Duane Graves Looks Ahead to First Black Hawks Basketball Season

The Lahser head coach will have a familiar trio of proven players, plus the best of Andover's squad to mold next winter in the inaugural season of Bloomfield Hills High School.

The first tip-off won't happen until late this fall, but the inaugural season of the Bloomfield Hills High School Black Hawks basketball season got under way of sorts last week with the first organizational meeting. And new Head Coach Duane Graves couldn't wait to get started. The long-time Lahser High School coach who piloted the Knights to consecutive Oakland Athletics Association Blue division and regional title crowns, was recently named the head coach of the Black Hawks. And he has his sights on making a statement in the school's first season following consolidation with Andover High School. "I'm honored and and very excited to be coaching Bloomfield Hills High School," said Graves, who earned North Metro Coach of the Year honors from…

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Watch Detroit Piston Kyle Singler's Visit to Brother Rice

The Detroit Piston recently shared words of wisdom with members of the Warriors basketball program.

The Detroit Pistons just released video of starting forward Kyle Singler's visit to Brother Rice High School on Jan. 31. The appearance came as a surprise to the dozens of students practicing after school hours on campus, and was the result of an e-mail from Brother Rice freshman Luke Cappetto in November, the former college star at Duke explained. Inspired by the letter, Singler brought a Pistons video team, T-shirts for the players and a stack of photos that he also autographed. "He spoke with all four teams — about 55 players, coaches and managers — and answered questions about basketball, Duke, hard work and doing what you love to do," according to the school's Facebook page.

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Lahser Denied Outright League Title by Seaholm; Draws West Bloomfield in MHSAA Playoffs

The Knights grabbed a share of the OAA Blue with a convincing victory over Farmington Hills Harrison Tuesday but couldn't withstand Seaholm's second-half shooting Thursday to close the regular season.

The Lahser Knights will begin their quest a second-straight district playoff title as co-champs of the OAA Blue Division on Monday. Following a stellar win earlier in the week to Harrison, the Knights dropped their final home contest Thursday to Birmingham Seaholm, 60-51. Seaholm used a second-half surge to keep Lahser from celebrating an outright league title in its last-ever homegame as Knights due to the merger with Andover next fall. Down nine points, early in the third quarter, the Maples went on a 14-2 run to take the lead, and didn't let it go in the fourth, miprepzone.com reported. They finished the regular season 15-5 and will face Andover at Andover Monday night at 7 p.m. Paris Bass, who was suspended when Lahser topped the …

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Marian Clutch at the Line, Moves Into First Place Tie

The Mustangs sank all 10 free throws down the stretch and topped rival Farmington Hills Mercy 56-45 for a key home win.

  The Marian High School Mustangs scored a big home win Tuesday night over rival Farmington Hills Mercy to improve to 4-2 in the Catholic High School League Central Division, good enough for first place. Following the 56-45 victory, the team shares the division lead with Dearborn Divine Child, according to miprepzone.com. Seniors Kamry Peake and Kilyn Bulluck combined for 23 points to lead Marian to its sixth straight win. They also had solid contributions from the bench from Freshman Bailey Thomas, who scored nine points, and Brittany Gray, a sophomore, who tallied seven. Marian lead much of the game, but a 14-5 scoring run by the Marlins in the fourth quarter tightened the score before Peake and Brittany Gray each sank four free throws …

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Lahser Rebounds Against Farmington; Andover Ends Skid Over Stoney Creek

The Knights and Barons both secure their first wins in league play.

  Both the Andover and Lahser high school boys varsity basketball teams rebounded from tough losses and protected home court Friday night. The Lahser Knights defeated Farmington 59-41 behind Khalil Gracey's 16 points and 9 rebounds, and a career-high 13 points from junior Logan McDonald. With the win, Lahser climbed to 8-2 and evened its record (1-1) in the OAA Blue, according to miprepzone.com. It also stopped any potential losing streak following the Knights' 72-68 loss at home Tuesday to Harrison. Lahser center Yante Maten followed up his 22-point, 23-rebound, and 8-assist performance in that game with nine points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five blocks Friday night. Chandler Reese finished with seven for Farmington (2-7, 2-3). Of …

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Andover, Lahser Boys Varsity Basketball Clash For Final Time

The last game between the district rivals is set for Saturday night in the 'Battle For Bloomfield' at Oakland University.

Wondering what to do with yourself this weekend? Well, it's not often you get to be part of local history, and whether you follow the Andover Barons or Lahser Knights, the final scheduled basketball game between these cross-district and crosstown rivals should be memorable. Check out today's Weekend Spotlight for more: Today's Pick I: 'The Battle For Bloomfield' Andover Barons vs. Lahser Knights Come back to Bloomfield Patch for more events you may not want to miss this weekend, or visit our events calendar.

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U-M's Beilein, Other Division I Coaches Join Coaches vs. Cancer Effort in Bloomfield Hills

The Wolverine's head coach leads an impressive line-up for the 14th annual Knights Basketball Coaching Academy at Andover High School.

  Some of the best and highly regarded basketball coaches in the state, and those that want to earn that designation will converge on Andover High School for the 14th Annual Knights Basketball Coaching Academy on Sept. 22. The half-day clinic for local coaches of any age group or level features instruction and demonstration in several facets of the game for $35. All proceeds will be donated for cancer research as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer effort. More than $3,000 has been raised through the clinic since 2009. "We've all been touched in our lives one way or another by cancer, and it doesn't discriminate," said event founder and current director Paul Galbenski, the former head coach of the Lahser High School boys varsity team. Galbenski…

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Bloomfield Hills' George David Named Pistons Assistant GM

The Farmington native and Brother Rice alumnus is in position to help shape the team's revival.

Detroit Pistons new assistant general manager George David has been moving up the ranks with organization. Now, in his 15th year with the team, the Bloomfield Hills resident is in a prime position to help the organization, and relatively new ownership, re-establish themselves as contenders. "I've kind of moved up through the organization," said David, who got started as the team's video coordinator under former head coach Doug Collins. "It's a little unusual in professional sports to stay with one team."  David's loyalty to hometown team has never been questioned. He grew up in Farmington, attended Longacre Elementary and Power Middle School (now Power Upper Elementary), before graduating from Brother Rice High School. Detroit Pistons …

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Vote Now: Patch Athlete of the Week, Feb. 27-March 2

Vote for your favorite prep sports athlete in Oakland County or write in an athlete you think deserves recognition. You have until Friday at 9 a.m. to register your vote!

Vote here to help choose the Patch Athlete of the Week of Oakland County for the week ending March 2. Last week’s poll winner was Vtech Fuchs, a member of the Royal Oak swim team. Vote for one of the following or write in your own candidate in the comments: Nick Gajdzik, Stoney Creek High School (wrestling): At the individual MHSAA wrestling state finals, Gajdzik won the Division 1 title in the 215 pound weight class with a 2-1 win over Temperance Bedford senior Logan Rimmer. He won all four of his matches at The Palace of Auburn Hills to finish the season a perfect 46-0. Micaela Ellis, Ferndale High School (girls basketball): Ferndale’s point guard Micaela Ellis helped lead her squad through the Livonia Clarenceville district last week. …

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High School Sports Highlights

Friday Highlights: Andover Girls Stun Ferndale in Basketball

Shannon Wilson helps the Barons clinch sole possession of first place with game-winning layup in final seconds; Troy Athens boys fall to Farmington; Clawson boys finish regular season with win.

* home team in CAPS Andover over FERNDALE, 54-53 Shannon Wilson did it again. On the final day of the regular season, the sophomore hit a game-winning layup with six seconds on the clock to give Bloomfield Hills Andover (18-2; 15-1 Oakland Activities Association Blue) a 54-53 victory over Ferndale High School on Friday night. The Ferndale Eagles turned over the ball under the Andover Barons' basket with 10 seconds to go up 53-52. Lexi Sinclair tipped the ball and Wilson cut in front of the intended target. Wilson’s layup did more than just win her team the game – it also clinched sole possession of the OAA Blue division title. “It’s very exciting,” Barons coach Jeff Rubin said. “Shannon probably played her worst game of the season, but boy…

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