Clarkston adds another Star.

Written Monday July 31st at 12:40 AM

The rich keep getting richer for the defending State Champions.

Citing a very accurate source, Thomas Kitchener will be playing his Senior year at Clarkston.

Kitchener whom is a Michigan State commit played at Macomb Dakota last season. Two seasons ago on Kitchener’s now former home court, it was the Cougars that took out Clarkston in double overtime in the Regional Semifinal and Kitchener was a big part of that win. Macomb Dakota went to the State Semifinal that season. The Cougars were eliminated by the Wolves in the Regional Semifinal last season at Grand Blanc.

Kitchener is expected to replace Dylan Alderson at power forward. Wolves coach Dan Fife will be solid again. He moved to Clarkston a few weeks ago meaning he can play right away.

Kitchener will join a sick lineup at Clarkston with his future Michigan State teammate Foster Loyer along with Michigan bound Taylor Currie, CJ Robinson, Nick Wells, Spencer Newblatt, Tristen Mysen, and Chase Waslik.

All of them are Seniors.

That’s not to mention that the Wolves have a deep bench. Clarkston’s expectations have just gotten off the roof.

Thoughts:

This is a super-team to say the least. I’m nodding my head looking at this. I know the division will not be happy to hear this news about Kitchener. If Clarkston does not repeat as State Champions then this will be a failed season. The Wolves have added five transfers in the last five seasons (Tabin Throgmorton, Dylan Alderson, Loyer, Tristen Mysen, and now Kitchener.)

Stay tuned to OAA Now on this developing story.

Emert coaching again but in different league.

Written Tuesday July 25th at 12:00 AM

Now I know this is a little bit out of our coverage area but Steve Emert is back in the game coaching Girls Basketball.

Emert was named head coach at Walled Lake Western succeeding Skip Stevenson. Stevenson led the Warriors to their first district title in 29 years and went the Regional Final last season in which they lost to Farmington Hills Mercy. He previously coached at Walled Lake Central leading them to a State Championship appearance in 1995.

Emert brings a high-octane tempo game along with a heavy full court press. They will shoot a ton of three pointers as well. He has also coached Boys Basketball while at Walled Lake Central and has 400 career wins as a head coach.

Emert is well known around the OAA, coaching at Oxford from 2011 until 2016. He had a very interesting departure from the Wildcats in the 2016 season. Oxford is now coached by an Emert assistant in Rachel Bryer.

Emert has coached the likes of Miranda Murphy, Jessica Murphy, Abby Butkewicz, Madelyn Morris, Cherlyn Bandis, and Jayne Butkewicz when he was at Oxford.

Emert’s new team has a ton of experience coming back. They are in a new league in the Lakes Valley Conference. Walled Lake Western should compete with Waterford Kettering for the league crown this season, last season both the Warriors and Captains shared the then KLAA North title.

Emert will open up the season against a familiar foe when he was at Oxford in Kellen James and the Stoney Creek Cougars on December 1^st at Stoney Creek.

Thoughts.

I got to wonder how the folks at Oxford feel about Emert coming back into coaching, especially with the way he went out back in 2016. I don’t know if they care or not but Emert did bring some success while he was at Oxford including a White title in 2015.

I’m not sure if Bryer would scrimmage or play against Emert, it would be interesting if the Wildcats were to play Walled Lake Western but it’s possible both of them could go their separate ways with their programs.

We shall see what happens.

OAA Football Uniform Watch.

Written Friday July 14th at 12:40 AM
Updated Monday October 23rd at 12:30 AM

Here are the early football uniform story lines heading into the season along with the grades of each football uniform heading into the season.

BEST LOOK: Any Classic Uniforms (Farmington, Harrison, and Stoney Creek:) I love the classic uniform looks especially with Farmington with the Penn State Classic look from the Joe Paterno era with the opposite V-Neck color on the jerseys to the Harrison look with the yellow helmet with green jerseys and yellow pants to even Stoney Creek putting last names on their uniforms. These three uniforms describe what the classics are all about.

WORST LOOK: Berkley: The Bears going all white bothers me. It reminded me of Rutgers when they went with the chrome numbering instead of the traditional red and white. Fans didn’t like the uniforms because they couldn’t see the players numbers well thanks to the chrome numbering. Now with Berkley it’s the same thing as Rutgers, you can’t see the numbers really well with the look. The Bears 2015 look looked so much better especially on the road. They have a new coach in Billy Keenest, I hope he gets rid of the road uniforms, it’s too white.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Orion: The Dragons jerseys have not been the same since they went to Nike full time back in 2012. The pants I have no issue with the green/white pants with the opposite stripes but the top of the jersey is what I have issues with. Orion went to a modified Michigan State look in 2012, which was awesome with the opposite colored elbows on the road uniforms but in 2013 they went to a plain jersey, which I thought was terrible. Last season, the Dragons got new uniforms but the font wasn’t right in the front of the jerseys, I thought the font was too small. If Orion wants to go back to the traditional jerseys, then they must follow the Oklahoma or Michigan State back in the 2000’s look, it can be done.

NEEDS HELP: North Farmington: With new coach Bob Chiesa, the Raiders will look to get back to playing good football but the uniforms need serious help in the worst way. The white helmet of the Raiders needs to go and bad along with their outdated brown Nike jerseys with the white stripes and yellow on the center of the jersey. The white pants need to stay on the road ONLY and they could get a new different set of pants for being at home. The current brown jersey with the white pants and helmet does not mesh and it looks awful to see. Chiesa has changed the helmet, adding more spice with chrome to the white helmet with the Raiders logo. I believe the helmet needs to change colors from white to brown, or even yellow which is their primary color according to Chiesa. The jerseys and pants will be changed next season according to Chiesa but the helmet is a start but there is a long way to go with this look.

PLEASE WEAR THESE THIS SEASON: Oak Park: The Knights road uniform is what I call the best look in football with the red elbows and numbering on the shoulders to go along with the chrome helmet. I wish they put names on the back of the uniforms. Oak Park went to a Nike look last season which kind of disappointed me but they kept the red elbows which I thought made the uniform what it is today. I liked the original Knights road uniform. Oak Park's current red uniforms look good with the white elbows and numbering, I thought the black uniforms looked OK.

PLEASE GET RID OF THESE NOW: Rochester: The Falcons going with the white helmet with the black pants made no sense last season. Imagine wearing a white helmet, blue jersey, black pants??? That’s asking for trouble. What bothered me was that Rochester ditched the blue helmet for the black helmet, I thought OK that's fine, it went along with the blue, white, and alternate black jerseys. Last season, they went with the white helmet with the black R I was up at arms. Falcons officials said that they wanted to be like Oregon. Can you imagine if Rochester copied the Oregon Ducks mascot, Oregon did that last season and lost to Washington State. This season, the Falcons ditched the black pants and have decided to go a poor man's North Farmington with their Under Armor uniforms. The road white jerseys are clearly better because of the Detroit Lions font with the ROCHESTER name with blue numbering. The home blue uniform I'm disappointed with because the FALCONS name is small and the number is simple with a big white stripe on the sleeves. The home uniform will have blue jerseys with white pants while the road uniforms will be all white with blue trim. The helmet is white with a new Falcons bird on them. I want Rochester to go back to the blue helmet with their new logo. That new Falcon would look great on a blue helmet, not a white helmet. The Falcons open up their new renovated stadium against Oak Park which will be a tough game. If there is any team that needs a complete reboot on their uniforms it's Rochester.

Uniform Grades.

Avondale: I don’t like that big Adidas logo on the uniform, other than that love the all purple at home with the AVONDALE lettering and numbers in yellow along with the road white with purple helmet. Wonder if they will bring back the yellow pants??? GRADE: C

Hazel Park: I don’t like the HP logo in the front of the jersey but what makes up for it is the numbers are in big font. I like the maroon with the gray piping and their road white with the opposite maroon color piping with maroon pants but please get rid of the HP logo and it's a great uniform. GRADE: B-

North Farmington: See the Need’s Help section especially on the home uniforms. GRADE: D

Pontiac: The Phoenix went with a new uniform with purple being the primary color. I like the new design with the black stripe on top with the Pontiac name and numbers front and center. I don't like the Phoenix name on the right side of the jersey and the bit of white on the shoulders. I think it clashes with the Pontiac name. Anything purple and black looks good, now wonder how the gray helmet fits into this equation???  GRADE: B

Farmington: Anytime you have an all classic Penn State look with the opposite V-neck under the late Joe Paterno look it’s great. The Falcons made some changes on the helmet, which disturbs me a bit. GRADE: A-

Royal Oak: The Ravens have a great look with the home blacks, road whites, and the alternate blue jerseys. Royal Oak made some changes this season to the black jerseys. They added a white to blue combination on the elbows. The white uniforms are awful with the Adidas look with the wings on the shoulders. The pants are fine with black at home, white on the road, and the alternate look. I would suggest putting the players last names back on the jerseys. The look is good but please no blue helmets, go back to black with the Baltimore Ravens bird on them and get rid of the Adidas look on the road whites. GRADE: C

Ferndale: I’m glad the Eagles made some changes to the jerseys and helmets especially with getting rid of the line on the yellow helmet. Their home Russell Athletic brown uniform is interesting with white elbows with yellow trim. They have a yellow uniform which was their alternate look. Ferndale changed up the uniform from game to game, even the game pants were different whether they were white, yellow, or brown. The look goes very well for the Eagles, which they made the playoffs for the first time since 2008. I loved their Russell Athletic jerseys and designs they had last season. GRADE A-

Oak Park: The white jerseys may have changed when the Knights went to Nike but they kept a few things from their old design like the red numbering on shoulders and red on the elbows. makes this a great jersey. The home red uniform looks good as well with the white elbows and numbering on the shoulders. The black alternate looks fierce but not as good as the other two uniforms. Any jersey with  red, black, or white pants looks very good. The chrome helmet makes this perfect uniform. GRADE: A

Harrison: The classic yellow helmet, green jersey, yellow pants, or the white jersey looks good on the Hawks along with the stripes on the shoulders, you know that’s Harrison. GRADE: A

Groves: This is the most underappreciated uniform in the OAA and the color scheme (green, yellow, and black) works for the Falcons. I love this look especially the home uniforms with the green jerseys with black elbows and gold lettering to go along with black pants. Nike did a very good job with this look. The road uniforms are great as well with green, gold, and black trim with white pants. I like how the green helmet meshes with the white jersey with the green elbows. Besides Oak Park's road uniform, this is the best uniform design. GRADE: A

Seaholm: The Maples need to make some changes to their uniform design, starting with the helmet. I think they need to go back to the maroon helmet and change their logo from the S to a Maple Leaf with a white stripe on the center. I'm not a big fan of the white pants that Seaholm currently wears. I think the pants have to change to a solid look with no wording on the pants. I wonder if the Maples should get maroon pants as well. If Seaholm adds lines to the game pants that would be OK. The Nike jerseys looks good with white elbows at home and the maroon elbows on the road. They added nameplates to the back of the uniforms which is a big plus. I like the jerseys but they need to change the helmet and pants. GRADE: B

Stoney Creek: When Cougars coach Bob Lantzy put the players last names on the back of the jerseys, that made me so happy. The style looked good whether it was the home blue jerseys with the blue or gold pants, or the white road jerseys with blue, gold, or white pants combo with the gold helmet. The helmet bothers me but not with the color but what is on them. Under then coach Brad Zube, Stoney Creek went with the Cougar logo on both sides of the helmet. However under Lantzy, the Cougars went with the SC logo on one side and the jersey number on the other side. Another issue that is bothering me is that Stoney Creek needs to settle on one company for their uniforms. Currently the Cougars have Russell Athletic jerseys and Under Armor pants, they do not mesh. Even though I like the Russell Athletic design on the jerseys I would like for them to settle on one company to be their main uniform provider, that's why I have them low here. GRADE: B

Rochester: Please call the fashion police on this team. GRADE: F

Berkley: The home blue uniforms are fine with me with the blue helmet and white pants. The road ones not so much, there is too much white on the road uniforms with white pants and blue helmet. The alternate uniforms are fine, I like them. The Bears should wear those on the road. GRADE: D-

Troy: The Colts went to a new uniform design but I'm really disturbed by the look especially on the road. Troy's new road uniforms with the Colts logo on the shoulders. The new road uniform was made by Adidas and they have the company logo on the top center of the jersey. There are no names on the back of the jerseys in black and with the red outline. The home black jersey is respectable with the Russell Athletic logo with white elbows with the TC logo on the shoulders and the name plates are on there. The black pants are also made by Russell Athletic which is both their home and road pants. Troy's new football helmet is a disaster with the TC logo making a return on one side of the helmet with the gray stripe on the center and the players number on the other side of the helmet. This  is a disaster in the making. GRADE: F

Clarkston: The Wolves wore different uniforms with two different companies supplying them. They have their road white uniforms supplied by Nike and their home blue uniforms supplied by Under Armor. It doesn't add up with having two competitive companies representing your team. I didn't like the home blue jerseys to begin with. The white Clarkston lettering just doesn't add up. The name WOLVES should be in yellow or their should be no name on them at all. The road white uniforms, I liked because it had blue and yellow on their uniforms. I did not like the blue jersey, white pants look the Wolves wore against Romeo in the Regional Final last season where they lost 41-7 last season. I don't like when teams wear two different company names on their jerseys, one makes sense. Wonder if Clarkston will bring back the yellow pants to go along with the winged helmets and bring back the name plates??? GRADE: C

Orion: The Dragons pants look good whether its at home or on the road with the opposite color lines along with the dark green helmet with the white lines with the LO name on the sides and the Dragon stickers are great as well. The jersey however needs a ton of work. The numbers on the sides of the jerseys are fine but on the front of them needs help. The font needs to be bigger on the jerseys. The current jerseys have the DRAGONS name on both jerseys, I think the DRAGONS name needs to stay on the home dark greens and the LAKE ORION name needs to be put on the road whites. I think the LO on the V-neck is a bit too much and might need to go but they need to make some changes with the top of the uniform, the helmet and pants are in great shape. GRADE: A-

Oxford: When the Wildcats went to Under Armor they made their jerseys plain and simple with the WILDCATS name on the front of the home blue jersey and OXFORD on the road white jersey. I'm not a big fan of plain and simple. I liked the Wildcats old home blue jerseys when they had last names on the back. The road white jerseys I feel are too plain for my taste. I like the yellow pants, you know that's Oxford and coach Bud Rowley but the jerseys could improve big time. GRADE: B-

Adams: I like the elbows that the Highlanders have on the jerseys. The elbows tells a story about the Highlanders past. I wish Adams brought back the yellow pants with the the brown jerseys. I also love their alternate jerseys, they show pride, I call them the military look. The Highlanders changed the helmet with a yellow helmet with the name Adams dating back to their old days, I'm not a fan of the helmet, it needs a makeover right now. The alternate jersey should be the main home uniform in my opinion. They should get rid of the brown jersey, it's not their primary color, yellow is. The helmet needs to go back to the A with the two swords on it. GRADE: C-

Bloomfield Hills: The home purple jerseys with the white elbows and purple numbering is good. The purple pants are a good fit to their home uniforms. If they decided to go back to all black then I have no problem with that as well. Bloomfield Hills also has a good road uniform with the all white look. The black helmet is a perfect look for the Blackhawks. Nike did a good job with this uniform. People complain the jersey is noisy but me, not so much, I have a lot of positive about the Bloomfield Hills uniforms. GRADE B-

Troy Athens: The Red Hawks changed their helmets again from gray to gold with the Red Hawks logo with a red stripe on the helmet. I think the name on top of the helmet is a bit too much, I don't like it at all though. I also don't like that Troy Athens went to Adidas because of the company logo on front of the jerseys. The jersey design is interesting with the wings on the shoulders and the ATHENS name with red numbering and gold outline on the road white jerseys. On the home red uniforms it is an all red design with red jerseys and pants. The jersey has the RED HAWKS name with the wings on the shoulders but the numbering has a gold outline with red numbering. The jerseys also has the Adidas company logo on the center of the uniforms. I do like that Troy Athens put the players last names on the back of the uniforms. This look is probably the best of the Adidas jerseys but not the greatest. GRADE C

Southfield Arts and Tech: Just like Avondale’s jerseys the Warriors need to get rid of the Adidas logo on the front. If they do, it’s a good uniform, no matter if they wear red, white, or blue with the jerseys and pants. The blue helmets are good with the red stripe on the center but I want them to get rid of the S A&T logo on their one side, it doesn't need to be there or put another logo on there. GRADE B-

West Bloomfield: If  Lakers coach Ron Bellamy is reading this blog, your uniforms need some work. I'm asking you to please go back to the green helmet with your choice of three different logos the WB anchor logo, the Alabama look with the players numbers on them, or put the Michigan design on the green helmet. The white helmet is too much along with the white pants. I didn't like the Nike design they made for West Bloomfield on the jerseys either. The V-Neck on both jerseys need work, they need to cover the whole neck area and not the sides. If I had anything to like on the jerseys I like the opposite stripe on the elbows, it gives them a different look. I love their alternate jerseys dedicated to the military and their new black uniform. I wonder if they can wear them for the playoffs??? GRADE: B+

Berkley Names New Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Thursday July 6th at 5:45 PM
Updated to include corrected information Friday July 7th at 10:40 AM

The Berkley Bears have their new Girls Basketball Coach.

The Bears named Kirk Carolan as their new coach replacing Jordan Gruppen, whom stepped down last May.

Carolan coached the Junior Varsity program under Gruppen for one season and was an Athletic Director in the Macomb L’Anse Creuse School District.

Carolan will have some players returning from a team that went 17-5 last season in Olivia Dicarlo, Savanna Casida, and Marshayla Denham.

Berkley could be a serious contender in the Blue this season as they will face the likes of Avondale, Oak Park, Harrison, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Farmington, and Pontiac. The Bears are the early favorites in the division. Berkley is in a tough district at Detroit Renaissance with the Phoenix, Oak Park, Hazel Park, and Warren Fitzgerald.

Thoughts.

It’s an interesting hire that the Bears went within their program to get their head coach. Berkley has had two successful seasons and Carolan has been a part of one of them under Gruppen.

Berkley should be a contender this season in the Blue but Avondale will be their biggest challenger, once they get into district play they will have to deal with Detroit Renaissance. The Phoenix did eliminate the Bears from the playoffs last season in the district semifinals.

The Bears must address their depth especially in the paint. They lost a ton of talent last year from those positions. Berkley has a star player in Dicarlo now the question for Carolan would be is can they get help for Dicarlo and address the depth, that will be the major question for the Bears.

This will be interesting, stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.

West Bloomfield Names New Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Thursday July 6th at 7:00 AM

The West Bloomfield Lakers have their new Girls Basketball Coach.

The Lakers according to a very accurate source named Bert Mosley as their next coach replacing Zach Hilbers whom stepped down in May.

Mosley coached the Junior Varsity under Hilbers but he has been very successful not only developing kids but also winning games in that level. It will be interesting how he and his team will do in the Varsity level.

What will help Mosley is that West Bloomfield had a strong Junior Varsity team coming up to go along with returning players Ellie Soverinsky, Mya Bobo, and Destiny Monroe.

The Lakers will be in a favorable division in the White this upcoming season and compete with Royal Oak, Oxford, Troy, Troy Athens, Groves, Rochester, and Seaholm. They could have to deal with Waterford Kettering in districts as they are in the Bloomfield Hills district with the Captains, Waterford Mott, Avondale, and Bloomfield Hills.

Thoughts.

I love this hire. The move to me wasn’t much of a surprise but here is why I love this hire. Mosley is energetic, passionate, and a proven winner.

Mosley will get the best out of the Girls and they will compete. I think his Lakers are in a favorable division, they could give Royal Oak some problems. The Ravens are deemed the favorite in the division but they will have their challenges as well, including West Bloomfield. If the Lakers want to compete not only in the division but in the district as well, they have to address their depth especially in the post because a team like Waterford Kettering will be very deep and Royal Oak has three big post players that can play as well.

It will be an interesting season for the Lakers that’s for sure.

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

Groves Names New Girls Basketball Coach.

Written Wednesday July 5th at 9:10 PM
Updated Saturday July 8th at 1:00 AM

Groves has their new Girls Basketball Coach and its someone familiar with the OAA.

Citing an accurate source the Falcons named Jessica Wiesler as their next coach replacing Amos Thompson whom stepped down in April. Thompson led Groves to a 18-2 record last season.

Wiesler has a ton of coaching experience, she coached at Hazel Park until 2015 and spent one season as an assistant at Grosse Pointe South before coming back to the OAA.

The Falcons have had a rough offseason losing not only Thompson but also Shea Carter as she transferred to North Carolina. Groves will have Kayla Nelson, Lauren Palmer, Jasmine Worthy, and Emilie Fox back this upcoming season.

Groves will play in the White this season with Royal Oak, Oxford, Seaholm, Troy, Troy Athens, Rochester, and West Bloomfield. This is a basketball team that could contend but you got to give an edge to the Ravens in this division. 

The Falcons are in a very brutal district at Farmington Hills Mercy with powerhouses Southfield Arts and Tech, North Farmington, and Farmington Hills Mercy, along with Harrison, and Farmington.

Thoughts.

This is an interesting hire, Wiesler brings a different component of the game to Groves.

For Wiesler this is a different situation then she was at Hazel Park. It’s a fresh start for her and her new program. Wiesler is a much different coach then Thompson as mentioned with the structure of the program

However, with that said there is pressure over at Groves to win. This is a program that won 18 games but they were upset by Seaholm in the pre-district last season.

It will be interesting to see what happens over in Beverly Hills, we shall see what happens.

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

Currie to become a Senior in 2017-2018 season.

Written Saturday July 1st at 11:40 PM

It looks like Taylor Currie will be a Senior this upcoming season.

Currie the 6.9 center was reclassified from being a Junior and now will be a Senior for Clarkston this upcoming season for Boys Basketball.

He will be heading to Michigan in the 2018-2019 school year.

Currie will be turning 17 in August. He transferred to Clarkston from Worthington Christian in Ohio in 2016. He said to MLive's Brendan Quinn that he took extra classes as a Freshman at Worthington Christian. When Currie arrived to Clarkston from Ohio, he was already ahead on credits for his class.

For Currie to graduate early from Clarkston, he must take an online biology class and two electives.

Currie whom played as a Sophomore last season, had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the State Final against Michigan State bound Xavier Tillman and Grand Rapids Christian in a 75-69 Wolves win.

Thoughts.

This is highly unusual for any student-athlete to be reclassified in high school. Clarkston now becomes even more senior heavy with Foster Loyer (Michigan State), CJ Robinson, Tristen Mysen, Nick Wells, Chase Wasilik are all going to be Seniors.

I think this was both a Currie and Michigan decision for him to be reclassified. I personally think this is a risky decision for Currie to do this process but lets look at the positives. For Michigan, it means that Currie will be on campus a year earlier, he could red-shirt. For Currie, this was an opportunity to get a head start and develop his game in the College level.

Currie will now have one more season with the Wolves and they have a strong chance to repeat as State Champions.

The loss of Currie could impact Clarkston in the 2018-2019 season because not only do they lose Currie but Loyer, Robinson, Mysen, Wells, Wasilik are graduating as well. Also, there are some questions surrounding coach Dan Fife’s future. The Wolves will have Matt Nicholson back for that season.

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