Updated Sunday March 5th at 5:45 PM
District 21 @ Farmington
3/6 North Farmington
vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 7 PM
3/8 Farmington vs.
West Bloomfield 5 PM
3/8 NF/OLSM vs. Harrison 7 PM
3/10 Final 7 PM
Thoughts: There are four teams that can win this district in the Raiders, Falcons, Lakers, or Eaglets. North
Farmington has Nate Brooks to go with Amari Hardy and Karl Patrick but they
have a tough matchup with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s to open up the district on Monday. The
other side is not easy either with Farmington playing West Bloomfield but those two squads don't play until Wednesday. The
Lakers have Kevin McAdoo, Trevon Harvey, and solid talent on their roster. The Falcons won the Gold this season have
Jordan Graham and Jack Kirby. Harrison has no shot in this district.
PICK: Looking at this district, there are four solid teams
that can get to Walled Lake Northern for the regional. I like the Raiders to beat the Eaglets not
because of Hardy, I think he and CJ Wilson will cancel each other out but because of Nate Brooks inside against Caiden Preiskorn. I think
the Lakers will beat the Falcons on their home-court despite having match up
problems containing Graham. I think McAdoo and Harvey will have big games for West
Bloomfield against Farmington. North Farmington will roll past
Harrison setting up a rematch between two Red rivals in the district final with the Negoshians moving
on. PICK: North Farmington.
District 25 @ Bloomfield Hills
3/6 Avondale vs. Groves 5 PM
3/6 Brother Rice vs. Troy
7 PM
3/8 Avondale/Groves vs. Seaholm 5 PM
3/8 Brother Rice/Troy
vs. Bloomfield Hills 7 PM
3/10 Final 7 PM
Thoughts: Looking at this district there are some very good
teams that will be at Bloomfield Hills. There is no clear-cut favorite in this district but if
you have to say one, it’s Troy. The Colts have a very solid core led by Jason
Dietz and Isiah Smith and shared the White this season with Hazel Park. Avondale is senior heavy this season when you look at guys like D'reShawn Allen. Groves has a solid
veteran core led by Drew Scheckel, Charles Jones, and Michael Pittman. Seaholm
is very scrappy led by Brady Flynn and William Niel and does have a win over Birmingham Brother Rice on the road. Bloomfield Hills has Kiewuan Graham among
others. Birmingham Brother Rice will work hard and be competitive in this
district.
PICK: This will be a very competitive district with all six teams having a chance to win this district. I think Groves is a better team than they showed when they met
with Avondale in Auburn Hills where they lost 64-40. I expect this will be a much closer game
this time around with the Falcons winning three tough road games on route to the Blue crown this season. I think Troy has no problem with Birmingham Brother Rice
because of their experience. I think the Colts can beat the host Blackhawks
this time and the winner of Avondale and Groves beating Seaholm in very close
game. I think it will be a Troy/Groves final with the Colts going to Troy Athens. PICK: Troy.
District 23 @ Troy Athens
3/6 Warren Cousino vs. Warren Mott 6 PM
3/6 Royal Oak vs.
Troy Athens 8 PM
3/8 Warren Cousino/Warren Mott vs. Sterling Heights 6 PM
3/8 Royal Oak/Troy Athens vs. Warren De LaSalle 8 PM
3/10 Final 7 PM
Thoughts: This is a weird district to figure out with how
things have gone this season for some teams in this district. It's also odd that the winner of this district will stay at Troy Athens for their Regional. There are two
runners up teams in Warren Mott and Warren De LaSalle that went to their
respective league championship games. Warren Cousino has had a better season
despite not having a lot of size. Warren Mott has had an up and down season but
they are solid as well. I’ve been very disappointed with Troy Athens, I think they have really under-performed this season. I thought Taylor McCaskill would be better since returning back from
Detroit Edison but he has struggled to develop chemistry at times with the
veteran Red Hawks team. Warren De LaSalle has had their fair share of ups and
downs this season but did make the Catholic League title game where they had
Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit beat but they gave the game away late. Sterling
Heights has had a decent season so far. Royal Oak has had their fair share of
bright moments this season with big wins over Orion and Farmington but a
questionable loss to Ferndale makes me wonder about how the state of the Ravens
are.
PICK: Warren De LaSalle is the favorite to win this district
but I think there will be an upset in this district and here’s why. I like
Warren Mott to beat Warren Cousino easily. The hosts should be in a dog fight
with Royal Oak but I think the Red Hawks will advance to meet Warren De
LaSalle. I think Warren Mott beats Sterling Heights and Troy Athens upsets
Warren De LaSalle. The reason why I'm going with the upset is because the Red Hawks are at
home despite the fact they have really under performed this season, they have experience. I think McCaskill breaks out and goes nuts in
that game. I think it will be a Marauders/Red Hawks district final but it won’t
be the hosts that move on. I don’t trust Troy Athens being at home. The Red Hawks lost at home to Warren De LaSalle last season and two seasons ago it was Avondale that beat an experienced Troy Athens squad on a buzzer beater. I’m
pretty sure coach Dave Scott remembers that night. PICK: Warren Mott.
District 31 @ Orion
3/6 Oxford vs. Pontiac 5:30 PM
3/6 Waterford Mott vs. Clarkston
7 PM
3/8 Oxford/Pontiac vs. Waterford Kettering 5:30 PM
3/8 Clarkston/Waterford Mott
vs. Orion 7PM
3/10 Final 7 PM
Thoughts: This is not a strong district on paper. Clarkston
is the team to beat with whom they got. The Red Champs are led by two Division One recruits in Michigan State bound Foster Loyer and Wisconsin-Milwaukee bound Dylan Alderson. The Wolves also have Taylor
Currie, CJ Robinson, Trysten Mysen, Chase Wasilik, and Kip Wells. Oxford has
had a nice first year under coach Steve Laidlaw and has Jordan Jaden, Ray
LeVine, Jordan Lavalis, Jimmy Claudio, Nolan Harding, and Michael Rasich. Orion
is the dark horse because they are the hosts and is a hardworking group led by Jamie Lewis, Steven Zmijewski, Pierce Burke, and Ryan Kolp, despite
the record not showing what they are. I think the Dragons are a year away from
being very good. Waterford Mott has had a bounce back season, some of that is
they have gotten better when you look at players like Keith Fields and Nolan Fuerst in the mix.
Pontiac has had a disappointing season which was very unusual.
Waterford Kettering was winless but picked up a big win over South Lyon East.
Hopefully for the Captains it will help them into the future with only one senior on the team.
PICK: The Wildcats and Phoenix could be a competitive game. That winner should have no problem with Waterford Kettering in the district semifinal. Clarkston will destroy the Corsairs like they did last season over at Waterford Mott. I think the Dragons will play with the Wolves for
about a half in the district semifinal but looking at the district as a whole,
it will be Clarkston and Oxford in the district final with you know who moving on to clash with Macomb Dakota at Grand Blanc. PICK:
Clarkston.
District 30 @ Utica
3/6 Stoney Creek
vs. Utica Eisenhower 6:30 PM
3/8 Utica vs. Rochester
5 PM
3/8 Stoney Creek/Utica Eisenhower
vs. Adams 7 PM
3/10 Final 7 PM
Thoughts: This district is evenly matched when looking at
the teams. Adams has had a winless season but they can fix their season if they
win this district. The Highlanders can look at their Girls team for inspiration if they want to win districts with a losing record. Adams matches up well with both the Eagles and the
Cougars in the district semifinals. Stoney Creek is the favorite but they can
be beat and be had, ask Groves about that game. Utica Eisenhower is a solid team, they shoot the ball well and works really hard. Utica is not great despite being the host in their small gym.
Rochester is the dark horse but the Falcons have had a disappointing season but
they can make up for lost time in the district.
PICK: Stoney Creek is the favorite coming out of this district because they have beaten everyone in this district this season but these are the playoffs and anything can happen in the postseason. I think the Cougars will beat the Eagles, I’m not sure
if Utica Eisenhower will have an answer for Nate Davis, if they do then I’ll be
shocked. Rochester should have no problem with Utica especially with the
Gillridge brothers (LaMarco and Corey.) I think there will be a monster upset
in this one with Adams and Stoney Creek, neutral floor, nothing to lose. I
think the Highlanders shock the world by upsetting the Cougars. It will be an
Adams/Rochester district final. The Highlanders will play with house money but
the Falcons remember what happened in 2012 when they were the favorites before
being upset by Orion in the district final. It will be a great game but in the end,
it will be Rochester that moves on to Grand Blanc. PICK: Rochester.
District 24 @ Detroit Renaissance
3/6 Detroit Renaissance vs. Southfield Arts and Tech 5 PM
3/6 Warren Fitzgerald vs. Berkley 7 PM
3/8 Southfield
Arts and Tech/Detroit Renaissance vs. Detroit U-D Jesuit 5 PM
3/8 Warren Fitzgerald/Berkley
vs. Oak Park 7 PM
3/10 Final 5:30 PM
Thoughts: I think there are five teams that have a great
shot at winning this district but when looking at them you got to look at the
favorite which are the defending State Champions Detroit University-Detroit
Jesuit. The Cubs are loaded again this season led by Zach Winston, Elijah
Collins, and the two Nigerians (Greg Egbogbodin and Ike Eke) but there are some
teams that will challenge them. A perfect team is Southfield Arts and Tech
which is peaking at the right time and coming off a monster 64-60 win at Clarkston.
The Warriors have their fair share of weapons in Michael Flowers and Remi
Torbert, among others. Detroit Renaissance is the host and will give the
Warriors everything they can handle. Also watch Oak Park, the Knights are a
sleeper. They have talent led by Dwan Mathis, Maliq Carr, among others and are seated perfectly in this district. Berkley and Warren
Fitzgerald have no chance.
PICK: This district has a fare share of teams ranging from Macomb, Wayne, and Oakland Counties. Three weeks ago, I would say that the Cubs were a lock
to win this district but with the Warriors win at Clarkston a few weeks ago I can’t say that anymore. Southfield Arts and Tech is as dangerous as anyone.
The Phoenix are tall and solid but depth remains a question with them. The Knights are very talented and is the dark horse. I think this
will be a Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit/Oak Park district final but the Cubs will
move onto Dearborn Fordson. PICK: Detroit University-Detroit Jesuit.
District 43 @ Hazel Park (3/8 and 3/10 games)
3/6 Hamtramck Frontier @ Detroit Henry Ford Academy of Studies 6:30 PM
3/6 Detroit Mumford @ Ferndale
5 PM
3/6 Ferndale University @ Detroit University Prep 6 PM
3/8 Hamtramck Frontier/Detroit Henry Ford Academy of Studies vs. Hazel Park 5 PM
3/8 Detroit Mumford/Ferndale
vs. Ferndale University/Detroit University Prep 7 PM
3/10 Final 6 PM
Thoughts: When I look at this district, this could be the
perfect opportunity for Hazel Park to come out of their shadow and overcome
their negative image over what happened with their game with North Farmington
but they could see a few challenges along the way. The Vikings have lost five of their last eight games which is a major concern heading into the district despite sharing the White with Troy. Detroit Henry Ford Academy of Studies features
6.8 forward Trevon Williams. Detroit University Prep is a dark-horse team because they beat some Oakland County teams not too long ago. Ferndale has a solid young group that took down
Royal Oak not too long ago. This has the makings of an interesting district.
PICK: The hosts have had an up and down season and a great district
semifinal loom with them and Detroit Henry Ford. I expect Ferndale to battle Detroit University Prep in the district semifinal but I like the Eagles close. I think this will be an all
Oakland County final but it will be the hosts that move on to Livonia Clarenceville. PICK: Hazel
Park.
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