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Plenty of good basketball left in E.L. this weekend

By: Joey Nowak Posted: 03/27/09 10:56am

As the MSU men’s and women’s basketball teams head to Indianapolis and Berkeley, Calif., for their respective Sweet 16 tilts, Lansing area basketball fans will likely be glued to their televisions for the action this weekend.

But fear not, sports fans. There’s a slew of quality hoops still in East Lansing this weekend — live from Breslin Center, at that.

Just days out of hosting the women’s NCAA Tournament, Breslin will be home to eight MHSAA boy’s basketball semifinal games Thursday and Friday and four state championship games Saturday.

Take your pick: You’ve got teams shooting for perfection (Zeeland East is 26-0 in Class B going into Friday’s semifinal) schools from all corners of the state (Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Detroit, central Michigan and beyond are all represented) and the arguably the top player in the state (Mr. Basketball winner Derrick Nix, who will play for Tom Izzo next year).

Nix is a 6-foot-9 center who averages 15 points and 15 rebounds per game for Detroit Pershing, ranked No. 1 in the state for Class A, who will play in a Friday semifinal. Zeeland East’s Korey VanDussen finished third in the competition, while future MSU football and basketball recruit Dion Sims finished fourth (his team, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s did not make it to Breslin).

It’s a great opportunity to see some good, wholesome basketball that brings communities together on an annual basis. It’s a huge event for the MHSAA, East Lansing and each of the individual schools participating. Hats off to all the teams and good luck. For all of you sticking around East Lansing this weekend with some spare time, head over to Breslin to see these guys end their seasons on a high note.

Saturday’s state finals schedule at Breslin Center:
Class D, 10 a.m.
Class C, 12 p.m.
Class A, 4 p.m.
Class B, 8 p.m.

For more information, visit MHSAA.com.

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State News sports editor Joey Nowak keeps you up to speed with the latest news and notes from the business and administrative side of the sports world.

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