Wayne didn't have what it took to keep pace with the Eagles, who have as many seniors as the Zebras have players on the roster, thanks to a rough first half and an even worse third quarter.Adblock Adblock Plus Adblocker Ultimate Ghostery uBlock Origin Others Just reflecting on it, see what happens and see what we can improve going into the next season." Just getting better, this day forward until the start of the new season. I just feel like next year it'll be totally different. Going into the season, we took a hard first loss, but we got better throughout the season and just got better every game after that. "I know that a lot of people didn't expect us to be here because we were young. "I'm definitely gonna challenge myself," Ham said. More: Shorthanded Wayne Memorial girls basketball relies on freshmen at LCA ![]() The seniors-to-be should be two of the best players in metro Detroit entering next season, judging by the D-I scouts showing up to their playoff games. Much will be expected of them. That also doesn't rule out the extra responsibility that'll be put on Ham and Bass now that Matthews, the team's big sister, will no longer ride the bus with them to games. They should always play for themselves and be the best player that they can be." They shouldn't depend on just upperclassmen or even me (to carry the load). "Now they know how they should pick it up and play the rest of their career. "I feel like the first game against Arbor Prep, they didn't know how big their role was going to be," said Matthews, who scored a team-high 15 points vs. Now they'll know what to expect heading into 2022-23. More: Wayne Memorial will repeat as KLAA-East champs, but Coach Mitchell isn't happy right nowĮntering training camp, he knew freshmen such as Bryant, Mia Bazzi and Tierra Golden-Patton were going to be needed, especially with just four upperclassmen.īut those three youngsters weren't prepared for it. Mitchell said the experience gained this season will be a boon for his girls going forward. I'm very pleased with the girls' effort." If we don't, that doesn't change our love for them as a basketball team. If we get there (back to the final four), good. Our coaching staff just wanted to coach the girls as hard as we can. "With us, man, I'm not really concerned with peoples' opinions. "We took a hard first loss (to Arbor Prep in December's season opener) and then everybody kind of wrote us off," Mitchell said. So if this is Mitchell's "worst" team, which made it all the way to the final four with losses to only Arbor Prep and Hartland, which are both playing for state titles on Saturday, and Howell, then this team should be poised to win its first-ever state championship in the next year or so. Even Hartland coach Don Palmer called freshman guard Colleena Bryant the Zebras' "most important player" during his post-game press conference. ![]() This year's team likely has five or six future college basketball players. Yes, that's right, they went 14-0 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association-East with three freshmen playing 2/3 of the team's minutes.Īnd these aren't your typical freshmen. They'll bring back sophomore Alexis Halley and four freshmen, three of whom played 20 or more minutes per game. They'll return two future D-I players in juniors Paris Bass and Ham. The Zebras graduate just two seniors in Matthews, who is signed with Division I Long Beach State, and Jaylah Franklin. This year's squad didn't have generational players who were nominated for the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan's Miss Basketball honor.īut there definitely needs to be an emphasis on the quotes around the word "worst" because this was a team that punched well above its weight all season long, and it did it with inexperienced players up and down the roster. Minnesota freshman Alanna Micheaux isn't on this team, nor is Purdue junior Jeanae Terry. More: How losing to Howell prepared Wayne Memorial to face adversity in the playoffs The Zebras (23-3) have been used to getting disrespected all winter.Īs eighth-year coach Jarvis Mitchell often points out on Twitter, his critics have said this is probably the "worst" team he's coached. ![]() "That definitely was a stab in the back," Ham later said after the Zebras suffered a heartbreaking 52-42 loss to Hartland.
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