MHSAA Preview: Division II Preseason Top 10

Let’s continue the process of wrapping up one of the longest running ranking rollouts you will see with the penultimate classification, Division II. Beginning in June and running through the present. I’ve given you 15 teams to watch— minus numerical rankings.

Now let’s whittle it down to a final ten and assign some rankings. For brevity and since it’s already been covered. The team capsules will be brief. You can follow the links below if you would like a more depth look at the teams and their backgrounds.

July Top 10 here

November Additional 5 here

1. Warren Lincoln (24-4)

Strengths: To the victors go the spoils. I didn’t pick them to win it all at various points of the season. They proved me wrong until they raised a banner. They return most of their rotation and have more than earned this lofty status. They have a scary amount of perimeter firepower. That being said, they won games last year with defense and tempo control. If they can continue to win with that equation, they will be very tough to beat. As scoring should not be a problem at all.

Concerns: A little “thin” along the frontline. However that was the case last year as well. I put the quotation marks around thin intentionally. They have height, just not a lot of beef. They should be working in a high profile transfer. That can look great on paper but sometimes more difficult in practice.

Key Players: Senior 6-2 SG Markus Blackwell (Eastern Illinois) Senior 5-8 PG Moses Blackwell, Senior 6-2 SG Geon Hutchins (Northern Iowa) 6-5 SF Da’Marion Bozeman

2. Detroit Old Redford (21-8)

Strengths: Talented and deep rotation that appeared in the state championship game last season after a slow start. Has a little bit of everything. Size, shooting, and defensive length. Could have even more if a high profile rumored transfer comes to fruition. They feature arguably to the top talent statewide in the junior class (Stennis)

Concerns: Their finals appearance did come in a lower division. Not sure how much that matters. Won’t affect how they schedule, and they have been in this division for much of their short history as a program. While it played a major role in the toughness and chemistry they developed for their March run. They did get off to a very slow start last year. How do they handle increased expectations this year?

Key Players: Junior 6-8 PF Jaquan Stennis, Senior 6-2 SG Kason Mayes, Senior 6-3 SG Arkell Boyd, Sophomore 6-3 SF Devin Brown

3. Grand Rapids Christian (26-3)

Strengths: Simply put if they could have solved the puzzle that was Warren Lincoln. They would be state champions. Two of their three losses came to the Abe’s. The Eagles have a lot of depth and offensive options. They also have plenty of March and big game experience.

Concerns: I fully acknowledge I might be a little higher on this group than others. While they made the finals last year. They graduated their entire starting five. That is normally not a recipe for repeat success. However Xavier Tillman and Kobe Bufkin are playing in the NBA for a reason. This program has serious depth and staying power. I don’t think they are going to have much of a drop off.

Key Players: Senior 5-11 PG Tyler Davis, Junior 6-3 SG Carl Thompson, Junior 6-7 SF Connor Johnson

4. Grand Rapids South Christian (19-6)

Strengths: One of the top individual talents in the state (Vis) A competitive rotation that is used to winning at a high level in multiple sports. They will have a lot of size on the block to complement the perimeter attack.

Concerns: After having multiple teams in the smaller divisions. This is the only team on this list that falls into the “still playing football” category. That being said, this group is more them used to this “predicament”. As they have also done it the last two years. However, I do think it impacted them in a sluggish start to last season. Their star player is the quarterback and takes a lot hits. Will the miles catch up to them this year?

Key Players: Senior 6-4 SG Carson Vis (Western Michigan) Senior 6-7 C Davis Kemper, Senior 6-6 PF Isaac Schrotenboer

5. Flint Powers Catholic (22-6)

Strengths: They return much of their rotation from a semifinal team. An important part of that rotation (Cull twins) were only in the their first year in the program. Should be a more efficient unit in year two. That’s a bit scary as they had no problem scoring last year. They have an experienced and dynamic point guard. They also have size along the frontline.

Concerns: What they did graduate was that important and hard to define senior leadership. (Connor Kelly, Baylor Cicalo) Who takes that role this year? They are working in a talented backcourt transfer. Does that affect the chemistry this group plays with? They weren’t deep bunch last year. Do they have more of a bench in this campaign?

Key Players: Senior 6-0 PG Javontae Ross Senior 6-7 PF Dempsey Cull, Senior 6-6 SF Jesse Cull, Senior 5-10 SG Danny Wolak

6. Ferndale (14-9)

Strengths: Coming off 2023 senior dominated state championship. The Eagles were expecting a slight rebuild with a young squad. Finishing above .500 with their ambitious schedule speaks to the talent coming up through the program. They return most of their squad and I can’t imagine “rebuilding” is on the minds of those in the program this year.

Concerns: As the ranking denotes, they have top level talent. However they are still quite young. As mentioned above they annually play one of the toughest schedules in the state. I like their potential post attack. Interested to see how quickly the backcourt talent matures. I also saw them with some intriguing transfers at team camps this summer. Interested to see if that comes about and how that affects chemistry.

Key Players: Sophomore 6-8 PF Eden Vinyard, Junior 6-2 PG Julian Cardenas, Sophomore 6-1 SG Toriano Adams

7. Kingsford (21-5)

Strengths: Came an overtime away from defeating #5 on this list to earn the rare Upper Peninsula Division II semifinal appearance. They return much of their rotation. Including what is arguably the top player in the UP (Grondin) They will have size on the block and plenty of speed in the backcourt. They are not your typical prototype of an UP team. They score and like to score quickly. They have the athletes to compete with anyone.

Concerns: They have largely alleviated any competition concerns by scheduling pretty aggressively. That being said, you can’t overcome geography. They might only play one team south of Traverse City this year (maybe Jackson) Snuck up on people a bit last year. How do they handle being the hunted this go around?

Top Players: Senior 6-1 SG Gavin Grondin (Lake Superior St) Senior 6-5 PF Morgan Sleik, Junior 6-4 SF Owen Olkkonen, Soph 6-0 PG Jett Buckley

8. Detroit University Prep (17-9)

Strengths: Simply put— guards for days with this group. A bunch of explosive playmakers who can attack the basket. Made the quarterfinals last year where they fell to a good Chelsea squad. They have an experienced head coach in Brandon Barrett who will know how to get the most out of this group. Will be well tested by a gauntlet regular season schedule.

Concerns: Graduated a giant presence on the block in Xander Wedlow (St Bonaventure) Not sure if any one person can replace that. The brutal schedule can sometimes be a two edged sword. I don’t know if any coach wants to go into March with 10 losses. Despite their deep run I think the Panthers would like to come into March a little cleaner this time around.

KeyPlayers: Senior 6-0 PG Dimaunye Smith-Powe, Senior 6-3 SG Ryan Neal, Senior 6-4 SF Maurice Jackson

9. Freeland (20-4)

Strengths: The Falcons feature one of the best inside/out duos in the entire state. That duo (see below) played a lot of basketball in the spring and summer. Testing themselves against some of the best competition in the nation. That will continue early as they play in the featured contest of the Louis O’Neal Classic at Saginaw Valley St against Warren De La Salle

Concerns: Graduated an excellent third option in 6-4 Daniel Duley (Oakland Baseball) That type of senior multi sport leadership is difficult to replace. Played almost exclusively with juniors when I saw them during June team camps. So they will be slightly inexperienced.

Key Players: Junior 6-3 SG Wilson Huckeby, Junior 6-7 C Tristan Comer, Junior 6-3 SF Zander Wheatley

10. Whitehall (22-1)

Strengths: Pulled off the increasingly rare undefeated regular season. They return most of that team. They should be highly motivated after getting upset in the first game of the tournament. A large physical team that also has had success on the gridiron. One of the better rebounding teams you will see.

Concerns: Will there be enough guard play to supplement the post attack. At the risk angering Ludington and the place I grew up (Manistee) Didn’t play in the toughest conference last year. Can they test themselves enough in the non conference?

Key Players: Senior 6-5 SF/PF Camden Thompson (Western Michigan) Senior 6-4 PF Kal Koehler, Senior 5-9 PG Finn Muller

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