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Utica coach Tom McDonald gives instructions to his girls team during the first day of basketball practice.Girls basketball
Optimism reigns on court
Avondale, Utica and King hope practice makes perfect
Keshia Hines, a senior guard for Auburn Hills Avondale, goes one-on-one with her coach, Todd Henderson.Deep Stats Homepage: Headlines, matchups, your team's roster and stats
AUBURN HILLS -- China Threatt was back on the court Monday afternoon at Auburn Hills Avondale.
Threatt, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, was healthy and happy to be playing the game she loves again. She showed no ill effects from a season-ending injury to her left knee two games into the 2004 season.
"My knee's fine," said Threatt, who had an outstanding AAU summer with the 16-and-under Michigan Crossover team. She drew interest from Minnesota, Syracuse and DePaul.
"The injury was the hardest thing I ever had to go through. I knew I was back during the AAU season. I felt I played real well.
"I'm excited about this season. I'm a senior now. We've all matured. We want to get to Breslin. My job is to step up when my team needs it and lead them."
Monday was the first day of practice for high school girls basketball players throughout the state. Schools can play their first games Aug. 29. State championships will be decided Dec. 3 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Avondale coach Todd Henderson welcomes Threatt's return. The Yellowjackets finished 17-5 and won the Oakland Activities Association Division 2 title without her. They have moved up to Division 1 to compete against Southfield-Lathrup and West Bloomfield.
"China can do so many tremendous things on the court," Henderson said. "We have a lot of talented kids. We have three great scoring options in China, Keshia (Hines) and Sade Johnson.
"We won the OAA Division 3 title two years ago and Division 2 last season. There's a difference between 3 and 2, and there's a huge difference between 2 and 1.
"We have some great teams in Division 1, and you have to be ready to play at a high level."
Hines, a 6-2 junior, averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots last season. She is being recruited by Kansas State, Purdue and Michigan. Johnson, a 5-9 junior, averaged 11 points.
Brittany Holston, a 5-2 senior, is another returning starter.
Henderson had a team cookout Sunday night, but the players were on Avondale's track at 7:30 the next morning for conditioning. They had practice inside the gym from noon-2 p.m.
"We're going to keep that schedule for the rest of the week," Henderson said. "We plan to run a lot, and we have to make sure the kids are in shape. We have a scrimmage at Howell Friday, and our first game is only two weeks away (Aug. 30 against Utica)."
Detroit King
Detroit King again will be a contender for the Class A title. The Crusaders, who lost to Lansing Waverly in a state title game last season, have a dominant frontline consisting of 6-3 senior Jasmine Stone, 6-1 senior LaQuisha Whitfield and 6-0 junior Jasmine Collins.
Stone participated in the USA Junior Olympics camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., this summer. She averaged 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks for King (21-3).
Whitfield, who played alongside Threatt on the Crossover, averaged 12 points and six rebounds.
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," Whitfield said. "I plan on stepping up as a senior. "
Whitfield is being recruited by Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina State, Iowa and Northwestern. Stone is leaning toward Temple. She already told Michigan State she wanted to play outside the state.
DePaul, Louisville, Nevada-Las Vegas and Syracuse also are among her candidates.
"Michigan and Michigan State offered, but I want to get away from Michigan," Stone said. "Coach P (MSU Coach Joanne P. McCallie) is cool, but they're doing fine without me.
"I love Temple. I love their coach (Dawn Staley). We talk all the time."
King coach William Winfield said he feels that sophomore Janay Dockery and freshman Courtney Townsend will do well in the backcourt.
"We'll run the motion offense, with the emphasis on the inside game," Winfield said. "We know quite a few teams in the city have better backcourts. We have some inexperience there, but hopefully their AAU experience will offset that inexperience.
"I feel we'll get better as the season progresses. I love a challenge anyways, and that's why I'm excited with this season."
Utica
Mandy Piechowski is ready to lead Utica to a winning season. Piechowski, a 5-9 senior guard, committed to Michigan State.
"We finished 10-and-11 last season and we have all of our starters back," said Piechowski, who averaged 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
"We hear players on other teams say they want to win state or they want to win their league title. We go game-to-game here.
"We just want to continue to get better and we feel things will take care of themselves."
Utica had a four-hour marathon practice Monday, starting with fundamentals and ending with conditioning.
"It went real well," Piechowski said. "We used to go with double sessions, and this time we had one long practice. It seemed like it went fast and good.
"Coach (Tom McDonald) was talking about how the seniors had to lead us, and I was thinking 'Wow! I'm one of those seniors now.' "
Piechowski commented on Alyssa DeHaan, Grandville's 6-8 center, who announced she will play at MSU.
"I'm very excited. ... I'm pretty sure we're going to be roommates, too," Piechowski said. "We've joked about it before. Now it's going to come true."
Grandville
DeHaan averaged 26 points, 12.9 rebounds and 9.8 blocks last season to help Grandville reach a Class A quarterfinal.
She narrowed her college choices to Michigan State, Grand Valley State and Cornerstone College this summer but told her Grandville teammates she will play at MSU.
"I'm excited to be a Spartan," DeHaan said.
"It's going to be fun to be a part of the atmosphere. Their program is top-notch, and I love Coach P. She's an amazing woman.
"The team is great. They are so energized every time they take the court. It's so exciting to watch them play. It's going to be a great fit for me."
You can reach David Goricki at david.goricki@detnews.com.
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