Friday, November 16, 2018

2018 Girls Basketball Preview.

Written Friday November 16th at 9:40 PM

Here is my insight heading into the Girls season which starts in three weeks.

INSIDE THE OAA TOP 10:

1. Southfield Arts and Tech
2. Royal Oak
3. Bloomfield Hills
4. West Bloomfield
5. Oxford
6. Stoney Creek
7. Lake Orion
8. North Farmington
9. Avondale
10. Troy


Red

Southfield Arts and Tech fresh off a tough disappointing loss to Detroit Martin Luther King last season brought in a few transfers to shore things up for the Warriors. Southfield Arts and Tech is very solid behind three top players in Alexis Johnson, Cheyenne McEvans, and Kayiona Willis for coach Michelle Marshall but the Warriors added two transfers in the offseason in Soleil Barnes and Jasmine Worthy. Barnes transferred from Nordonia Ohio and an All-State player in Ohio last season. Worthy transferred from Groves and both of them are expected to contribute to a team that has dreams of making the postseason this season. Southfield Arts and Tech will field a deep team this season and could very well be a team worth watching.

Royal Oak fresh off a tough loss to Birmingham Marian last season but this team could be coach Bryan Sopota’s best ever as the Ravens return seven seniors including Samantha Potter, Jessica Adams, Anna Ross, and Nila Conley. The question for Sopota will be is who will be that third scorer for Royal Oak and if they get that figured out then watch out for the Ravens. 

Bloomfield Hills is an interesting team to keep an eye on as coach Jeff Rubin will have a solid squad this season led by a boatload of experience in Grace Getz, Jordan Banks, and Maryiam Hashim. Size is a big concern for the Blackhawks this season as Banks is the only true big in Rubin’s lineup. Bloomfield Hills is a deadly three point shooting team and that experience will have to carry them in games this season.

Stoney Creek is a team to keep an eye on as well. Coach Kellen James has Lily DiPani, Emily Eckhout, Lauren Benitez, Devin Vowels, and Megan Solek. Eckhout and Solek are the Cougars top players but James team has the experience to be very competitive. The non conference schedule is hectic but manageable. It will be interesting to see what “Team Finebaum” has this season.

North Farmington is going through a transition from a post team to a guard heavy team. Coach Jeff Simpson has two very solid guards in Maya Kelly and Molly Simpson controlling things but their glaring weakness is the interior with Sam Cherney graduating. If Simpson can figure this out and create balance then the Raiders will be back in the discussion again.

Clarkston is in the midst of a coaching transition as John Weyer takes over for the Wolves after a State Quarterfinal appearance last season. The Wolves have one returning starter from that team in Taylor Heaten after losing Maddie Beck, Kayla Luchenbach, and Molly Nicholson whom have all graduated but there are several players ready to make a name for themselves in Kaitlyn Kaul, Lexi Linton, Piper Bosart, Sam Aris, and Olivia Toderian. Clarkston has a tough non conference schedule and with a young team that’s not a good omen. We’ll see what the Wolves have and if they struggle early then they could be in some trouble.

Groves comes up from the White to the Red this season but did suffer a defection as Jasmine Worthy transferred to Southfield Arts and Tech and losing Shea Carter whom graduated. The Falcons will rely on Elle Ruprich and Emily Felix to carry them this season. It could be a challenge for Groves this season for coach Jessica Wiesler as they take that next step up to developing their program.

White

West Bloomfield has everyone back for coach Bert Mosley led by Destiny Monroe, Mari Horton, Toni Brooks, Ikia Elam, and Mya Bobo. The Lakers will be athletic and talented as they will look to make that next step in Mosley’s second season. The non conference slate is interesting but manageable for West Bloomfield. The Lakers will be scary to watch this season.

Lake Orion is going through their fourth coach in four years with Bob Brydges taking over the team and he will have an experienced team back led by Paytin Shadaia, Sophie Wyborski, Abbey Maresch, Kylie Anderson, Meghan Marshall, and Grace Berger. There are questions for the Dragons though for Brydges heading into the season but if everyone is on the same page then this will be a team to keep an eye on.

Oxford has a lot of experience coming back for coach Rachel Bryer led by Ashley Herschman, Lauren Methner, Mackenzie Methner, Emma Van Loon, Sara Terrell, Halaya Cato, and Anna Raab. The Wildcats will look to have another successful season under Bryer. The non conference is favorable for Oxford to do some significant damage. This will be a team to keep an eye on for sure.

Avondale has a new coach in Bob Lees who comes to Auburn Hills from Troy. Lees has a ton of talent returning for the Yellow Jackets in the form of Olivia Russell, Keori Lee, Reigan Lawerence, Briala Benion, Angelis Willis, and Madelyn Harrod. Avondale’s question will be depth besides these five talented players and the non conference schedule is not as strong. It will be interesting to see how Lees who has a Troy Boys Basketball coaching background as an assistant under Gary Fralik so expect them to be scrappy. If Lees can get the Yellow Jackets athleticism and scrappiness then they could be a sleeper come playoff time.

Troy has a lot of experience returning for coach Simon Bato in Emily Olson, Athena Sampson, Nisha Bhargava, Riya Chakravity, Delaney Witz, Elena Rinke, and Jessica Chen. The Colts do have an incoming freshman who is talented that will bring some size to aid with Sampson this season. Troy should be a player in the White this season.

Adams will be an interesting to keep an eye on for coach Shay Lewis. The Highlanders have a ton of young talent back led by Lauren Petersmark, Amelia Drahnak, Maggie Dogehna, Nicole Clarehout, Sydney Reed, and Grace Van Pelt back. The question for the Highlanders will be size and in the interior. If Lewis can address this problem then Adams could have the balance to be a contender in the White this season.

Troy Athens will be a team to watch for coach Stacie Klumpp. They have a lot of experience returning in Isabelle Crumm, Grace Bright, and Abby Bright. I’m curious how the Red Hawks will replace the scoring and intensity of Maddie Crumm who has graduated. Troy Athens has an interesting non conference schedule but they will be a team to keep an eye on.

Farmington will have a very young team this season for coach Laura Guzman led by Cecelia Norris, Hailey Walker, and Iasia Rimpson. The Falcons will need to replace Olivia Perkins whom graduated among others. It will be interesting to see what Farmington has this season moving up to the White.

Blue

Rochester will have their third coach in three seasons as Jeff Haney takes over the team. The Falcons who are looking to have a bounce back season after years of turmoil return some key players in Tori Hawkins, Sam Thessian, Maddie Perkins, Alyssa Miller, and Payton Johnson. Rochester also has a blend of young talent rising as well. The non conference is interesting but manageable. The future looks bright for the Falcons.

Seaholm has a new coach in Chris Manchester who took over on an interim basis but the Maples will be a run and gun team under their new coach. Manchester coached the Center Line Boys Basketball team last season and will have some experience to work with in Julia Bell, Chole Burkett, Meredith Owens, Hailey Hartwig, and Audrey Stachelski. It will be interesting to see how Seaholm adjusts to Manchester’s system considering that Manchester is a Boys coach coming into the Girls game, it sometimes doesn’t work out that well but the Maples are in the right division to make a run right now.

Berkley will be a team worth watching this season for coach Kirk Carolan. The Bears have a ton of experience returning (10 players) led by Olivia DiCarlo, Savannah Casida, Caroline Robertson, and Marshayla Denham. Berkley’s non conference is not strong which could pose a big problem once they face the upper echelon teams. Until the Bears address their non conference schedule this team could be in some trouble.

Pontiac is a team that is waiting for a breakout and they could very well do that this season. The Phoenix has a solid team for coach Christopher Wright but depth is a question mark for Pontiac. If they can address their depth problem and let the talent will take over then the Phoenix have a talented team.

Oak Park will be a team worth mentioning this season but depth could be an issue for coach Deidra Hines team. On the bright side they do have a very talented player back in Kyla Wilson. Wilson will need to do a lot if the Knights want to reach their goals this season.

Ferndale was very young last season but they will hope to rebound after a rough season. Coach Christina Nagle will have three talented players back in Jayliah Love, Kenshia Williams, and Kyra Newman back. These three are expected to be the focal point for the Eagles if they want to make progress this season.

Hazel Park in their final season in the OAA lost a ton of talent last season but coach Chad Ossman will have some talent to work with although it won’t be the experience that he had last year but it could be a challenging season this year for the Vikings.

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