OK-Red Boys Basketball Roundup

With less than a month remaining before districts, we took a look at the OK-Red standings. The OK-Red is hands down the toughest conference in the state of Michigan, with Muskegon, Rockford and East Kentwood dominating it the past few years. Every one of these teams would be a serious contender in another conference. 

The OK-Red definitely has three powerhouse teams. With Rockford, East Kentwood and Muskegon. This is despite several of the top teams losing to the mid-lower teams in the conference. The top three teams have all played each other once now, with mixed results. Rockford narrowly beat East Kentwood. East Kentwood was able to beat Muskegon in an early season matchup by 8. Rockford lost to Muskegon. This conference is going to come down to the remaining matchups with these three teams, but perhaps one of the bottom five will throw a wrench in it.

Muskegon- The Big Reds were having an excellent season until a few weeks ago when they lost to Jenison 77-72, they also narrowly escaped West Ottawa last week in a surprisingly close game. Look for Courtney Hill to try and establish himself as the team’s leader in the coming weeks. The Big Red’s game against East Kentwood had to be postponed last week due to school closings, but that matchup will definitely be worth a look as it may decide who comes out on top of the OK-Red this year.

East Kentwood- The Falcons were stunned by Grand Haven last week. However, they still have a shot at pulling away from the pack. Prior to being stunned by Grand Haven, the Falcons had only one loss in conference play- to Rockford. East Kentwood’s lone out of conference loss came from arguably the best team on this side of the state- Grand Rapids Christian. Watch out for the Falcon’s stifling defense and a balanced attack on offense coming from Jeremiah Williams and Christian Craft.

Rockford- The Rams had one tough schedule to open the season and quickly found themselves at 2-4 overall. Since then the Rams have turned it around thanks to excellent play from Ryan Majerle and Justin Klein. Rockford lost to Muskegon by one a few weeks ago in an excellent game. But three days later they were able to stun East Kentwood. The only loss that brings some concern is an early season conference loss to West Ottawa by 5, the Rams may have just been tired from an incredibly strong schedule. Nonetheless it is a loss that without they would be in sole possession of first place.

Grand Haven- The Bucs have been up and down this year and quickly found themselves sitting at 1-4 in conference play after a loss to West Ottawa. Since then the Bucs have stepped up and rattled off 3 consecutive conference wins highlighted by a solid victory over East Kentwood 46-40. Grand Haven has a key matchup with Muskegon next week Tuesday. This is another potential statement game for the Bucs. The Bucs are valiantly trying to claw their way back to the top, but will there be enough time? Look for Alex Eidson to step forward as the leader of this young Bucs team.

Jenison- The Wildcats quickly fell to 1-5 in conference play. Since then they have won two in a row, including an impressive victory over Muskegon 77-72. The Wildcats have an excellent big man in Jason Pretzer; surprisingly his best attribute is not his size, but his shooting. The Wildcats are a three-headed monster with Pretzer, Luke Diekevers, and Eric Evans. Look for Evans to continue to put up big numbers. Heading into district play he may need to become more of a vocal leader. Jenison has a must win game against Grandville this Tuesday and then they roll into West Ottawa and look to steal a victory in West Ottawa’s second annual Pink Out game.

Hudsonville- The Eagles have fallen hard since starting out 2-0 in conference play, since then they have gone 1-5 with their lone victory coming against West Ottawa. The Eagles are coming off an 81-65 pounding from Jenison; they look to turn it around as they play Rockford and then Muskegon next week. B.J. VanLoo, Blake Hibbits, and Luke Besteman are definitely the life of this team as they are averaging a combined 35 points per game.

West Ottawa- The Panthers started off hot as they jumped out to a 3-0 overall record highlighted by a conference victory against Rockford 67-62. Since then the Panthers have gone a dismal 1-6 in conference play their lone victory coming against Grand Haven. A definite bright spot for the panthers is their out of conference play, including wins over rival Holland Christian as well as a commanding victory over Caledonia. West Ottawa is led by point guard Jorddan Myrick who has carried the team on his shoulders this year as he is averaging 18.5 points per game. Look for Andrew Maxey, Josh Wisbang and Caleb Bosch to step it up, especially on defense over the next month. Coach Jeff VanFossan has toyed with the starting lineup this year quite a bit. Hopefully heading into districts he can settle in with a consistant starting five. 

Grandville- The Bulldogs have struggled this year going 2-6 in conference play, their only victories came over Jenison and West Ottawa. Their struggles were highlighted by a one point loss to cross town foe Grandville Calvin Christian who just happens to be roughly 1/4 the size of Grandville. One player to watch is Ben Lanning. He has reached double digit scoring in 11 out of 13 games this year. Grandville will look to turn it around over the next month and try to salvage their season in district play.