing the ten schools to form their own league.

However for the new league to happen it needs approval from the five school district superintendents. If that fails then they can separate and join different conference like the OAA or in Pinckney's case the Capital Area Conference.

We will know by June if this new league forms with the ten schools because the KLAA bylaws state that the schools leaving must stay in the league for one year and have their plan in place by June.

Could They Come to the OAA???

Odds are that the ten schools coming to the league are not likely but you never know but if I had to be an odds maker, odds that nine of them come to the OAA are about 40-60. If these schools join the OAA then they could be perfect fits based on location and distance geographically along with competitive balance, especially the Waterford and Walled Lake Schools along with Lakeland and Milford. South Lyon is very close to Farmington and could establish rivalries with the three Farmington schools along with the rest of the southern schools.

The league could very well talk to these schools and with the OAA having 23 schools and needing to expand. This could be the perfect opportunity to expand to 33 schools or 32 because of the geographic standpoint that nine of the schools are in Oakland County but there is a possibility that Pinckney could be left out because they are in Livingston County and it is very well documented especially with Grand Blanc, Davison, and Lapeer that no matter how hard schools try to get them in, the OAA will not take schools who are not from Oakland County.

The Lessons

This is a wake up call for the OAA to address some of their problems such as travel and competitive issues, especially in football. The KLAA issues revolved around one sport, football and the conclusion that came out of the league disagreement concluded in disbandment. Now the superintendents could prevent this from occurring, this would be a very unpopular move and I'm not sure the superintendents would want to anger their constituent.

Stay tuned to OAA Now on this developing story.    

Hype, Recognition, and Talent Doesn't Guarantee Success.

Written Saturday April 16th at 1:10 AM

When looking at individual sites like D-Zone, or shows like State Champs, or High School Hammer Time. They have a lot in similarities and there are differences in each of them and I respect that.

I look at three OAA teams, they get a lot of attention to sites like D-Zone. Sure almost all the teams in the league and throughout the State have players hyped by them and I respect that. Some maybe more than others but there are three of them that have my attention that gets a lot of hype, attention, and recognition. They are Southfield Arts and Technology, West Bloomfield, and Oak Park, all in Middle and Southern Oakland County.

That’s not even mentioning Detroit Cass Tech or Detroit Martin Luther King, whom in retrospect get their fair share of recognition despite them producing elite talent from Detroit to go to top notch Universities.

The Warriors, Lakers, and Knights have a ton of players on D-Zone’s Twitter Page and what Universities and camps they are going too.

All the hype, recognition, and talent doesn’t always guarantee playoff success.

As I looked at last season’s playoff run for these teams, all three of them have top individual talent looking at top notch colleges but all three of them didn’t have the playoff success they wanted as they didn’t to the regional round. Southfield Arts and Technology although not a school yet as they were still Lathrup and Southfield both lost to Berkley in the pre-district and district final respectably. Oak Park lost in the pre-district to Southfield while West Bloomfield was shocked at home in the pre-district by Novi, whom came into the game at 5-4, barely making the playoffs.

Berkley did not get the recognition it deserved as almost no one outside of Berkley gave the Bears a chance to pull off the big upset.

But they did especially in the district final at Hurley Field against a team whom has elite young talent, an elite quarterback, elite defensive players, elite running backs, had played in a more brutal division, and had one of most brutal schedules in the State.

Sure Harrison was upset by Groves, whom ended up winning the Blue last season in the pre-district but looking at the Hawks after their tough loss to West Bloomfield, they are ripe for an upset that night in Beverly Hills despite having Alabama bound senior Khalid Kareem. The Falcons though had their fair share of talented players led by Ernest Allen and Iowa bound Cedric Boswell.

Sometimes having too much hype, talent, and recognition is dangerous. It can lead to disaster and opens the doors up to scouters but hype, recognition, and talent gets you somewhere but it doesn’t earn anything. You got to go out there and do it, individual talent is fine but the team is all that matters if you want to get to the Ultimate Goal and that’s a State Championship.

That’s the beauty of High School Sports.

Basketball New Divisions.

Written Saturday April 16th at 12:10 AM

Here are the new basketball divisions for each team and whom could be the early favorite in each of them heading into the Winter.

Girls

Red:

Southfield Arts and Technology
Stoney Creek
North Farmington
Clarkston
Adams

When looking at this division, the Warriors are the early favorite because of whom both the former Blue Jays and Chargers return like players D'Alynna Holliman and Alexis Johnson, that's not to mention that Deja Church is a Miss Michigan Basketball candidate. The Cougars are the next best here because they return a ton led by Ally Voss and Emily Solek. The Raiders move up a division after winning the White and returns Kierra Crockett and Samantha Cherney. The Wolves return the best big girl in the league in Kayla Luchenbach to go along with Molly Nicholson and Bre Blitizer but if they can get another impact guard to go along with Maddie Beck, Clarkston could be back yet again. The Highlanders return Maggie Rogers but the question for them will be role players as whom will help Rogers score this winter.

White:

Bloomfield Hills
Orion
Oxford
Royal Oak
Harrison
West Bloomfield

When you look at this division, this one will come down to the wire between the Dragons and Blackhawks. Bloomfield Hills returns Amanda Sape, Katherine Prinna, Becca Hancock, and Maryiam Hashim. Orion returns Maddie Novak and Jordyn Marchese. The Wildcats come down from the Red bring a ton of experience led Madelyn Morris, Monae Evans, Jordyn Zyniger, Ashley Herschman, and Grace Cleland. The Ravens return Samantha Potter and Casey Joslyn. The Hawks lost Kristen Nelson and Amber Stephens to graduation returns two key players in Olivia Perkins and Tedi Pickens. The Lakers lost Charlika Stubbs, Kori Maxie, Macey Kryzakoza, and Taylor Pierce but do return Jamila and Jordyn Elam.

Blue:

Seaholm
Rochester
Troy
Groves
Oak Park
Avondale

The Maples return Mackenzie Harbort and Dana Hoerman but the schedule has been what you say a bit easy in my opinion, last season I criticized Bloomfield Hills for their non conference schedule but in 2016 its Seaholm. The Falcons are here because of their strong back court led by the returning from injury Paola Barraza and Tori Hawkins along with Jenna Norgrove in the paint pending if they stay injury free. The Colts weren't too pleased to move down a division but expect them to be in the thick of this division. The Falcons return some experience led by Shea Carter. The Knights have struggled outside the league. The Yellow Jackets return Toya Golden but they got some issues everywhere else they must address.

Gold:

Troy Athens
Berkley
Farmington
Hazel Park
Pontiac
Ferndale

The Red Hawks weren't too happy they stayed in the Gold but they should roll in this division led by Maddie Crum. The Bears will be very young but they have a stable program in place led by Makoya Denham. The Vikings return Trinity Benton and Ghyanna Green. The Falcons lost some experience but they will compete in this division. The Eagles are still young while the Phoenix lost a ton of experience last season could struggle as well this winter.

Boys

Red:

Clarkston
North Farmington
Bloomfield Hills
Southfield Arts and Technology
Adams
West Bloomfield

Come on now, is there anyone going to touch the Wolves, not with Foster Loyer, Dylan Alderson, CJ Robinson all returning to go along with a 6.5 transfer from Oxford coming in. Clarkston is loaded and talented and could make it to Breslin this winter. The Raiders went to the State Finals lost a huge chunk of their team but returns Amauri Hardy. The new Warriors squad returns Michael Flowers. The Blackhawks could be serious contenders to get second place returns Kiewuan Graham and Josh Jones. The Lakers return Kevin McAdoo but question will be role players. The Highlanders are well coached and have a strong JV team coming back, Adams will be there.

White:

Hazel Park
Troy
Troy Athens
Pontiac
Avondale
Oak Park

The division could get a good dose of the Vikings because of whom they got back in David Hearns, Carl Bow, and James Jenkins. The Colts could be the top challenger to Hazel Park as they are big and deep led by Jason Ditz whom has become a well rounded player. The Red Hawks will be better as well led by Taylor McCaskill. The Phoenix will have concerns inside but they will have Jalen Kelso and stall ball to go to next winter. The Knights are not stable at all but will have Robert Zanders back. The Yellow Jackets will have some experience back as well led by Jalen Latham.

Blue:

Groves
Rochester
Orion
Oxford
Stoney Creek
Seaholm

This division is the toughest in the league when looking at it. The Falcons had an athletic JV team and returns Drew Sheckill. The Falcons will also have experience as well led by Hunter Schlatter, Ivan Barraza, and LaMarco Gillridge. The Dragons lost David Gomez, and Noah Harris to graduation but returns Steven Zjemesski and Jamie Lewis. The Wildcats return a ton of experience led by Jordan Jadan, Ray LeVine, and Justin Lavalis. The Maples will be scrappy led by Graham Girdler and Liam Neel. The Cougars lost a ton of players but their sub varsity (JV and Freshman) was strong and will be relied upon to carry Stoney Creek.

Gold:

Farmington
Berkley
Royal Oak
Harrison
Ferndale

When looking at this division, this better be the year for the Falcons despite the fact they lose some talent. The Bears return David Cobb back. The Ravens lose Cedric Boswell and Cordell DuPree but they have a good group coming back. The Hawks was young a season ago. The Eagles normally a good Class B team will still be young heading into the season next winter.

Basketball Coaching Job Openings.

Written Friday April 15th at 11:05 PM

There are three top coaching basketball jobs available as we are in the mist of the off season for basketball. Two of them are in the Boys and Two in the Girls. I feel confident whom will be the coaches at Southfield Arts and Technology. I will look at what impact the coaching jobs will give and whom are the top candidates for each job. I won’t make a projection whom will get the job, that choice will be made by the Athletic Director's who will make them.

Oxford Girls:

Oxford coach Steve Emert resigned after his Wildcats lost to Waterford Mott in the pre-district last March. The Wildcats will return a ton of experience led by Monae Evans, Madelyn Morris, Jordyn Zyniger, Grace Cleland, and Ashley Herschman. Oxford has a strong incoming Freshman Class as well which will make the job that much easier. The Wildcats will be in a division (White) in which they will compete in and is very well a dark horse.

I think the top candidate is Rachel Bryer. Bryer was an assistant under Emert and does know the players very well. Bryer would bring a ton of experience with her under the tutelage of Emert

I also like Jeff Marshall. Marshall was the Junior Varsity Coach at Oxford and does know the system quite well.  He brings experience as well which is a bonus.

Al Poynter is an interesting candidate because he coached the Wildcats until he decided to step down from coaching in 2011.

I think a dark horse candidate is Jamie Glinz. Glinz coached at Southfield last season and with the merger of them and Southfield-Lathrup to become Southfield Arts and Technology looming, the likely new coach will be Michelle Marshall over there. I think the move up north could benefit him.

I think this may be a long shot but the Wildcats could look at former Walled Lake Western coach Dave Smith. Smith resigned mid-season from Walled Lake Western would be an interesting hire because he would bring an AAU background along with coaching experience and also it’s close to home in which Smith is from Clarkston. Emert coached in Walled Lake as well but at Walled Lake Central but Smith’s name is an interesting one to look at.

Harrison Girls:

The Hawks job is interesting since Allen Walker resigned due to parent pressure near the end of the season but the Harrison job is toxic especially when you know you will only have three years to coach at Harrison before the school closes. The Hawks are in a favorable division and do return Oliva Perkins and Tedi Pickens but did lose two all-State players in Kristen Nelson and Amber Stephens.

The question will be will Stefon Wilson coach both the boys and girls teams or will he stay coaching the Boys???

Another name mentioned could be the Junior Varsity coach Darlene Taylor. Taylor was the Junior Varsity Coach at Bloomfield Hills under coach Jeff Rubin at both Andover and Bloomfield Hills. She could be a perfect fit if Wilson doesn’t coach the varsity team. Taylor brings experience and the passion to get Harrison ready for the season.

Oxford Boys:

The Girls at Oxford is open but so is the Boys. Dave Brown served as the interim coach for Stephan Henning whom was forced out after he got caught in a scandal. The Wildcats do return a ton of talent led by Jordan Jaden, Ray Levine, and Justin Lavalis and will be in a division in which they can compete in this upcoming winter.

I think it’s a wide open job search with the early favorite being Billy Keenest because of the loyalty to the program but experience could be an issue for him.

Jeff Jayson’s name has been mentioned a ton. Jayson coached at Waterford Mott and his name was mentioned for other jobs. He was a strong candidate for the Orion job until coach Jim Manzo got the Dragons job last season. Jayson led the Corsairs to the 2012 regional finals where they lost to Orion but hasn’t had the talent at Waterford Mott scene. He would be perfect for the Wildcats and it could very well be his job to lose.

The dark horse candidate is Tom Risi. Risi coached at Orion until he resigned in 2015 after a tough 4-16 season and like Jayson, Risi led the Dragons to the State quarterfinals in 2012 and brings a ton of experience to the fold.

Oak Park Boys:

The Knights will be looking for their eighth coach in nine years after Jamie Thomas resigned after the season but this choice that Athletic Director and Football Coach Greg Carter decides to do must be committed in stabilizing the Oak Park Boys Basketball program.

The top choice will be Jamie Arnold. Arnold played at Oak Park and bringing in a former player has done well for their high school Ala Manure’s like Shay Lewis at Rochester Adams for the Girls Basketball team. He could be a good choice for the team.

Another possible candidate would be Al Katalla whom coached Varsity at Oak Park before until 2007. Katalla has coached in the sub varsity roles of the program ever since but he could be the one that could bring stability to a program that really needs it in the worst way possible.