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.
No comments:
Post a Comment