Meet the 2015-16 Enquirer All-City Boys Basketball Team
Meet the 2015-16 Battle Creek Enquirer All-City Boys Basketball Team. The 2015-16 Battle Creek Enquirer All-City Boys Basketball Team is made up of players from the five city schools and is selected by the city coaches and the Enquirer sports staff.
BCC's Crum leads All-City boys basketball team
Demetrius Craig
Battle Creek Central
Coming in with some experience, Craig took the next step as a returning starter during his junior year as he helped Battle Creek Central to a 17-7 season and a Class A district title.
Craig provided important outside shooting for BCC from his guard position as he averaged nine points per game and two steals a contest and earned all-league honors in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division.
“Craig was our most consistent outside shooting threat. He is a mentally tough player who should be a major factor in 2017,” BCC coach Durant Crum said.
Juan Warren
Battle Creek Central
Warren, in his second year as a starter, had a breakthrough season as a junior as he helped Battle Creek Central to a 17-7 season and a Class A district title.
Warren, a 6-foot-4 center/forward, finished as the team leader in rebounds and points with 12.2 points per game and eight rebounds as he also came up with 2.5 blocks a contest and earned all-league honors in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division.
“Juan led us in scoring and rebounds and is both physical and athletic. He was the Bearcats' most consistent player,” Crum said.
Cyntell Williams
Battle Creek Central
Coming off the bench most of the year, Williams would end up playing important minutes as the Bearcats’ sixth man while also giving BCC important senior leadership. The 6-foot-2 guard played big on defense and helped the Bearcats to a district title.
Williams averaged nine points per game with 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 steals a contest and earned all-league honors in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division.
“Williams is a tough and aggressive player that came off the bench and provided the spark for this year’s team. He was our best ball defender and he took pride in guarding and shutting down the opponent’s best player,” Crum said.
Jeremiah Davis
Harper Creek
One of the leading scorers in the area, Davis had a breakout junior season as a first-year starter as he helped Harper Creek to a 12-9 season. The Beavers, having to replace five starters this year, leaned on Davis as he earned team Offensive MVP honors.
Davis averaged 20 points per game and three assists per game as he earned all-league honors in the Interstate 8 Conference.
“We knew he could score the basketball, but what really impressed me is that he had to handle it and score for us to be successful, which he did,” Harper Creek coach Matt Bowling said. “He showed he wasn’t one dimensional and that made him tough to guard.”
Brandan Settles
Harper Creek
After waiting his turn to be a starter, Settles had a big senior season for Harper Creek as his leadership skills helped the Beavers to a 12-9 season. After getting playing time last year as a junior, Settles was a key all-around player for Harper Creek in 2015-16.
Settles averaged 11 points per game, six rebounds and three assists and was the team Defensive MVP as he earned honorable mention honors for the all-league team in the Interstate 8 Conference.
“Brandan was great for us this year, probably our most consistent verbal leader,” Bowling said. “He is a great team guy, did a lot of things well for us – played good defense, could score going to the basket, a great kid to be around.”
Jared Fisk
Lakeview
Fisk brought senior leadership to the Spartans, but did not have a lot of experience heading into this final year in the Lakeview program. But Fisk finished with a big senior year as he earned all-league honors in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division as the Spartans went 6-15 overall.
Fisk, a 6-foot-5 center, finished with 9.5 points per game and seven rebounds a contest.
“Jared came out of nowhere, after he played on JV last year,” Lakeview coach Steve Wichmann said. “He made the decision over the summer he wanted to play and he got really good as the season came on. He was injured early and when we started playing better it was when he came back and I don’t think that was a coincidence.”
CJ Foster
Lakeview
Lakeview’s young team lacked a lot of returning starters, but did bring back Foster as its point guard as he gave the team leadership during his junior season as the Spartans went 6-15 on the year.
Foster finished with 10 points per game and 3.5 steals and was voted team MVP as he earned all-league honors for Lakeview in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East Division.
“CJ was our go-to guy, he was our team MVP, best defender, and also ended up being our leading scorer. He was the guy that made it all work,” Wichmann said. “I am just excited to have him back for another year because he’s a hard worker and he knows what he needs to work on and I think he’ll do that.”
Ron Jamierson
Pennfield
Listed as a top 100 player in the state list in the preseason, Jamierson had a big junior year for the Panthers with a good all-around season from his point guard spot for a Pennfield team that went 12-9 on the year.
Jamierson earned all-league honors in the Interstate 8 Conference as he averaged 14.2 points per game and 5.1 assists.
“Ron improved a lot during his junior year, one of those kids that puts as much work in practice and in the offseason as I have ever seen. I expect him to do the same this year because he has some goals he wants to achieve,” Pennfield coach Steve Grimes said.
Steffen Kinne
Pennfield
As the lone senior starter for Pennfield, Kinne had a big season as he was looked to for leadership on and off the court as the Panthers went 12-9 on the year. Kinne, a 6-foot-5 center/forward, played big in the paint for the Panthers and earned all-league honors in the Interstate 8 Conference.
Kinne finished as the team MVP as he averaged 19.3 points per game and 10.6 rebounds for the Panthers.
“Our only senior in the playing rotation. He had a great year. Teams had to double and triple team him on offense and he was a great defensive rebounder as well,” Grimes said.
Drew Lantinga
St. Philip
Lantinga, a junior on a young St. Philip team, helped the Tigers to an 8-13 record as he gave the team some experience in the paint as a starter this year after being a role player last season.
Lantinga, who was injured late in the year, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds and earned all-league honors for the Tigers and was the team MVP.
“Drew is a double-double guy. We struggled on the boards all year and Drew was the guy we relied on for that. He was also the guy who guarded the other team’s best player and when he got hurt at the end of the year, we struggled without him,” St. Philip coach Dino English said.
Ben Swagler
St. Philip
Swagler, a junior guard, helped St. Philip to an 8-13 record on the season in his first year as a full-time starter. Taking over the point guard duties, Swagler earned all-league honors for the Tigers.
Swagler finished with 14.5 points per game and three steals.
“Swags had a really good junior year for us, really good scorer and is learning to become a really good point guard,” English said. “He’s always been a scorer, so he’s learning to be a point guard to put the two together.”
HONORABLE MENTION
Brett White (BCC), Jahmiel Wade (BCC), David Thompson (Harper Creek), DeVaire Todd (Pennfield), Francois Jamierson (Pennfield), Gavin Homer (Lakeview), Zach Nelson (St. Philip)
Contact Bill Broderick (269) 966-0678 or bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick