Columns

Five thoughts on the 2021 basketball season

Boys Basketball

Five thoughts on the 2021 basketball season

2/8/2021 | Boys Basketball | By Bryce Derouin |

Well, we made it. Through the postponements and cancellations, basketball season is here. More than any other year, this is filled with unknowns. Uncertainty about how many games each team will get in, and uncertainty about the overall product out on the floor. With no summer camps and limited physical contact practices, it’s anyone’s guess how this season will play...

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Reaction: Gov. Whitmer suggests MHSAA switches fall, spring seasons

Spring

Reaction: Gov. Whitmer suggests MHSAA switches fall, spring seasons

7/1/2020 | Spring | By Bryce Derouin |

With the state of the high school sports season in flux due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently proposed an alternative schedule: move select fall sports to the spring, and have traditional spring sports take place this fall. Whitmer’s suggestion would delay the upcoming football season to the spring. “I’m also calling on the Michigan High School Athletic...

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Our snubs: All-UP Girls Basketball teams

Girls Basketball

Our snubs: All-UP Girls Basketball teams

4/14/2020 | Girls Basketball | By Staff |

As is tradition, debates ensue in the wake of the All-UP announcements. Players’ skill sets are compared, resumes are discussed and any oversights one may feel are typically brought to attention. It’s the natural result of a subjective voting system that normally includes over 20 voters. This year, selecting the teams was less of an exact science than for previous...

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Projecting the All-UP girls Dream Team

Girls Basketball

Projecting the All-UP girls Dream Team

4/1/2020 | Girls Basketball | By Eden Laase |

If you’ve spent time reading Upbeat, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t tend to write columns. Bryce usually does all the opinion-related articles, but this is one that I’ve been looking forward to all season. Despite the Coronavirus-related chaos that halted things, this was an incredible season of girls basketball. The UP was filled with talent, meaning the Dream Team...

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Projecting the All-UP Boys Dream Team

Boys Basketball

Projecting the All-UP Boys Dream Team

3/30/2020 | Boys Basketball | By Bryce Derouin |

If you listened to a podcast or have followed Eden and me long enough, you’re aware of how plenty of our conversations during a season revolve around high school basketball. Teams, players and storylines are regularly discussed, and for the most part, we tend to agree. But of course, there have been points of contention — moments where my stubbornness...

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All-UP selections to be impacted by suspended play

Boys Basketball

All-UP selections to be impacted by suspended play

3/21/2020 | Boys Basketball | By Bryce Derouin |

If you despise the All-UP selections for their occasional reliance on stats, then do I have some bad news for you. Due to the unique circumstances facing our society, the format for the 2019-20 All-UP basketball selections will be changing. The Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association will not meet to make the annual selections, but instead, the preliminary plan...

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