Class D Power Rankings and Previ

Class D Power Rankings and Previews

In class D depth is a little hard to come by. The top teams are typically led by a single individual such as Lansing Christian's future Oakland commit Peter Bunn, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart's Caleb Simons, Jackson Christian's DJ Baisden and Genesee Christian's Scott Soldan. These guys on their own will take their team's pretty far into the MHSAA season. Webberville, Flint International Academy and Kingston will be interesting in the mix this year. They don't necessarily have the stars of the aforesaid programs, but rather have deeper rosters. It will be interesting to see how the season plays out. Right now, this is how I see it:

1. Lansing Christian

2. Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart

3. Jackson Christian

4. Webberville

5. Genesee Christian

6. Flint International Academy

7. Kingston

8. Fowler

9. Morrice

10. Climax-Scotts

Lansing Christian

Key Losses: Dan Perkins 6’9” C [Aquinas], Derek Russ 6’1” F

Key Returns: Peter Bunn [right] 6’2” Sr. G [Oakland], Joel Hoffman 6’1” Sr. F

Lansing Christian has a luxury that few class D schools enjoy: a division one player. Peter Bunn has all the talent in the world and is a very similar player to Eric Devendorf. Against class D competition, he can essentially score at will. The only problem for Lansing Christian is that the team found themselves relying on Bunn too much. This season they will have to improve in order to make it further in the playoffs. Hoffman will have to step up his game along with seniors like 6’2” Jonathan Wielenga, 5’11” Aaron Ewart and 5’11” Matthew Hayes. DeOndra Callahan, a 5’10” Jr., should be able to take over the point guard duties full time, which should allow Bunn to focus purely on scoring. This could be their year.

Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart

Key Losses: John Roberts 5’8” G, Nate Whitford 5’11” G, Pat Theisen 6’4” F

Key Returns: Caleb Simons 6’5” Sr. F

Mount Pleasant suffered a devastating loss last season in the state title game and in the process graduated a bulk of their roster. However, they have a top-notch coach in Keisha Brown and also have a fantastic big man in Caleb Simons. Simons is a very talented big man who probably has a scholarship waiting for him when he graduates. Ray Riley, a 6’3” Jr., will provide some help inside. Guards like Chad Lilly, Tim Taylor and Paul Bertodatto will have to provide the balance that this team has been known for the past couple of seasons.

Jackson Christian

Key Returns: DJ Baisden 5'10" Sr. G, Joel Maybee [right] 6'2" Sr. G

They return one of the best backcourts in the state with Baisden and Maybee. These guys can fill the nets from downtown. Baisden is a top-notch floor general and Maybee is a shooter with deceptive athleticism. Too often last season he carried the load -- this season things should be different with a more experienced roster. Running a 2-3 zone is not an option against this team.

Webberville

Key Returns: Andrew Eckert 5’10” Sr. G, Dillion Teague 6’3” Jr. F, Jon Trumpour 6’1” Sr. G, Thomas Benjamin 6’5” Sr. F, Tyler Feeney 6’5” Jr. F

Webberville returns a lot of player from last season’s squad. Most importantly is the presence of point guard Eckert who was the team’s leading scorer and top athlete on the perimeter. Trumpour and Teague will provide a very good perimeter attack. Teague was the team’s second leading scorer. Benjamin and Feeney provide talent and size inside. It should be a very good year for the Webberville faithful.

Genesee Christian

Key Losses: Kevin Payne 6’4” F [Alma], Matt Weber 5’11” G

Key Returns: Scott Soldan [right] 6’4” Sr. F

The Soldiers lost their coach and one of their best players ever in Payne, but fortunately for Genesee Christian they return Soldan. He’s a guy who has nice touch around the hoop and a body that can bang with the bigs, but also possesses a fantastic outside shot and nice ball-handling skills. With him, they have a chance. They will need to get more scoring out of their guards. Seniors like Adam Tenneriello and Aaron Globuschultz look like they could be that answer. If not, then a couple of quality guards from last season's solid JV squad may be called upon earlier than expected.