**Update: Rivette Selected First Team All-Metro League**

The Freshman

The history of popular music is replete with what critics affectionately call “one hit wonders.”  These are the musicians and bands that have captivated us for mere moments in time, only to fade away as fast as they appeared.  My favorite “one hit wonder” is a band called The Verve Pipe—they were the first to glamorize the fledgling underclass of high schools everywhere with their hit song, “The Freshmen.”  But, that was 1997 and being a freshman hasn’t really been hip since—until now. 

Many months prior to the start of the 2005 Michigan high school girls basketball season, Christina Rivette wasn’t doing all the things that you expect a normal 13-year-old girl to be doing.  Instead, the 5'10'' freshman was putting in countless hours in the gym working on her defensive footwork, her jump shot, and her dribbling—her patented behind-the-back dribble didn’t come to her naturally, in other words.  And when she wasn’t working on her game, she was playing her game.  As an eighth-grader, Christina was playing U-15 basketball during the summer with girls two years her senior.  In spite of the age difference, from the very first time she stepped on the court as the “kid,” Christina proved that she belonged.

According to Christina, Fenton's coach Brad Dewitt knew she would be on his roster sooner rather than later.  “He would always joke with me in junior high school; he would say, ‘Christina, you better get ready’”—and she was certainly ready.  In Fenton’s first game of the year she came off the bench to score 18 points, leading the Tigers to victory.  In spite of this performance, Christina still had no expectation of starting for the Tigers.  “Coach [Dewitt] asked me what I thought about starting because last year’s starting lineup was coming back.  He really wanted to keep the team together, so I told him I wouldn’t mind coming off the bench.”  In spite of her deference, coach Dewitt could not justify keeping her out of the starting lineup after her debut performance—a decision that paid quick dividends.  Christina scored 21 points in Fenton's second game, her first game as a starter—another victory for the Tigers.

Christina finished the season in impressive fashion.   She sat atop the Metro League in scoring at nearly 16 points per game and led Fenton to its second straight Metro League title; and we should not expect any letdown in the foreseeable future.  “We have a lot of good junior varsity players coming up.  We should be fine for next year”—not to mention four returning juniors from this year’s team.

For the Rivettes, basketball is a family affair.  Christina’s older sister, Ali, played basketball for the Tigers several years back and was honorable mention all-state as a senior; she went on to play college ball for Grand Valley State.  Her younger sister, Gabrielle, is making headlines even earlier than her older sister—I guess that is what happens when a 7th grader scores 31 points in a junior high basketball game.  I asked Christina how she felt about potentially being able to play two years of varsity basketball with her little sister.  “I’m very excited; I was just teasing her about that at dinner tonight.  She’ll have me to contend with for the league leader in scoring!”

Christina’s father, Stephen, is the co-director of Cage Sports, a new state-of-the-art basketball facility in Swartz Creek.  To anyone who has seen the Rivette daughters shoot, this comes as no surprise—after all, to be a gym rat, one must first have a gym!  Christina is quick to give all the credit for her ability to play the game as well as she does to others.   "I give all the credit to my Dad...oh, and God!”  That's some mighty good company, Stephen.  Dad and daughter already have big plans for the off-season.  “This summer my Dad and I are going to work on improving my drives to the hoop and shooting off the dribble.” 

In this day and age it's refreshing to see a player with Christina's kind of ability have the desire to improve.  She has a winner's attitude and you can see it in everything she does.  So, where does Christina want to be in four years?  “I want to be playing division one basketball in the Big Ten.”  She wouldn’t tell me exactly who she wants to play for, but I have a feeling she might be wearing green.  The Spartans would be fortunate to get a player of her caliber and character—she is every bit as good a person as she is a player.  And, at the very least, she will be a freshman yet again.

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