Call it a lukewarm take, but the 2025-26 season may be neither an up or down one for boys hoops in Oakland County.
Go back two or three seasons and you’ll find Brother Rice, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and North Farmington, as well as a variety of other teams like Detroit Catholic Central and Ferndale scattered throughout the state’s best 10 in their respective divisions. And yes, some of those staples will be there this winter, too.
Where the intrigue lies is in the depth.
The county appears as if it might have a state contender in almost each division, but the wealth of talent in the mitten seems to be distributed fairly well. Arguably half of the state’s best squads appear to be in or west of Lansing. But there’s a good crop of juniors distributed throughout the OC, so if those talents continue to blossom, the balance of power could shift.
Even with several week’s worth of results, offseason player movement can make sorting through the contenders beyond the obvious heavyweights a challenging exercise, but here’s an unassailable list of 10 (in no particular order) that certainly won’t change by mid-January. (All records as of Dec. 17)
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (5-0)
OK, so it’s almost entirely a list in no order. The Warriors might already be 3-0 in the Catholic League (not including a win over Ferndale to open the season) before the break. What’s impressive is that it’s all coming in the absence of senior Greg Grays Jr. (University of Detroit Mercy). Rice has put up at least 64 points in its wins regardless. That’s due to significant frontcourt depth (including senior Trevor Smith, who’s averaging roughly a double-double, and 6-foot-9 sophomore newcomer Stefan Banica), but Jordan McDaniel, just a freshman, is averaging close to 20 points. Finding ways to get everyone touches will be a good problem Warriors coach Rick Palmer has to solve with Grays in the mix. Upcoming showcase games against East Lansing and Rockford are about as good of competition as you can schedule.
Arts & Tech Academy of Pontiac (3-0)
Is a Division 3 team one of the county’s best? That depends who you ask. Some believe ATAP could hold its own in the top divisions of the OAA. Others might concede that to be true, but question whether it could be done on a consistent basis. The Lions, last year’s state runners-up, already have a 60-59 win over the defending D2 champs, Warren Lincoln (yes, they’re rebuilding, but not devoid of underclassmen talent). Sophomore guard Lewis Lovejoy had about half his team’s points in that one, and he alone is a good distributor who can create his own shot, but junior De’Vontae Grandison is a wing with athleticism that teams would dream of as a second option. The Charter School Conference Gold Division is going to produce some great games that will test the Lions this year with opposition like Summit Academy and Chandler Park.
Farmington (2-1)
Some OAA Red teams had to be in here eventually, huh? Farmington finished 19-6 overall and 10-4 in the OAA White last season (no shame in being eliminated by Wayne Memorial in the postseason), and they should be even better now. So far, the Falcons have wins over Ann Arbor Pioneer and Southfield A&T, with a more-than-respectable loss to Avondale. Most know junior Myles Smith as a P4 football recruit, but Smith is equally valuable to his team on the hardwood, and just one of the Falcons’ starters graduated. Byron Johnson’s team will help make the Red a good watch even if it finishes somewhere in the middle.
Clarkston’s Cole Charter (3) brings the ball up the floor during a 67-58 win at Ferndale on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (BRYAN EVERSON – MediaNews Group)
Clarkston (5-0)
The district is still going to be very good, but the Wolves have the talent to do much better than last year’s first-round exit to Avondale. or a fourth-place finish in the OAA Red, for that matter. So far, so good going by the results. They got their league trip to Ferndale out of the way at the right time, beating the Eagles by 12, and upcoming games like Saginaw Heritage and Grand Blanc will provide a good measuring stick over the holidays. Take your pick of whether senior Cole Charter or junior Ace Walters is their best, but Clarkston are also getting increased production from junior Max Harman and senior Hayden Barrow, who are each averaging roughly 10 points and five boards through the team’s first handful of wins.
Avondale’s Ja’Kobe Louris handles the ball in a 58-51 district win against Clarkston on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 in Auburn Hills. (BRYAN EVERSON – MediaNews Group)
Auburn Hills Avondale (5-0)
They have a new coach. There’s a lot of new faces. Regardless, a team that beat Clarkston and lost by one point to Mott in districts last year appears formidable despite graduating Jordan Clayton and Justin Greer-Sykes. The Yellow Jackets, now coached by Aaron Fox, return Ja’Kobe Louris and Noah Bonds and picked up a transfer guard in Max Muhl. It’s already a 2-0 league start (West Bloomfield and Farmington) for ‘Dale, but another good test will come early next week in the D Zone Showcase at Hazel Park against Grand Blanc.
Rochester (6-0)
There probably won’t be a clear favorite for the OAA White until things shake out a bit in January, but Rochester, who moved up after winning the Blue, could end up being it. The Falcons bring back a majority of starters and are getting a ton of production out of junior Nate Tandy, also. Question the quality of opposition faced so far, but Rochester is taking care of business. Its smallest margin of victory so far has come in a 47-38 win at Troy Athens, but otherwise every win has come by 20 points or more.
North Farmington (5-0)
In fairness to other teams who might have been in this spot, the Raiders are beneficiaries of this list being published now and not a few weeks ago. Some of this is recognizing who North Farmington became last year under previous head coach Todd Negoshian when it won five of its final six OAA Red games. Now led by assistant coach Pete Mantyla, the Raiders next D1 college product looks like it’ll be 6-foot-6 junior Connor Brown (who can score and rebound), while senior guard DJ Morgan and sophomore Troy Waldron are back as well for the Raiders, 2-0 already in the OAA, who will be off to the LVC next year.
Waterford Mott (4-1)
Quickly, a nod to the Lakes Valley Conference, who don’t have a current team on this list, though WL Western and Lakeland could each find their way here at some point based on the talent they didn’t graduate. But Mott, despite losing Jacoby Menyweathers and Gavin Ort, would likely remain the favorites (they were co-champs in ’24-25 with WL Central) were the Corsairs still there and not now in the OAA White. Junior Tory Robinson, also a gamer on the gridiron, had a game-winning 3-pointer and exploded for a career-high 37 points against Flint Kearsley, and senior guard Hazaiah Outen already has a few 20-point games under his belt as well. Seniors Maximus Jansenvanvuren and Damari Stephens provide 6-6 frontcourt size for balance.
Ferndale (3-2)
Few teams play the kind of non-league schedule that coach (and AD) Juan Rickman puts together. It’s nothing new, either, after the Eagles started last year facing a Catholic League trio of Brother Rice, Detroit U-D Jesuit and Warren De La Salle to kick things off. So far, Ferndale has paired losses against Brother Rice and Clarkston with wins over River Rouge, Warren Lincoln and league mate Groves, though the chances to pick up a top out-of-division win remain with games still to come against Hamtramck (Dec. 20), Rockford (Dec. 27) and Muskegon (Jan. 3). Seniors Julian Cardenas and Darelle Cochran (a starter last year) are back, but 6-7 junior forward Eden Vinyard is undeniably one of the top talents in the area with a high ceiling college coaches are coveting. Keep an eye on another Eagles junior, Kari Ouwinga, who is 6-5, athletic and is already drawing D1 looks.
Detroit Catholic Central (4-2)
The Shamrocks finished at the absolute bottom of the CHSL Central Division standings and had just one win coming into the playoffs last year. But for all the talk about how playing that league schedule prepares for the postseason, it couldn’t be denied when Catholic Central made a run to a regional final. Now, that adversity has prepared the Shamrocks, who no one should be sleeping on this time around. They’ve already got league wins over Warren De La Salle and Toledo Catholic Central, and only lost by two to Saginaw Heritage. Coach Tory Jackson has what’s shaping up to a very special 2027 bunch that includes 6-4 G/F Andrew Walker, who has recently collected offers from Oakland and Detroit Mercy, 6-4 G/F Wycell Davis (who dropped 28 on Toledo CC and just got his first D1 offer from Eastern Michigan) and G Isaiah McCree.