Drive to Detroit: Metro Detroit Talent Takes the Stage at Motor City Madness

Drive to Detroit: Metro Detroit Talent Takes the Stage at Motor City Madness

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Lance Rinker

Photo courtesy of Julian H. Gonzalez/Detroit Free Press via Zuma Press

Drive to Detroit is a series that prepares fans for Motor City Madness. Each article will take fans behind the scenes of a team’s journey or preview what fans can expect when they arrive in Detroit.

In this installment of Drive to Detroit, the Horizon League highlights Metro Detroit prep products who will be returning to Detroit for Motor City Madness with their respective collegiate clubs.
 

(Jan. 26, 2018) — March 2-6, all 20 of the Horizon League’s men’s and women’s basketball programs will take center stage at state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena in Detroit for Motor City Madness — an 18-game slate of college basketball that will see two teams realize their dreams of clinching an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
 
Among the talent showcased throughout the five-day tournament will be student-athletes hailing from locations as near as Chicago and Indianapolis and as far as Ireland and Serbia.
 
For several student-athletes, Motor City Madness will serve as a homecoming of sorts, with 30 current Horizon League basketball players having enjoyed prep success starring at high schools within the Detroit metropolitan area.
 
Fans of Detroit boy’s high school basketball may remember local standouts such as Detroit Mercy’s Corey Allen, who was a 2016 finalist for Michigan’s Mr. Basketball award at Ypsilanti, or Oakland point guard Brailen Neely, who — alongside Golden Grizzly teammate Julius Palmer and Detroit Mercy’s Gerald Blackshear Jr. and Josh McFolley — helped Detroit Western to a perfect 26-0 season and MHSAA Class A state championship in 2015. (Pictured above)
 
On the women’s side, Detroit Mercy freshman Kayla Brown enjoyed a standout career at Robichaud; as a senior last season, she was one of 13 players in the state of Michigan to be nominated for a spot in the McDonald’s All-American Game. Her current Titan teammate, Lexey Tobel, was a three-time All-State selection at Hartland. As a senior, Tobel was tabbed Livingston County Player of the Year.
 
Below is a list of the 21 men’s and nine women’s players who will be returning to Metro Detroit with a chance to bask in the limelight of Little Caesars Arena in front of friends and family.
 
#HLMBB Metro Detroit players (21)
 
Cleveland State (2)
Kenny Carpenter (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech), Terrell Hales (Detroit, Mich./Frederic Douglass)

  • Carpenter earned All-Metro Detroit honors and led Cass to a district title as a senior.
 
Detroit Mercy (10)
Corey Allen (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti), Jack Ballantyne (Shelby Township, Mich./Dakota), DeShawndre Black (Westland, Mich./John Glenn), Gerald Blackshear Jr. (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Western), Ed Carter III (Detroit, Mich./Edison), Musial Gjysma (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights), Jermaine Jackson Jr. (Shelby Township, Mich./Dakota), Tariiq Jones (Detroit, Mich./Dakota), Jacob Joubert (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington), Josh McFolley (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Western)
  • As seniors, Blackshear Jr. and McFolley starred alongside current Oakland players Brailen Neely and Julius Palmer at Detroit Western where they captured the 2015 MHSAA Class A state championship with an unblemished record of 26-0.
  • Jermaine Jackson Jr., son of current Detroit Mercy assistant coach and 1999 Horizon League Player of the Year Jermaine Jackson, led Dakota to four-straight MAC Red titles and district championships. He was a four-time All-State selection and was named Macomb County Player of the Year as a senior. At Dakota, Jackson Jr. played alongside current Titan teammates Tariiq Jones and Jack Ballantyne.
 
Green Bay (1)
Kameron Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi)
 
Oakland (6)
Nick Daniels (Westland, Mich./John Glenn), Chris Gilbert (Fenton, Mich./Fenton), Brailen Neely (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Western), Karmari Newman (Detroit, Mich./East English Village Prep), Julius Palmer (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Western), Martez Walker (Detroit, Mich./Pershing)
  • Daniels finished his prep career as John Glenn’s all-time leading scorer and comprised a lethal backcourt tandem with current Detroit Mercy guard DeShawndre Black.
  • Walker led Pershing to a 46-4 record in his two seasons there, including a flawless 22-0 mark in league play. As a senior, Walker helped Pershing to a 25-1 record and an appearance in the MHSAA Class A quarterfinals.
 
Youngstown State (2)
Devin Haygood (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln), Cameron Morse (Flint, Mich./Carman-Ainsworth)
  • Morse was named the Flint Journal and Saginaw Valley League Player of the Year as a senior at Carman-Ainsworth.
 


#HLWBB Metro Detroit players (9)

Detroit Mercy (5)
Kayla Brown (Flint, Mich./Robichaud), Zoey Oatis (Detroit, Mich./Cass Technical), Lola Ristovski (Sterling Heights, Mich./University Liggett), Lexey Tobel (Hartland, Mich./Hartland), Cortney Williams (Southfield, Mich./Southfield)
  • Starring at Robichaud, Brown was one of only 13 players from the state of Michigan to be named a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee.
  • Tobel, a three-time All-State selection and 2016-17 Livingston County Player of the Year, helped Hartland to a 71-21 record during her career, three district titles, and an MHSAA Class A quarterfinal appearance in 2015.
 
Oakland (1)
Taylor Jones (Detroit, Mich./Mercy)
 
UIC (2)
Tia Tedford (Detroit, Mich./Martin Luther King Jr.), Kara Wilson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron)
  • Last season, Tedford led MLK to a 22-2 record and the No. 1 ranking in Michigan entering the state tournament.
  • Wilson, a four-time conference and district champion, led Huron to the state quarterfinals as both a junior and a senior.
 
Youngstown State (1)
Amara Chikwe (Westland, Mich./Wayne Memorial)
  • Chikwe transferred from Huron and, as a senior, helped Wayne Memorial to the district semifinals after the program was winless the previous season.
 


MOTOR CITY MADNESS
The 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championship will take place March 2-6 at state-of-the-art Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Tickets can be purchased now at campus box offices or at HorizonLeague.com.
 


Drive to Detroit series
1: The District Detroit
2: College Hoops Invades Little Caesars Arena
3: #HLWBB Garners National Acclaim as League Play Tips Off
4: A Visitor's Overview
5: Five Awesome Spots to Eat During Motor City Madness
6: Horizon League Schools Making an Impact in the Detroit Community
7: Metro Detroit Talent Takes the Stage at Motor City Madness