‘Birds of a Feather
By Richard Silverman
Trustee, Board of Trustees
It’s the start of the regular conference basketball schedule for the
Firebirds and Lady Firebirds; and after one game, they appear to be
twins. Both teams are undefeated (one win, no losses) after
opening the conference season by beating arch rival Alpena Community
College at the MAC Center in Mio. And the resemblance doesn’t stop
there. Both teams are well-coached, play with more heart than any
other Firebird teams that I can remember, and appear to be developing a
team chemistry that will allow them to play unselfishly.
On the down side, both the men’s and women’s teams are under-sized in
terms of height and heft. They also don’t have many back-up
players on the bench. And the few players they do have are
unproven at the college level.
Bottom line: In order to remain competitive in the always-tough
MCCAA Eastern Conference, the Firebirds and Lady ‘Birds will have to
avoid injury, develop the few bench players they have, and play with
unfailing intensity from tip-off to buzzer.
Lady ‘Birds:
The heart of the Lady ‘Birds is 5’7” freshman forward/guard Kaylon
Leslie (Whittemore-Prescott), who, in my opinion, is most effective when
playing guard, where she can break the press, break down the defense,
and either dish the ball for an assist or score herself. If Kaylon
continues to develop, she will be one of the best players in ‘Lady Bird
history.
The women are also blessed with two other good guards, freshman Natasha
Dewald (AuGres) and sophomore Trisha Petersen (Grayling). Natasha
is a quick, effective ball handler and a pretty good shooter. To
improve, she needs to play more aggressively on offense by shooting more
and breaking down defenses off the dribble. Trisha, her partner at
guard, is an adequate ball handler and is one of the team’s most
reliable three-point shooters. She needs to be more willing to
shoot from three-point range when she is open.
The forward position is “manned” by sophomore Jessica Smith (Mio) and
freshman Brooke Robinson (Standish-Sterling). Jessica is a good
shooter who needs more playing time so she can develop her confidence.
If it does develop, I think she will be an important contributor on
offense. Her teammate at forward is Brooke Robinson, a willowy
5’8” freshman from Standish-Sterling. Brooke is a streaky
three-point shooter who can also dribble fairly well. Her greatest
asset is her uncanny ability to sense where the ball is going to wind
up. This makes her one of the team’s best rebounders and best
defenders. Her long arms also help her to defend and rebound
effectively. I think of her as the Lady ‘Bird’s answer to Tashun Prince
of the Pistons.
Freshmen Sarah Ostroski (Standish-Sterling) and Whitney Bonham (Evart)
are responsible for providing rebounding, interior defense, and
short-range scoring. Although both lack height, they are strong
enough to hold their own in the physical MCCAA. Sarah needs to
learn how to position her body so that she can rebound and defend more
effectively. She also needs to stop accumulating silly fouls. Her
teammates need her on the floor, not on the bench. Sarah needs to
get rebounding help from Whitney. Like Sarah, Whitney has to learn
how to block out on the boards by positioning herself properly. As
a defender, she is very good at anticipating where the ball is going;
consequently, she is very adept at stealing the ball.
Finally, freshmen Jo’ell Cruse (Inland Lakes) and Christy Kowalski
(Onaway) provide bench support. Both need to develop their
confidence and skills if they are to provide valuable and much needed
rest minutes for the regulars.
Firebird Men:
Switching to the Firebird men’s team, it sort of reminds me of John
Wooden’s 1964 UCLA team, which won the first of Wooden’s ten, yes ten,
NCAA championships. The current edition of the Firebirds which
sorely lacks height is similar to the ’64 UCLA team whose tallest player
was 6’5” center Fred Slaughter. It was a team that relied on passing,
fast-breaking, perimeter shooting, and a pressing pressure defense to
succeed. They played unselfishly from tip to buzzer. These
are all the qualities that coach McGregor is trying to develop in his
team. And well he should, because the ’64 UCLA is considered by
many as the best coached college team ever. It’s a team that
McGregor should show his players films of as often as possible.
This is not to say that if the Firebirds are coached as well as UCLA,
they are talented enough to win the conference. Simply put, they
aren’t. But they are fun to watch, and they’re perfectly capable
of finishing in the top half of their ten-team conference if everything,
and I mean everything, falls into place. The loss of just one
starter to injury, grades, or whatever, could make this Firebird team a
bottom-feeder in the MCCAA East. To succeed, this team needs to be
very finely tuned.
Four of the five starters, sophomores Brian Christian (Detroit Mumford),
and Steven Sidebottom (Mio), and freshmen Corey Wright (Mio), and Nick
Simpson (Bay City All Saints) can legitimately be classified as guards.
Only 6’7 sophomore forward/center Leroy Allen has the height and jumping
ability to play in the paint.
Of the starters, only Sidebottom and Christian are athletic enough to
consistently be able to create their own shots, or break down a defense
to create shots for other teammates. So, many of the offensive
sets are created to take advantage of their athletic talents. Wright’s
responsibilities are to protect the ball, bring it up court, run the
offensive plays, and play defense. Simpson is a capable scorer if his
teammates can get him the ball at the right spot within the offensive
scheme; and although he’s only 6 feet tall, he’s smart enough and tough
enough to play in traffic under the basket. Like Simpson, Allen
also relies on getting the ball within the offense’s scheme.
Usually that means within 14 feet of the basket. His other major
roles are to rebound and play defense close to the basket. As the
team’s only bonafide “big man”, he must stay out of foul trouble.
As far as the bench is concerned, so far, it’s been a very short one.
Freshman Torey Throop (Vestaburg) is a very good three-point shooter off
the bench. When he’s on his game, he can be a difference maker.
Freshman Peirson Szubelak (Fairview) provides rebounding and defense off
the bench. Despite his 6’3” frame, Peirson is strong and jumps well.
He is also capable of chipping in with a few points each game.
Freshman Marc Wallace (Kalkaska) has recently demonstrated that he can
provide valuable minutes so tired starters or teammates in foul trouble
can get a blow on the bench. Sophomore guard Mark Schafer (St. Ignace)
and freshman guard Josh Stevens (Fairview) have been plagued by health
issues. And because I haven’t seen freshman A.J. Green play, I
can’t comment on his potential contribution.
On defense, coach McGregor expects an up-tempo, aggressive, pressure,
switching defense to create turnovers which can frequently lead to
fastbreaks. That’s quite a demanding order for a team that played only
seven (7) players in the win over Alpena.
Summary:
In summary, if you want to see fast-paced, team basketball, come out to
the MAC Center in Mio to watch the men and women. I guarantee you
that most of the games will be competitive and exciting. Whether the
men and the women are successful in the standings will require more and
better substituting for the starters than I’ve seen so far. If
players like Kaylon Leslie, Brian Christian, Steve Sidebottom, and Nick
Simpson continue to play the amount of minutes they have up to this
point in the season, the quality of their play during crunch time will
decline, and they will eventually break down physically. The
coaches must develop and utilize their benches. And one more
thing: The injury gods, who have been very cruel to the Firebirds
over the years, must stay away. If they do, who knows what the men and
women might achieve?