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.