Ready for Regionals: Dundee, Whiteford advance in state tourney
Whiteford and Dundee generally face each other at some point during the boys basketball season.
Not this year.
“We’ve played each other the last few years,” Whiteford coach Nick Abalos said. “It didn’t happen this year. I don’t know why.”
That’s a shame because, as it turns out, a Dundee-Whiteford game would have been a clash of district champions.
Those are the two schools who will represent the Monroe County Region this week in the second round of the state tournament.
Dundee will play in the Division 2 Regional at Flat Rock and Whiteford will compete in the Division 3 Regional at Grass Lake.
Both teams play in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday with the finals slated for the same time on Thursday.
Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt coached Whiteford’s varsity girls team for six years before landing his current job.
“I’ll always have good memories of Whiteford,” he said. “The parents were great and the kids were great. I’ve always liked Whiteford. I still have a lot of friends there.”
Division 2 at Flat Rock
Dundee returns to the regionals after giving Chelsea a great battle in the semifinals last year.
This year the Vikings will put their 20-4 record on the line in the first round against 19-4 Dearborn Heights Robichaud.
“I’ve been watching a little of their tape and talking to some coaches,” Haselschwerdt said Saturday morning. “They have big, fast athletes, but they’re also beatable.
“The district was our goal, now that we’ve got that, we have to mentally reach higher.”
Defense was the reason Dundee made it through the district at Airport.
The Vikings gave up just 44 points in the semifinals against Airport, then yielded only 40 to Ida in the finals. They avenged an earlier 69-65 loss to Airport and improved defensively over a win against Ida on Jan. 25 when the Blue Streaks scored 50 points.
More: Dundee makes it back-to-back district titles by holding off Ida
“Not all year, that would not be the truth,” Haselschwerdt said when asked if his team had been playing good defense all season. “We had some issues to clean up in the second half of the season. When Ida had chances to win (Friday night), we got steals. They didn’t even get shots.”
Dundee won regional championships in 1988 and 1971.
“Now that we went there last year and almost beat Chelsea, the guys know that anything is possible,” Haselschwerdt said.
Dundee star Braiden Whitaker will be trying to set another school record this week.
The senior already has shattered longstanding records for points in a game and season. Next on his radar is the standard of 1,281 career points set by Norm Weyher way back in 1958.
Whitaker currently sits at 1,280.
“He and the team are most focused on winning,” Haselschwerdt said of Whitaker. “I am sure it will come. He is not a stats guy. He could have gotten that record a long time ago.”
The career points record would be another chapter in what has been an amazing season for Whitaker.
“He’s broken a lot of records,” his coach said. “He’s a heck of a player and a heck of a kid. He really is a rock star. Everyone likes him. He’s a very humble kid.”
Neither Dundee nor Robichaud appeared in the final state rankings by the Associated Press. Summit Academy (22-2), which plays 15-8 Detroit University Prep in the first semifinal Tuesday, is ranked No. 5.
“It will probably be Summit (in the finals),” Haselschwerdt said. “If we get there, we’ll have to play better offensively. The kids know that.”
Dundee’s players also know that madness happens in March.
“I told them to dream big,” Haselschwerdt said.
Division 3 at Grass Lake
Whiteford was eliminated from contention for the Tri-County Conference championship with a few weeks left in the regular season.
That gave Abalos freedom to start preparing his squad for the state tournament.
“You always set goals before the season,” he said. “We knew that was one that was still attainable.”
The result was one of the Bobcats’ best performances of the season in a 62-52 win over St. Mary Catholic Central in the district finals.
More: Whiteford turns back SMCC to capture crown in Blissfield district
“We played good in pretty much all aspects,” Abalos said.
It was the 12th district championship in Whiteford’s long, successful history on the hardwoods. But it was the school’s first since 2014.
The Bobcats have never won a regional.
They will try to take the first step toward history by putting their 16-8 record on the line in the semifinals Tuesday against 13-11 Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
“I watched their district final right after our game (Friday night),” Abalos said. “They have good athletes and are quick. They like to play full-court, man-to-man defense. They are in your face. We have to take care of the ball.”
Riverview Gabriel Richard, which is 20-3 and ranked No. 3 in the state, is on the other side of the bracket, but Abalos refuses to think about the finals yet.
“I am really focused on this game,” he said.
DIVISION 2 AT FLAT ROCK
Tuesday’s semifinals
Detroit University Prep (15-8) vs. Summit Academy (22-2), 5:30 p.m.
Dundee (20-4) vs. Dearborn Heights Robichaud (19-4), 7 p.m.
Thursday’s finals
7 p.m.
DIVISION 3 AT GRASS LAKE
Tuesday’s semifinals
Riverview Gabriel Richard (20-3) vs. Plymouth Christian (11-13), 5:30 p.m.
Whiteford (16-8) vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (13-11), 7 p.m.
Thursday’s finals
7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Boys basketball: Dundee, Whiteford ready for regionals
