All Basketball - Boys Stories

Basketball - Boys

50-in-50: Top 50 boys basketball players in Oakland County over the past 50 years - Nos. 1-10





















— Utterly dominant and the best player in the nation as a prepster in 1991, Webber was the definition of a phenom and started all four years at Country Day, leading the Yellowjackets to three state titles in a row (the first of the program’s nine) in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Over his last three years in high school, he averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds, six blocks and four slam dunks per game, overpowering opponents with sheer athleticism and strength, whether on the blocks or on the fast break. He was MVP and hit the game-winning shot in the 1991 McDonald’s All-American Game. In college, he was the centerpiece of the vaunted, trend-setting “Fab Five” at Michigan, a group of five high-profile recruits that joined forces to guide the Wolverines to repeat appearances in the NCAA National Championship Game in 1992 and 1993, respectively. As a sophomore in 1993, Webber was the National Player of the Year and became the first pick in the NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic (later traded to the Golden State Warriors). During his pro career, he played 15 years for five teams (Golden State, Sacramento, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington). He was Rookie of the Year in 1994 and a five-time All-Star selection, compiling a career average 20 points and just about 10 rebounds per night and a legacy as one of the most dangerous power forwards in the NBA in the 1990s and early 2000s. Retiring in 2008, he’s currently a television broadcast analyst.

— The most celebrated of the accomplished Russell brothers, the first family of hoops in the city of Pontiac, Campy was an All-American in high school at Central and college at the University of Michigan. While at Central he was a two-time first-team all-state pick and someone people tapped as the most lethal offensive high school player in the country. Russell’s 1970 Central team is considered by many the best team in Oakland County history – the Chiefs were upset in the state finals by Detroit Pershing 86-81 and Russell averaged 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game (he broke his brother’s single-game record with 48 points as a senior in 1971). A three-year starter at Michigan, he averaged 24 points per game and was Big Ten Player of the Year in 1974 on a Wolverines squad that made it to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. Forgoing his senior season, he turned pro and was the 8th pick overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played most of his pro career and was named an NBA All-Star in 1979. He averaged 22 points a game in his All-Star season and 16 points per game for his 11-year career.

— Patrolled the paint in high school, leading Country Day to three straight Class B state championships, receiving Mr. Basketball and McDonald’s All-American honors as a senior in 1997. At the college level, was one of the all-time greats at Duke, captaining the Blue Devils to a National Championship and collecting National Player of the Year and Final Four MVP honors in 2001 while playing mostly on the outside and gaining the reputation as possibly the best defender in the country, too. Played over a dozen years in the NBA, after being chosen in the NBA Draft Lottery (6th overall) by the Memphis Grizzlies, filling a major complimentary role as a 3-point shooting and defensive specialist on a pair of World Championship Miami Heat clubs (2012-2013). Retiring in 2014, he’s currently a television broadcast analyst.

— Maybe the top pure center in the annals of Oakland County prep hoops, the seven-foot McCormick averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and almost seven blocks per game as a senior at Clarkston in 1980 when he led the Wolves to a perfect regular season and an appearance in the Class A final four with a 26-1 record in a McDonald’s All-American campaign. Most experts agree if the Mr. Basketball award would have been around at the time (it began in 1981), he would have walked away with the hardware. Choosing to continue his college career at the University of Michigan, where he started in the middle for a number of years, he was selected 12th overall in the 1st Round of the 1984 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics. McCormick played in the league for 10 seasons with six different teams (the Supersonics, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets), averaging career totals of 8 points and 6 rebounds per game. Today, he is a color analyst on television and radio broadcasts, motivational speaker and co-founder of the Michigan Elite 25 basketball program for the development of the state’s premier high school cage prospects.

— Baby-faced assassin in the backcourt at the point, Armstrong was a first-team all-state selection two years in a row and led Brother Rice into the Class A final four as a junior in 1984. In college, he was a star in the Big Ten with the Iowa Hawkeyes, earning All-Big Ten honors, helping lead the school on trips into the NCAA Elite 8 (1987) and Sweet 16 (1988) and leaving the program as its all-time assists leader. Selected in the 1st Round of the NBA Draft (18th overall) in 1989 by the Chicago Bulls, he played over a decade in the NBA , winning three World Championship rings with Michael Jordan and the Bulls (1991-93) and being named an All-Star in 1994. Besides the Bulls, he also played with the Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets and the Orlando Magic. Spent the first part of his retirement days in the Bulls front office and is currently an agent for such NBA standouts such as Derrick Rose and Draymond Green.

— Probably the most dynamic prep hoop talent Oakland County has witnessed since the start of the New Millennium, Young began his high school career at Troy, blasting onto the scene with a 25-point, 10-rebound outing versus area-heavyweight Clarkston in the first week of his freshman campaign. Would go on to score a career-high 49 points while grabbing 21 rebounds in a game against Clarkston as a junior in 2012. At Troy, the athletic, southpaw swingman took the Colts to back-to-back league titles. Transferring to Rochester for his senior year, he led the Falcons to their best season in program history, a journey that ended in the 2013 Class A quarterfinals. Selected as a McDonald’s All-American and considered a Top 10 recruit in the country (he averaged 27 points, 17 rebounds and six assists per game and was third in the Mr. Basketball vote), Young headed to Kentucky for his college hoops (he penned his NLOI on ESPN) and started on a Wildcats 2014 club that appeared in the NCAA Championship Game (Kentucky lost to Connecticut, but Young led the ‘Cats in scoring with 20 points). Leaving for the pros last spring, he was picked 17th overall in the 1st Round of the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

— The catalyst to Berkley’s ascent as a state power in the 1970s, the 6-foot-8 Flowers was a dominant presence in the post for the Bears prior to going on to play in college for some very good Notre Dame squads (Final Four in 1978) and in the NBA (Cleveland Cavaliers) and overseas. He’s considered an all-time great in the Europe, winning three different Euroleague titles with three different organizations in Italy. A first-team all-state pick as both a junior and senior, as well as a Parade Magazine All-American, people flocked to watch him play. He didn’t disappoint either, putting up prodigious points and rebounding stats (averaged 26 and 20), taking Berkley to three straight league and district titles and only losing four games in his entire varsity career as a Bear. As a senior in 1975, Flowers took an undefeated Berkley team (24-0) into a quarterfinal matchup against Highland Park, a game the Bears lost in front of the last capacity high school tournament crowd at Calihan Hall.

— Tough-as-nails 6-foot-4 guard that could score and defend with the best Oakland County has ever seen, Fife was a four-time all-state pick and named Mr. Basketball in 1998 – started carving his cage legacy as a fab frosh in 1995, scoring 25 points with a separated shoulder against state-powerhouse Pershing in the Class A quarterfinals. Led Clarkston to multiple league, district and regional titles and was a McDonald’s All-American before going on to be a four-year starter in the Big Ten at Indiana University. As a member of the Hoosiers, Fife captained Indiana to a spot in the NCAA Championship Game as a senior in 2002, the same season he was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year. He left IU the program’s all-time leader in steals. After his playing career was over, Fife embarked on a career on the sidelines, becoming the youngest Division I men’s college head coach in 2005 when he accepted the job at IPFW at just 25 years old. Since 2011, he’s been an assistant coach at Michigan State University. Fife was also an all-state quarterback on the football field, like his dad and brother before him, and was the only person to be selected to the Oakland Press’ 50-in-50 series on both the gridiron and the hardwood.

— Led Pontiac Central to the Class A state finals in 1978, earning first-team all-state honors and following in the tradition of his two older brothers, Frank and Campy. In college, Walker D., a 6-foot-5 soft-stroking off guard, played at the University of Houston and Western Michigan, out of where he was picked in the 4th Round of the 1982 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. While at WMU, he was a two-time first-team All-MAC selection. Throughout the 1980s, Russell played in the NBA for the Pistons (member of the 1988 NBA Finals squad), Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers

— Transplanted into Oakland County from Indiana for his last two years of high school, McCallum was electrifying as an all-state point guard at Detroit Country Day, leading the Yellowjackets to a Class B state championship as a senior in 2010. A McDonald’s All-American, he scored 32 points in the state finals against Lansing Sexton, 25 coming in a breathtaking first- half effort. Shunned a cavalcade of major Division I college programs, McCallum chose to go play for his father and namesake at the University of Detroit-Mercy, where he would go on to lead the Titans to a league championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and become Horizon League Player of the Year and scoring champion (19 points per game) in 2013. He’s currently in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.

Last Updated: 3/26/2015 8:56:43 PM EST

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