Where else can you fellowship with and learn from the top Division I men’s basketball coaches in the state of Michigan? Only at the 10thannual Horatio Williams Coaches Forum, which was held again at MGM Grand Detroit, in partnership with the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM). It is one of the largest basketball coaches associations in the country.
Tom Izzo (Michigan State University), Greg Kampe (Oakland University), Mike Davis (University of Detroit Mercy), Rob Murphy (Eastern Michigan University), Keno Davis (Central Michigan University), and Steve Hawkins (Western Michigan University) were the guests of honor. The panel-style event allowed high school and JUCO coaches from around the state to discuss an array of topics, from coaching styles and coaching players, to landing a college job and the transfer portal.
“Dan Young came to me and said he thought we should collaborate on making the forum bigger and better,” Horatio Williams said of the Executive Director of the BCAM. “We were able to get all of the Division I coaches here in the room and we thank them for coming out. And I want to thank all of the high school coaches for coming out and becoming more educated on how to deal with our kids and get them to college.”
Izzo spoke highly of Detroit basketball. He said the Texas Tech team MSU lost to in the Final Four reminded him of the St. Cecilia gym on the city’s west side. The famous St. Cecilia Gym, where anyone who was someone in the basketball community in Detroit played, equipped with limited seating and no air conditioning, was founded by Sam Washington Sr. in 1968 right after the riot of 1967.
It was originally for those in the neighborhood, but when former Pistons guard Dave Bing, who would later become Mayor of Detroit, needed a place to work out due to a contract dispute in 1974 with former Pistons owner Bill Davidson, it started a trend that saw the city’s best and NBA stars flock to the gym near Livernois and Grand River to prove who was the best on the hardwood. NBA legends Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Bernard King, Isiah Thomas, and even Marvin Gaye all played at “The Saint.”
“My greatest times at Michigan State were when you could come down to St. Cecilia and sit in that sweaty gym, coach Washington at the door, at watch all the players get after it,” said Izzo. “Those were the good days. Chris’ (Beard) Texas Tech team reminded me of those days. They were tough and skilled.”
The night was full of stories from Izzo’s time in Detroit, recruiting and landing some of the city’s best, including Shawn Respert, Brandon Cotton, Derrick Nix, Keith Appling, Brandan Kearney, Cassius Winston, and many others. But his first Detroit recruit came while on a visit to the Franklin-Wright Settlements on the city’s east side. He wanted Henry Ford 7-footer Erik Wilson, who chose Minnesota, but landed a forward from Pershing named Steve Smith instead
“Smitty was about 6-5, 160-pounds, soaking wet,” said Izzo. “But he turned out to be not only one of the great players I had at Michigan State, but one of the greatest people.”
Antoine Davis, the son of Mike Davis, set the college basketball world on fire at Detroit. He averaged 26.1 points a game, was named Horizon League freshman of the year and made first-team all-Horizon League, and his 132 made 3-pointers are most ever by a freshman, surpassing the record-122 Steph Curry made for Davidson in 2006-07. Davis said he laid out a plan for his son and his accolades during the season came because of his work before the season.
“Five years ago, my son didn’t really like basketball,” said Davis. “So I home-schooled him and put with John Lucas, one of the toughest coaches that you’ll ever face, because I wanted him to be pushed every day. We would get up every morning at 6 a.m., and we shot 60,000 shots in 12 days and one day we shot 10,000 shots in a 24-hour period. My son didn’t start off with passion for the game, but we worked hard, and I pushed him. He just started liking basketball now that he’s had some success.”
Of the six schools represented at the coaches forum, only seven players who played their high school basketball in the city of Detroit are on each school’s respective roster, with two playing for Davis. Many can speculate why that is, but the coaches made it no secret that Detroit was still an importance breeding ground for high school basketball.
“We want the Detroit kids and we want our rosters filled with Michigan athletes,” said Murphy, who is from Detroit. “That would be great, but that’s just not the reality, with the state of how everybody handles recruiting. My roster the past two years, we’ve had guys from all over the country. I’m going to continue to recruit Detroit, but all I ask, is that when we walk into your gym, give us an honest opportunity to recruit and develop your kids.”
Before the coaches took the stage for the panel, the Horatio Williams Foundation presented two Detroit PSL coaches with awards. Pershing head coach Shawn “Twig” Hill was named Coach of the Year, finishing 18-3 on the year and Cass Tech’s Steve Hall was inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame. The Technicians won the PSL city title for the second time in three seasons.
“It was a great pleasure for me to present the Will Robinson Coach of the Year award for the second year in a row,” said Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree. “Pershing had a great year, they had no one over 6-2 on the team, played a lot of freshmen throughout the season, and still won its division. Hill didn’t win a city or state championship, but he worked with what he had, and he did a great job.”
About Post Author
