UD Jesuit rises to no. 1 place

On January 8, 2025By Littum

Mick McCabe
| Special to the Detroit Free Press

The one thing we took for granted when we started the boys basketball season about six weeks ago was that the No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s would win its second straight Division 1 state championship.

And why not?

The Eaglets have the supposed Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award favorite in Trey McKenney, who has signed with Michigan basketball, as well as guard Sharrod Barnes (Western Michigan), Jayden Savory (Michigan State football), Isaiah Hines and a cast of other talented players.

But here we are six weeks later, and at 6-3 OLSM is no longer the team no. 1 in the state. That honor (curse?) belongs to 8-0 UD Jesuit, one of three teams to beat St. Mary’s.

It is far too early to call St. Mary’s a bust. On the contrary. We still expect the Eaglets to stand on the Breslin Center court on March 15 and accept the D-1 state championship trophy. But they have a lot to improve before then.

OLSM lost its season opener at home to a charter school from The Villages in Florida, then OLSM escaped the Toledo St. John on the road. But these games came without the full roster.

It recently dropped a three-pointer at Indianapolis Cathedral. in between? A 63-54 loss to U-DJ, which propelled the Cubs to the state’s no. 1 place … for now.

UD Jesuit coach Pat Donnelly will tell you his team has a lot to improve on, too, but the Cubs have been great so far.

The Cubs have a dynamic backfield in Toledo signee Leroy Blyden Jr. and 6-foot-5 Xavier Johnson, both of whom are averaging 20 points. Then throw in 3-point specialist David Herron (averaging 16 points per game) and you understand why U-DJ is so dangerous.

“It’s a three-headed monster that’s just tough,” Donnelly said. “One guy has an off night, the other guys … you can’t concentrate on one guy and shut us down.”

Blyden has emerged as one of the best players in the state and is off to a sensational start to his senior season.

“He can score from multiple levels,” Donnelly said. “He has incredible range on his 3-point shot. He can get to the rim, he’s athletic, he’s very skilled, he’s shifty; I think he’s a good player.”

On top of that, if you pay too much attention to Blyden, he’s a willing passer and happy to get his teammates involved in the fun.

Last week, U-DJ blew up social media when junior twins Clark and Colin Langdon played for the Cubs, just days after playing for Rochester Adams.

The family had moved from Round Rock, Texas, to the Rochester area, and the twins enrolled at Adams. But the family recently moved to Ferndale, and U-DJ ended up being the closest non-public school.

“We got a call in mid-November that they were moving down into this area and they had an interest in UD,” Donnelly said. “The father got a new job and they searched in Detroit, they searched in Ferndale.”

Colin is 6-8 and Clark is 6-5, and they will add even more depth to the Cubs. But U-DJ is not No. 1 because of them.

“They don’t come in and start,” Donnelly said. “They’re not going to displace other guys. We’re going to get a little more depth, but they’re not going to come in and bench any starters.”

Of course, that didn’t stop social media from going wild with calls for an investigation by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

The MHSAA made inquiries and Adams officials said there was no evidence of undue influence.

“They are really good kids, good students, nice kids; I think they have some ability,” Donnelly said. “I saw a lot of comments on social media making disparaging remarks about the kids, the family, UD or whatever.

“There is nothing underhanded going on here. We did everything as it should be done. They are good kids and they don’t deserve to be the target of anyone’s worries.”

Belleville enjoys Savoury’s play

We won’t say the first five weeks of the girls basketball season have been boring, but let’s just say they’ve been uneventful … so far.

Belleville, the team we ranked No. 1 overall and in Division 1, has been exactly what we thought it would be: huge.

“We’re feeling good,” Belleville coach Jason Wilkins said. “We’re fine.”

Not to infringe on The Who’s copyright, but the kids are certainly having a good time, winning all seven games (only one of them being close).

The reason is simple: the Tigers have no obvious weaknesses.

“We’re playing better defensively,” Wilkins said. “We play unselfishly and we rebound the ball very well.”

Leading the way is 6-foot Sydney Savoury, the top sophomore in the state as she averages 25 points and seven rebounds a game.

A year ago, Savory was more of a perimeter player, seemingly content to sit outside and bomb away from 3-point territory.

“She’s shooting the 3, but she’s getting to the free throw line a lot more this year,” Wilkins said. “I put the ball in her hands a lot more so she can get downhill. She gets more of her curves inside instead of the perimeter.”

Savory rounds out her game as she leads the Tigers through her sophomore year, making her a more complete player and even more appealing to college coaches.

“Her game is to be a three-level scorer instead of just a scorer like she was last year,” Wilkins said. “Now she’s more of a threat because she can go inside off the dribble and shoot the 3, so she’s having a good year overall.”

So is junior Se’Crette Carter, who has committed to Marquette. Her defensive presence has improved, as has her ball handling.

A pleasant surprise has been the play of 5-11 freshman guard Paisley Stephens, who is averaging eight points, seven rebounds and six assists a game and can spell point guard Rylan Buschell, who has signed with Central Michigan.

Last season, Belleville lost in the semifinals; The Tigers should take an extra step this season. But that doesn’t mean Wilkins isn’t worried about opposing teams come tournament time — namely Rockford, the ’23 D-1 champion and runner-up in ’24.

“Rockford worries me because they’ve been there the last three years,” Wilkins said. “Wayne is in our league and they worry me. The Renaissance is young but scrappy. They got a big win over Edison so they should win the PSL.”

While Division 1 might seem like a done deal, Division 2 could be chaotic. Defending champion Detroit Edison has lost to Renaissance, a D-1 school, but it has also lost in double overtime to Tecumseh, which is a D-2 contender.

Belleville’s closest game, meanwhile, was a one-point win over Ann Arbor Richard, which was the D-2 runner-up last season and is currently No. 1 in D-2.

Hodos back on top in Pittsford

As the 2018-19 Pittsford girls basketball season ended, Chris Hodos also ended his coaching career.

Or so he thought.

After a five-year hiatus, Hodos, 54, is back on the Pittsford bench, much to his surprise.

In 2019, Hodos left school and started selling cars at Frank Beck Chevrolet in Hillsdale, and he was satisfied.

But in October, Aaron Davis, Hodos’ protégé, was approached with a business opportunity he couldn’t refuse. Suddenly the coaching job was available and was posted on the school district’s website at 8.30

“At 9:30 I probably had 10-12 calls,” Hodos said. “One of them was my wife. She said, ‘I think you should take that’.”

Hi, Becky Hodos is a smart woman. That first time, Hodos had a remarkable run, taking Pittsford to three consecutive Class D state championship games, winning two of them.

The Wildcats also had a 76-game winning streak, just two games shy of Carney-Nadeau’s state record.

This season, Pittsford is 7-0 and is ranked No. 7 in D-4, but something has changed.

Hodos claims he’s no longer as “loud or obnoxious” as he was the first time, and he’s not exaggerating. Hodos was a wild man on the sidelines.

“I’ve been very, very calm this year,” he said. “After two games I had two sets of referees, which I love to have, they’re the old guard. Afterwards they said, ‘Who the hell are you?’ “

Maybe Becky adds a tranquilizer to his morning coffee, but that calm demeanor hasn’t negatively affected his coaching.

It helps to have 5-8 Ava Mallar, who averages 21 points a game and has signed with Grand Valley State.

“I have the best player on the field every night,” Hodos said. “She does everything very well. She’s very athletic and she’s a good leader.”

Hodos said he’s having fun coaching again and might give officials a deal on a new Chevy … or maybe not.

Mick McCabe is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @mickmccabe1.

Save 30% on his book, “Mick McCabe’s Golden Yearbook: 50 Great Years of Michigan’s Best High School Players, Teams & Memories,” by ordering now at McCabe.PictorialBook.com.