A Look at the Flint Metro
Eagles to soar in '08 (Lapeer East's Steve Wilmers on cover)
By Gavin Raath
greatlakeshoops.com
2006-07 Finish:
Lapeer West
Lapeer East
Swartz Creek
Clio
Fenton
Holly
Oxford
Ortonville Brandon
Linden
All
Conference Team:
Steve Wilmers 64 Junior Lapeer East
Trevor LHommedieu [left] 61 Senior Swartz Creek Conference Player of the Year
Mike Kalmar 60 Junior Clio
Chris Hutton [above, right] 60 Junior Lapeer West
Adrian Harges 511 Senior Ortonville Brandon
Nick Cash 511 Junior Fenton
Ben Cummings 62 Senior Swartz Creek
Brandon Dugan 61 Senior Oxford
Jordan Fowler 510 Sophomore Holly
Doug Haggadone 62 Senior Lapeer West
Kyle Hamilton 60 Senior Fenton
Frank Rogers 63 Junior Holly
Review:
The Metro is a conference made up of several smaller class A schools that have very little basketball history. With that said, it is understandable that this is not a conference of world-beaters. Early in the season teams like Swartz Creek, Lapeer East and Lapeer West had some good non-conference wins that began to make me believe that they finally caught pace with the other class A schools in the area. As the season progressed they were brought back down to earth, but they're definitely improving. Two teams on the rise in the Metro are the Holly Bronchos and the Fenton Tigers. Brandon and Linden both had to rely on sophomores this season so be on the look out for these two schools in the next couple of years.
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2007-08
Finish:
Lapeer East
Lapeer West
Swartz Creek
Holly
Clio
Fenton
Linden
Oxford
Ortonville Brandon
2007-08 All Conference Team:
Youseff Gherani 66 Senior Fenton
Steve Wilmers [above, left] 64 Senior Lapeer East
Mike Kalmar 60 Senior Clio
Chris Hutton [right] 60 Senior Lapeer West -- Conference Player of the Year
Jordan Fowler 510 Junior Holly
Nick Cash 511 Senior Fenton
Dustin Deshaies 510 Junior Ortonville Brandon
Daniel Elliott 64 Senior Lapeer East
Russell Hope 58 Junior Swartz Creek
Brent Kryder 66 Senior Linden
Frank Rogers 63 Senior Holly
Zach Tilley 511 Senior Oxford
Clio
Clio seems to live and die with the play of 60 senior-to-be Mike Kalmar. In addition, the returns of 510 junior-to-be point guard James Hodge, 62 senior-to-be glass-cleaner Christian Cannon and 61 senior-to-be sharpshooter Tyler Baricska should ensure them a better season than last, but I think they have a distance to go in terms of taking the conference title.
Fenton
Fenton boasts one of the tallest players in the conference with 66 junior Youseff Gherani. Hes solid, but not spectacular. Nick Cash, a 511 senior-to-be, was a good scorer and should be near the top of the conference next season. The addition of a nice JV team should bolster the Tigers.
Holly
Holly has a great backcourt with the Fowler brothers, who will only be a sophomore and junior next year. These two do it all and are in the same class as SCs Hope. They will also return one of the better forwards in the Metro in 63 senior-to-be Frank Rogers [left] and an up-and-comer in 63 sophomore-to-be Lance Hopkin. Holly is a team that is on the rise.
Lapeer East
East is an up and coming program. They have quite possibly the most talented player in the conference with bouncy 65 senior-to-be Steve Wilmers. Against Flint Northwestern late in the season Wilmers was the only Eagle that looked like he belonged. He and 64 junior defensive-stopper Daniel Elliott [right] will make for a great tandem next year. Helping them out inside will be 62 senior-to-be Austin Aubert, a guy that started much of last season. In addition, Keegan Turczyn, a 57 junior-to-be, will provide East with a legit point guard and 510 senior-to-be, Zac Smillie, will work nicely at the off-guard spot. This should be their year.
Lapeer West
West returns one of the top guards in the area with 60 senior-to-be Chris Hutton. Hutton is a scorer extraordinaire, particularly from deep. His return along with scrappy 62 senior-to-be Todd Delange should ensure them a second or third place next season.
Linden
The Eagles are on the right path. This is a team that returns four starters and a lot of youth. Their youth will make up for a solid junior-to-be backcourt with 59 Brandon Green and 510 Deaven Vincent. Their top play-maker from last season is 61 senior-to-be Jordan Williams and 62 senior-to-be Jared Trumbla is tough and athletic. Rounding out their starting line-up is 66 300-pound senior-to-be Brent Kryder. With a solid starting five and boasting the biggest center in the league they should be set to make some strides this season.
Ortonville Brandon
Improvement will happen, because this was a young team last season. Last year they had zero post game, but James McCoy, a 6'6" senior-to-be, has shown flashes of ability and his big frame will pose some problems for opponents. In addition, 5'8" junior-to-be, Quinn McNally is a solid point guard that will do a fine job of running this team. Replacing Adrian Harges will be the task of 5'10" junior-to-be Dustin Deshaies. Dustin quietly had a big season and will be counted upon to lead Brandon. He's a fine deep threat and solid going to the basket, which will probably make him a close to 20-point per game guy.
Oxford
Its weird to see an Oxford team that doesnt have a player with the last name Dugan. Oxford this season will be led by athletic 511 senior-to-be Zach Tilley. Tilleys damage outside will be balanced by the inside play of 63 senior-to-be Chris Keenist. Keenist at times looks like he could be a top-notch big man and they will need his football frame to produce night and night out in order to avoid a season worse than last years.
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Swart Creek
The Dragons are a year away from being a real contender, but they will be tough in the meantime. Russell Hope [left], a 5'8" junior-to-be, will lead this team with his usual cerebral play. This year he'll have a much deeper post game to work with. Jordan Dieck, a 6'4" junior-to-be, may be the Dragons best offensive weapon with his deep ball and ability to score off the dribble. Ethan Brower, entering just his second season as a sophomore, will be a great defensive presence at 6'5". Following in-line with the undersized, but physical Swartz Creek posts like Galen Stone and Ben Cummings, will be 6'2" junior-to-be Phillip Lougheed. I dont think theyll challenge for the conference, but theyll be a tough out.