About Us The latest news, analysis and ponderings about elite high school sports in West Michigan, along with the usual blog silliness.
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By Ryan Vaughn, on February 8th, 2010
Last week’s winner: slowride. Caption: Helium, in the ball????????
Congrats, slowride! Well played with the wonky shot picture.
This week’s pic is kind of odd. It’s a basketball action pic, which would be normal, except it seems like a couple guys got abducted by aliens or something. M. Night Shyamalan style. Anyway, once again, best caption for this interestingly-interesting (it’s interesting, and in an interesting way) shot wins.
Photo after the jump*
Continue reading Create-a-Caption: there’s a disconnect here somewhere
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 8th, 2010
 We here at West Michigan Allstar have done the dirty work, combing the far reaches of the Internet for nuggets of pertinent basketball info until our beards grew dark and the coffee was gone, all to rank the Top-10 basketball teams in West Michigan. You’ll find the results below.
Along with a team’s record, these rankings take into account quality of wins, talent, synergy, and a handful of more subjective factors, and may be correctly interpreted as an authoritative list of the top basketball teams in West Michigan.
The top four teams have never been closer than they are right now, and a case could be made for any of them.
Yeah, ranking teams is a tough business. But somebody’s got to do it.
Continue reading West Michigan Allstar Top-10 Teams: Basketball Week-10
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 8th, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- Feb. 5 high school basketball scores (boys) (girls) — Associated Press
- Feb. 6 high school basketball scores (boys) (girls) — Associated Press
- Friday’s stars in high school basketball — HSBB
- Muskegon gets new football coach, again — Muskegon Chronicle
- Muskegon Heights loses first game to SAH — Muskegon Chronicle
- Comstock Park wins O-K Blue wrestling (vid) — Grand Rapids Press
- Rockford rolls in O-K Red wrestling tourney — Grand Rapids Press
- Spring Lake wins Lakes 8 wrestling tourney — Muskegon Chronicle
- Lowell captures O-K White wrestling tourney — Grand Rapids Press
- Zeeland West sophomore Meppelink rules the track — Grand Rapids Press
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By Matthew Mapes, on February 6th, 2010
There is something special about a game of basketball played at the old Holland Civic Center. Maybe it is the dull, yellowish court lights. Maybe it is the creaky bleachers and the worn-down scoreboard. When Byron Center rolled into town to challenge the host Holland Christian Maroons in a critical O-K green battle, the atmosphere combined with solid basketball lead to a great experience reminiscent of true old school hoops.
Continue reading Holland Christian turns it on late to win over Byron Center
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 6th, 2010
 Otsego's Carl Nord shoots a layup | Craig Powers, Powers Media Complete pictures from this game (over 50 pics) can be found here.
They say the gauge of a great player is the effect he has on his teammates. While the Klein brothers, Derek and Jared, justifiably garner the lion’s share of the publicity for Otsego’s success, the versatility of the Bulldogs is telling. Their 12-1 record speaks of their consistency, which extends far beyond any good players. On any given night, Otsego can beat their opponents in a number of different ways. On Friday night, in a 74-64 victory over rival South Haven, they showed at least four:
Continue reading Steady as she goes, Otsego’s crew logs win over South Haven
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 5th, 2010
 Each week, West Michigan Allstar takes our blogging circus over hill and dale to a high school gymnasium around West Michigan. It’s traditionally one of the biggest games in the area, with the top players and teams duking it out against one another (we like to watch that stuff, too), and this week is no exception. Of course, we do this to save the liberated fans of the world the trouble of deciding which game to go to that week.
We also live tweet updates from the game (which you can get sent to your phone), to make sure that the hardcore fans can keep up with the latest action and analysis, even if they can’t make it to the game.
Today is the Friday night, West Michigan Allstar Game of the Week, in which we will see a South Haven team riding an eight-game winning streak travel to Otsego to take on the 11-1 Bulldogs in what should be a dramatic showdown of the top-tier teams in Southwest Michigan.
Continue reading WMA Game of the Week: South Haven at Otsego
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 5th, 2010
Little early for playoff talk? Naah!
Playoff Brackets
All district assignments listed after the jump*
Continue reading 2010 boys basketball brackets and district assignments
By Jim Goodburn, on February 5th, 2010
A weekly feature in which we spotlight a player from the West Michigan area, comparing him to his NBA or major NCAA counterpart based on his playing style, talent (relative, of course), appearance or anything else that warrants a comparison.
 Ladon Carnegie skies for the block Ladon Carnegie (Grand Rapids Union) — Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun Prince has been a mainstay in the starting lineup for the Detroit Pistons since he was drafted in 2002 out of the University of Kentucky. His effort, hustle and consistency make him a fan favorite for the blue collar Motown basketball franchise.
Anyone that followed the 2004 NBA championship run for the Stones can remember distinctly “The Block”; in which he ran Reggie Miller down from behind and swatted what should have been a routine lay-up. Prince’s size, length and strength seem to be contradictory.
Continue reading Straight to the Pros — Ladon Carnegie
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 5th, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- Feb. 4 high school basketball scores (boys) (girls) — Associated Press
- GRap area high school sports rankings — Grand Rapids Press
- GRap area high school wrestling leaders — Grand Rapids Press
- General Skee-town basketball notes — Muskegon Chronicle
- Skee-town area prep sports notes — Muskegon Chronicle
- Climax-Scotts girls basketball wins in OT — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Rockford swims past West Ottawa — Grand Rapids Press
- Muskegon Catholic may join O-K Conference — Grand Rapids Press et al.
- (Prem.) the top-10 teams in the land according to — MichiganPreps.com
- What happens to hockey in Muskegon? — Muskegon Chronicle
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 4th, 2010
 Shane Tiemeyer is a large reason for the Dux success | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography If you are one of three teams in WMA’s Top-10 rankings this week, you did not enjoy your Tuesday night game.
After going a combined 31-1 between them entering this week, Schoolcraft (#4), Zeeland West (#5) and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (#8) all suffered losses on Tuesday night. And apart from Western Michigan Christian, all of them were rightly considered “upsets.”
So, besides the consequential reshuffling of next week’s rankings, what effect, if any, will these losses have on the teams who suffered them? Will there be any long-term consequences and repercussions, or was Tuesday just the obligatory speed-bump on the way to a mature post-season campaign?
Let’s examine.
Continue reading Three significant basketball defeats, and what they mean
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 4th, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- Feb. 3 high school basketball scores (boys) (girls) — Associated Press
- Tuesday’s stars in high school basketball — HSBB
- Girls and boys basketball high-fives for Skee-town — Muskegon Chronicle
- 31-Grand Rapids area footballers sign letters — Grand Rapids Press
- 23-Grand Rapids area athletes sign letters — Grand Rapids Press
- K-Zoo Central football takes a big hit — Kalamazoo Gazette
- Lowell wrestlers could probably kick your butt — Grand Rapids Press
- GHaven hockey doubles up Kenowa — Grand Rapids Press
- Very cool story about foes becoming friends in college — Grand Rapids Press
- Allegan basketball finally puts it all together — Kalamazoo Gazette
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 3rd, 2010
A look around the wide world of high school sports and the web that covers it. Well, not the whole world, mostly just the distance between Lake Michigan and somewhere-in-the-vicinity-of-Lansing, give or take about 50-miles. In an order wholly indecipherable to the naked eye. So look closely:
- Feb 2 high school basketball scores (boys) (girls) — Associated Press
- Michigan hockey rankings — MHSHCA
- Michigan boys basketball rankings — Associated Press
- Michigan girls basketball rankings — Associated Press
- GVSU lands a couple huge local signings — Who’s the Bos?
- Lowell’s Hogan pulls a signing switcheroo — Who’s the Bos?
- NMU gets a great Kelloggsvillian RB — Who’s the Bos?
- Class-A basketball rankings (yeah it’s late, but talk to Stephen) — HSBB
- This week’s best bet games on the hardwood — HSBB
- Muskegon Heights drops WMC in battle of unbeatens — Muskegon Chronicle
- Holland Christian knocks off Zeeland West — Grand Rapids Press
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
By Ryan Vaughn, on February 2nd, 2010
Since opening night of this 2009/2010 basketball season, two Muskegon area teams have dominated their respective classes.
Muskegon Heights has run the table in Class-B, tallying a perfect 11-0 record against elite competition and laying claim to the #1 ranking in Class-B (according to the AP) and the #1 overall ranking (according to us).
Meanwhile, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian has done similar work down in the Class-D ranks, tallying a perfect 11-0 record while demolishing virtually all comers and snagging the #1 ranking in Class-D (AP) and the #8 overall ranking in West Michigan (WMA).
Tonight, these two basketball Goliaths go head-to-head in what has to be considered a candidate for Game of the Year to this point.
So since nobody else could beat either team, it’s perhaps fitting that they should play each other (after all, nobody likes a tie. It’s like kissing your sister). Whichever team ends out with more points on the board at the end of 32-minutes, the real winners in this matchup are the fans. So get your butt down to Muskegon Western Michigan Christian tonight before the tip-off at 7:00 (they’re recommending to get there at like 4:00. yes, seriously), because those 1,200 seats will fill up fast.
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