In this episode of On the Mitten Road with GC, it’s Grand Rapids City League Pride weekend to support their Scholarship programs. Check out our interview with Michael “Pops” Sims!
Category: Local News
News and updates on players, coaches and more from Grand Rapids, MI #BeerCityUSA
Dutton Days is in a league of its own
When we finally figured out who was the designated driver for the day, the crew headed out On the Mitten Road last Saturday for Dutton Days in southern Kent County.
The 15-minute drive to Dutton, MI for their annual parade, beer tent and festival took 
us to Railtown Brewing, who renamed their Bike Ride Blonde as Brody’s Blonde for the day. Railtown was donating $1 from every pint sold to the Hope for Brody fundraiser, there were also growlers for sale dedicated to the cause. Gim Lee and the guys at RB were serving some limited editions in the beer tent.
Arts and crafts vendors, jewelry artists and local 
businesses were on hand to get to know the public. We never made it over to the Motorcycle and Car Show or the Kids Zone, but found a gem in local legend and Grand Rapids Chicks star Dolly Konwinski. Dolly had pictures, cards and books available for sale and autographing. After we talked for a bit about her days teaching kids andumpiring games, including some of my own, through Kentwood Baseball Little League, I was lucky enough to get a photo with her.
Happy Birthday to the Dunk King, Porter Maberry
Happy Birthday, Porter Maberry! Grand Rapids’ own 5’5″ professional dunker and winner of the TNT series The Dunk King turns 26 today.
Congrats on the title and thanks for keeping Beer City on the map!
Talking hoops with Thomas Kelley
The Beer City Hoops crew was blessed with the opportunity to talk to Union Red Hawk star alum and MSU graduate team manager Thomas Kelley. We had some questions about the state of basketball in GR, what kids can look forward to as they make the climb from high school to the real world and, as always, the ever-elusive list, “Who is GR’s Top 5?”.
What do you think about the work GRPS is doing in bringing attention to the district and showing off the level of athletic competition recently?
“It’s a great thing for the city of Grand Rapids. With Ottawa Hills having the Floyd Mayweather Classic and now Union having its’ Showcase. Great thing and a great opportunity for the youth to show their talent.”
Kelley went on, talking about his time as a Red Hawk, “My time at Union was great. Always looked forward to going to Union since I was young. My parents went there. Uncles, aunts, pretty much everyone in my family attended Union. So the Red Hawk blood runs deep for me. As soon I as I stepped foot in there, I wanted to do my best to bring the basketball culture back like that had in 80’s. A lot of my childhood friends attended Union as well, so I felt very comfortable. The staff was great also. From Ron Maybin as the athletic director, Mr. Walker and Ms. Chambers being an influence to all of us. Made the transition easier.”
The varsity boys basketball team is off to a great start and getting a lot of attention from the media. What do you tell the kids as the season moves towards the playoffs? Â
“(The) biggest challenge about the high school playoffs is simple. ONE AND DONE! It’s different than the professional ranks. Played in Europe for 15 years. So (over) there, we used a series for a playoff format. So you can make adjustments. But high school, it’s just like the NCAA tournament. It’s the best team on that given night, which can be tough if a team gets hot. Have to be able to make in game adjustments right then and there. No time for another game. If you can’t, you’re done!”
Kelley went on, “My advice to kids. Take advantage of your window. Don’t rush things. Soak up all the knowledge you can. Take advantage of the sources around you academically and athletically. Hey, because most high school kids think they know it all. Been through it and we do not.”
Geno was a bit reluctant, but went with family, friends, legends and teammates, yourself included. Care to name your local top five players?
“Top 5 is so hard. A lot of people can make a case. Going back for me, my uncle Donte Kelley, who is a Redhawks himself. He was a heck of player. Also my cousin, Jamie Cole, who went to Creston, had a great high school career. But for me in my time… Tough. My 5 would myself with Geno Carlisle, Thomas Kilgore, Ennis Young and Justin Jennings. All 5 from high school right into college went Division 1.”
Any last thoughts?
“Want to give a shout to Brandeon Guyton, the high school coach at Union, trying his best to turn things around, and the Athletic Director Justin Walker. They are doing a good job. Shout out to GRPS as well.”
And with that, Kelley said his goodbyes and headed off for a contest at Northwestern with MSU hoops.
Livin’ the dream on Tom Izzo’s bench. Carry on, Red Hawk!
Talking hoops with former Union star Geno Carlisle
The 2nd annual Red Hawk Showcase is right around the corner.
One of the best high school teams in West Michigan will host a full day of basketball on February 6th at Union HS on Grand Rapids’ west side.
I recently went back and forth with my childhood friend and former Union Red Hawk star Geno Carlisle to talk about his time at Grand Rapids Union and the grind that kids playing now can look forward to in college and beyond.
With the Red Hawks’ boys team ranked #1 in the area on my list, the former Northwestern and Cal-Berkeley star addressed his start at Union after transferring across town from Ottawa Hills,
“My time at Union was exhilarating to say the least. It presented me with a feeling of both fascination and uncertainty. This was mainly because two rivals I’d grown up battling, Thomas Kelly and Thomas Kilgore, would soon become allies. I adapted very quickly to my transition to Union. I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of culture, the size of the school, as well as how well I got along with mostly everyone on the team. It was a school full of spirit and personality that started from the principal Mr. Maben to the Athletic Director Mr. Walker and on down to the teachers. They really had a genuine concern for their students and athletes alike!”
Carlisle went on, turning to the dominant basketball team,
“As far as our basketball team, we were loaded! So much so that I don’t even think we realized it. We had 3 future D1 guards for major Universities with Thomas Kelly, Thomas Kilgore, and myself. Athletic wingman like Terry Peak, dead eye 3 point shooters like Akai Smith, and a great head coach in Ernie Johnson. We really had a lot of good times both on and off the court.”
With the Red Hawks, ranked #20 in mLive.com’s HS rankings, coming off a 54-33 loss to #12 Muskegon, this 7-2 Union squad has a couple steps to climb to play with the state’s best. Carlisle told me,
“I think the biggest challenge in high school playoffs is the feeling that if you lose, your done. I’m not sure how it is now but back then, in city league championships and regionals, if you lost it was over. So there is a much greater pressure to perform. At the same time, those are the moments you live for so the pressure just turns to adrenaline. That’s when the cream rises to the top.”
You don’t just get to get there, to the top, that is. Carlisle advice on continued improvement and dedication,
“My advice for kids to get better is to continuously work on their game. All facets… I use to have my mother drop me off at the YMCA around 7 am on Saturday morning and I will stay there until 9 or ten pm. I would pick a spot and shoot 50 shots or 100 from that one spot until I like the way the ball swished. Then I would spend hours dribbling, imagining I was surrounded by my rivals. I would imagine the crowd. Fall asleep on the court…”
“And after that quick nap?”, I asked.
“Wake up and then play and practice some more. I was obsessed and in love with the smell of the ball and the gym. In love with the stories that I’s heard about great players. I would meditate and imagine myself doing the things I’d heard about. That’s what’s missing with players today. They think drills will make them great but just because you can use a paint brush it doesn’t make you an artist. You have to have a love in your spirit to the point that it’s no longer work but a fascination. The most important advice I would give a kid would be confidence. I wasn’t the best in high school but you couldn’t make me believe that. From 11yrs old til the time I left I thought I was the most prolific scorer and unstoppable dribbler on the planet and no one could convince me otherwise. I was overconfident but it was also based on my training. Confidence and hard work is everything.”
Carlisle should know a bit about confidence and hard work. He chased his dreams, starred in high school and college and made his way to the pros. Yes, even the NBA.
I went on to pester him to give me his GR Top 5, but he’d only go as far as,
“It’s very hard to Rank a top 5 because I was always fascinated by players that came before me, like my father Clarence and uncle Elmo Carlisle. I would always hear about legends before me so I would always go old school for my picks.”
Forcefully, I leaned on the keyboard and pressed for more.
“If I had to pick 5 while I was playing,
- Thomas Kelly – Union
- Thomas Kilgore – Union
- Ennis Young – Ottawa Hills
- Jermaine Carter – Creston
- Shawn Kneeland – East Kentwood
in no particular order.”
That’s three teammates, a rival and a neighbor.
He made the GSCeltic Top 10 in GR list, most likely because of his infectious smile, and Geno always has a minute for an old friend from the streets of childhood and a “Hi!” for my dad every time we talk. That’s why I love this dude.
Check out a loaded lineup of high school basketball on February 6th at GR Union HS.
Tickets are $10 for the entire day.
- 1pm: Stevensville-Lakeshore vs. Wayland
- 3pm: #16 Detroit Allen Academy vs. Northpointe Christian
- 4:30pm: New Haven vs. Lowell
- 6pm: Detroit Cornerstone vs. #20 Union
- 7:30pm: Saginaw vs. #5 Godwin Heights
30 Years Later, Part 9: David Thirdkill
Born in St. Louis and nicknamed, “The Sheriff”, David Thirdkill was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 15th pick in the 1982 NBA Draft out of Southern Idaho and Bradley University. The 6-7 small forward played five seasons in the League, from 1982 to 1987, playing for the Suns, Pistons, Bucks, Spurs and Celtics. After averaging nearly 26 minutes per game for the Spurs to finish the 1984-85, Thirdkill found himself in Boston averaging around 8 minutes but winning a ring in 1986. He’d later play overseas.
30 Years Later, Part 8: Jerry Sichting
Jerry Sichting was a scrappy 6-1, 190 pound guard from Martinsville, IN who excelled in three sports in high school, including  quarterbacking his team to a 14-0 record in 1974. He played at Purdue alongside Joe Berry Carroll.
He was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 4th round of the 1979 NBA Draft but never played for them. He started the season with the Indiana Pacers and spent five season in his home state before being traded to the Boston Celtics before the 1985-86 season. Sichting became a fan favorite and a scrappy defender, even getting into a donnybrook with Ralph Sampson in Game 5 of the NBA Finals before winning his Championship ring in ’86. He would later play for the TrailBlazers, Hornets and Bucks before retiring in 1990. Sichting later made his way to the broadcast booth with the Celtics.
His coaching career is mostly as an assistant with the Timberwolves, Warriors and Wizards and currently in Phoenix. He had other stints at Marquette and Martinsville High School.
30 Years Later, Part 7: Robert Parish
“The Chief” was the oldest of the Big Three, he played the most games and you won’t find any of his collegiate statistics in an NCAA record book. Robert Parish came out of Centenary College in 1975 and was drafted by three different basketball teams in three different leagues but chose to sign with the recent NBA Champions Golden State Warriors, who were already in a  bit of a decline. His college stats are unknown because of a NCAA rule named the 1.6 rule, which is like trying to get credit from ITT Tech to transfer to Stanford.
In 1980, Red Auerbach traded 2 first-round picks, including the #1 overall included to Golden State for the #3 overall(McHale) and Parish. And so began The Big Three Era.
Parish played in an NBA record 1161 games and is the oldest player to win an NBA title(as of 2015) and 3rd oldest ever to play an NBA game.
The Chief is a consultant to the Celtics organization and is a mentor and coach for the Boston big men.
30 Years Later, Part 6: Kevin McHale
Kevin McHale may be the best power forward to play the game before we saw Tim Duncan take the floor. McHale, the 6-10 power forward voted the #1 player in the University of Minnesota’s 100-years of basketball, was drafted third overall by the Celtics in 1980.
After playing his rookie year coming off the bench behind Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and helped Boston win the 1981 NBA Finals. McHale was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year following the ’84 & ’85 campaigns and would also win titles with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986. Named to the All-NBA First Team in 1987, the 7-time All-Star, was also a 3-time All-Defense First Team winner. McHale’s #32 is hang in in the rafters at the TD Garden, while his #44 Golden gophers jersey is retired by Minnesota.
McHale took over the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004-05 for 31 games, leading them to a 19-12 record. In 2008 he took the reigns again, this time for 63 games amid a 20-43 record. In 2011, the Houston Rockets hired McHale and he’s helped them progress to a Championship caliber unit, losing in the Conference Finals this past year.
You can look forward to another uptempo, chaotic brand of basketball in Houston this year as the roster has been updated and the quality of talent has been upgraded with the addition of Ty Lawson at the point.
30 Years Later, Part 5: Greg Kite
When the Boston Celtics selected Greg Kite in the 1st Round of the 1983 NBA Draft out of Brigham Young University, the 6’11” center was coming off a 4-year career in which he averaged 6.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Lucky enough to spend time on the court with HOF inductees Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson, Kite won NBA Titles with the Celtics in 1984 & 1986. He was part of the inaugural season of the expansion Charlotte Hornets in 1988-89 and later played for the Orlando Magic, starting in their second season of 1990-91. Kite played for 7 teams and retired in 1995.