One month from today, we will be one victory away from the dream Class C matchup: No. 1 Flint Beecher vs. No. 2 Detroit Allen in the semifinals at the Breslin Center.
Flint Beecher’s Aquavius Burks raises the Class C state championship trophy on March 28, 2015 in East Lansing.
“I actually expected to see them at the Breslin last year,” said Mike Williams, coach of two-time defending state champ Beecher. “We scrimmaged them, and it went down to the wire.”
Allen coach Craig Covington figures a Beecher-Allen showdown next month would be a contrast in styles.
“I believe they’re more defensive-minded than we are,” Covington said. “I think we probably can score better than they can because we can score from different positions on the floor. If we meet up, it’s going to be one of those games that (is about) who takes care of the ball, who handles possessions better and who handles each other’s pressure.”
The only thing standing in the way of that semifinal matchup is the road to East Lansing for both teams resembles a mine field.
It isn’t outrageous to suggest that No. 1 Beecher and No. 2 Allen could both be out of the tournament after playing one district game.
And if they each survive district play, there are even better teams waiting in the regional.
“I think it’s the most competitive tournament this year,” Williams said of Class C. “You’ve got the top teams, and everybody’s going to knock everybody out early.”
Beecher must open at once-beaten Flint Hamady. And on the other side of the district bracket, Burton Bendle and Atherton have three losses combined.
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“The dynamics of those schools have changed just like the dynamics of the schools around Detroit,” Williams said. “They will be more athletic, and they’re very good because of the city schools around Flint have closed, a lot of the city kids have migrated to the suburbs.”
The reason the Beecher-Allen game never materialized last season was Allen was eliminated by Highland Park on opening night. This time, Allen will play the winner of the Detroit Loyola-Detroit Southeastern game, which will be anything but an easy win. Waiting beyond that is the winner of the Detroit Edison-Pershing game.
“They came in this year motivated because of that situation,” Covington said of last season’s one-and-done. “If we play defense like we’ve been playing lately, we have a real good chance of coming out of our side of the bracket.”
Once-beaten Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central could give Allen another battle at the regional level, and then teams like Pewamo-Westphalia, NorthPointe Christian and Hanover-Horton are possible quarterfinal opponents.
And that’s just to get a shot at Beecher in the semifinals.
But Allen is talented enough to beat all of those teams. Led by 6-foot-8 Danny Pippen (Kent State) and point guard Jason Williams (East Tennessee State), Allen has senior leadership as well as more firepower in 6-4 junior DreQuan Bell and freshman guard Mark Watts, who scored 24 points in a game last week.
Williams showed his offensive potential last week when he scored 17 in the fourth quarter.
“He doesn’t have to do it — he picks and chooses his spots,” Covington said. “Last year, when Pippen was hurt most of the season, he had to score for us to win.”
Pippen is recovering from an ankle sprain, and he needs to be a factor for Allen to reach the semifinals and Beecher.
“He’s such a force on the inside with blocking shots and rebounding it’s hard to keep him off the court because of his defensive presence,” Covington said. “Offensively, he just rolls with the flow.”
Beecher could have its toughest challenge in the regional when it should face No. 4 Southfield Christian, a team talented enough to win the state title.
“Coach was at our game the other night, so he is preparing for us,” Williams said. “That’s going to be like a state championship game within itself.”
This Beecher team doesn’t light up scoreboards like it did last season, but Aquavius Burks and Mark Ellison are capable offensive players.
“We are a very good team this year, though we don’t have the same offensive power that we had last year.” William said. “We’re a bigger team than we were, and we’re more experienced and we play a little bit tougher defense.”
Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.