Mid Michigan Destroyers Ready For Home Opener

Saturday (7:00pm) & Sunday (1:00pm) Games This Weekend at Western High Gym

January 4, 2009       Leave a Comment
By: John Keuvelaar

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After months of planning, organizing, scouting and practicing, the Mid Michigan Destoyers are ready to launch their Premier Basketball League home opener Saturday night at Western High School.

The game showcases a rematch of their league opener this past Saturday night at Detroit against the Panthers who defeated the Destroyers 114 to 111. The game itself carries much more significance than avenging a loss. The January 10th home opener offers the opportunity to show mid Michigan the high talent fast pace action this league is known for.

"The strength as a group (of our team) is our athleticism which translates into our defensive pressure and our intensity," explained Head Coach TJ Newsham. "We can do some things and afford to do some things as we've got some quickness." So what can we expect from a new team? Coach Newsham explained; "We've got a goal in our organization to win our division. This is obtainable as we have a wide talent pool to draw from." Noting that high schools have a limited talent pool to draw from and colleges have to work with recruiting, "We look for players that fit our coaching philosophy. They all fit into a certain piece of a puzzle. We feel we are competitive to meet our goal of winning the division."

And a key to obtaining that goal is hard work and a positive drive by the coaching staff and the organization. As noted by forward David Williams, a four year starter for Saginaw Valley State University and 4 year player in the IBL, "It feels good to be a Destroyer. I am working a lot harder now than I ever have to make it to the next level. I've got more people here with this organization that are pushing me harder than in any other organization that I have played for."

With this type of commitment and work ethic, this should be a very talented and entertaining team.

Coach Newsham explained that a key component to this team is point guard Troy Coleman. "Troy last played in Europe for Estonia. He is a Chauncey Billups type of player. He is a real leader on the floor. He runs when he has to, finds the right guy, can shoot and is patient."


Two of the big men that Coleman will be putting the ball into their hands are David Williams and Luke Lloyd. Coach Newsham observed that Williams has a lot of tools that will allow him to advance to the next level. Having been invited to tryout by Coach Newsham after playing against him in a summer league, Williams is excited to return to the area where he played his college ball.

Luke Lloyd is a 6foot 9 inch forward from Flint Southwestern High School. After playing for Morehead State University of Kentucky, he went on to play in Europe. Lloyd last played for Finland where he holds the Finland single playoff game in rebounds with 31. His ability to score, rebound and play defense with be a key factor in the play in the paint.


Coach Newsham is looking to Chuck Reed to be his Top role player. Having last played in Italy, Reed brings to the team the ability to play point guard as well as a shooting guard. "He is a top role player where he doesn't have to have the ball in his hands to do good things and he plays defense," explained Coach Newsham.

The Destroyers have strong outside shooting to compliment their inside play. Justin Hall is a six foot four graduate of the University of Toledo and last played in Germany. He has strong outside range. As noted by Coach Newsham, when combined with Bobo, this gives the Destroyers a strong outside wing attack.

Odgra Bobo is considered a rookie in the league. Being from Tennessee and having played at Oakland Community College, he will be exciting to watch. At six foot six inches, he has a vertical leap of 44 inches and knows how to put the ball in the net. For OCC Coach Newsham notes, "(He) averaged 27 to 28 points, tops in the junior college level so he brings a scoring mentality to our wing."

Jeff Jasyn is an All American shooting guard from Aquinas College. Coach Newsham says he is a "strong kid who can really put the ball in the basket. He is going to make it real hard on defenses to double team (the other players)."

The Destroyers take on the Detroit Panthers Saturday, Jan 10 at 7:00 pm at Western High School in Auburn. They play the following afternoon at 1:00 pm at Western against the Augusta Groove from Georgia. Tickets are $6 general admission with $10 for court-side seats. Bring the family and enjoy the fun of Destroyer Basketball.

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John Keuvelaar
John Keuvelaar is a college student at Midwest Photography Workshops and Delta College. More from John Keuvelaar

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