Saturday: A sad day for JUCO basketball in Michigan

CENTREVILLE, Michigan — Saturday JUCO basketball fans across the state found out that Henry Ford Community College, last year’s unlikely regional champion and a one-time no. 1-ranked team in the nation this season, will not participate in the regional playoffs.

Apparently the team played the bulk of its schedule with an ineligible player and so must forfeit all but two of its victories. This is obviously traumatizing for the team, but it’s also bad for JUCO basketball in Michigan all around. Everyone, myself included, wanted to see round three of Mott versus Henry Ford.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, this

Yesterday’s state championship game at Glen Oaks was as bad as I’ve seen in terms of production value. I wouldn’t put Glen Oaks in charge of a Gus Macker Tournament. Saturday’s MCCAA state championship game, won by Mott, was embarrassing even by middle-of-the-road junior college standards. Glen Oaks didn’t have an announcer (it’s the state title game for God’s sake!), they didn’t track fouls on the scoreboard and they didn’t even have security in the gym. Are you guys kidding me?

The game had to be stopped in the second half when a fight nearly broke out in the stands. Fans and coaches had to try to separate the would-be combatants and it was all too close to going very wrong. Two officers from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department showed up about 20 minutes later.

It was an embarrassment for a state that has arguably the best quality of JUCO basketball in the nation.