Colleges, prep schools all want Trey McKenney. But OL St. Mary's star wants another state title

EAST LANSING — A championship medal hung around Trey McKenney’s neck Saturday afternoon, but there was something else to remind him he had just led Orchard Lake St. Mary’s to a state title:

A bump on his forehead.

“It was a real physical game,” McKenney said. “I think it was an elbow.”

Elbows were certainly flying as St. Mary’s found a way to outlasted a scrappy North Farmington team and post a 63-52 victory to claim the Division 1 state title before 5,723 fans at the Breslin Center.

The way to get past St. Mary’s was for the Eaglets (27-1) to get the ball to McKenney, 6-foot-5 junior who is a five-star recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite ranking, with a list of offers a mile long. And that includes Michigan State and Michigan.

McKenney was terrific again, scoring 32 points by hitting 8 of 12 shots, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range and making all 14 of his free-throw attempts along with grabbing 10 rebounds.

The free throws were crucial because North Farmington’s press turned the fourth quarter into a free-throw shooting contest.

St. Mary’s scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and 17 of them came at the free-throw line, half of them by McKenney.

A scoring machine

The only way to become a proficient free-throw shooter is to shoot them, day after day.

“I’m in the gym every day, so that’s not something that’s new to me,” he said. “Just being in the gym all the time.”

McKenney was the guy from the get-go, scoring 11 points in the first quarter as St. Mary’s built a 16-7 lead.

“It was me getting to my spots in the first quarter and I was open,” McKenney said. “So it was just me executing and scoring shots. Then just being physical and getting rebounds. Just doing anything to win the game.”

Leading 25-19 at the half, McKenney nearly put North Farmington (24-3) away in the third quarter, scoring 12 more points as the Eagles took a 42-26 lead.

After McKenney hit a basket and added two free throws, St. Mary’s lead was 20 early in the fourth quarter and we were on the verge of a blowout. But that’s when things whet nuts.

All of a sudden North’s full-court press, which the players affectionately refer to as 32 minutes of hell, began to work and the Raiders turned it into 8 minutes of hell for St. Mary’s, which had more turnovers than Betty Crocker, nine in the eight-minute quarter.

“The press at the end of the game was a lot of pressure,” McKenney said. “Just being able to look at our coach and have him give us the game plan and us execute it, I felt we had a good chance of winning the game.”

As long as that game plan involved getting the ball to McKenney, yeah, the Eaglets were going to win.

But that doesn’t mean it was easy as North cut the lead to single digits in the final minutes.

“It was very physical,” McKenney said. “That press, the traps, just being able to squeeze through the traps and find the open man. It was a real, real physical game.”

'I know I'm a tough handle'

The most overlooked part of McKenney’s game is his defense. North’s Tyler Spratt scored 17 points, but with McKinney hounding him, hit just 6 of 16 shots. Landon Williams also scored 16 points for the Raiders.

“I knew they were going to come in tough,” McKenney said. “They have good players, Tyler and Landon, I knew they were going to play so I had to come with that same mindset and just come hungry.”

Despite being the focal point of North’s defense, McKenney wasn’t surprised by his 32-point effort, which was 10 points above his season average.

“I know I’m a tough handle,” he said. “So it was just me getting to my spots, make shots. It was going for me today so that was pretty good.”

There really wasn’t much more North coach Todd Negoshian could do to keep McKenney from dominating the game.

“Can he graduate early?” Negoshian asked, rhetorically. “He’s tough, he does a lot of things. He’s got an NBA style game right now with floaters and fadeaways and he’s so strong.”

McKenney likes to emulate Devin Booker’s game, but there is more to McKinney than just basketball. He is also vice president of the junior class.

“He’s very, very good but I think the biggest thing that people need to realize about him is how good of a kid he is,” Negoshian said. “He’s very nice, very cordial to us as a staff and our players. Most kids, when they’re that skilled, don’t behave the way he does and carry themselves like he does.”

Only a junior, McKenney has an immediate goal set for himself.

“I’m going to try to get one next year, too,” he said. “A state championship at Orchard Lake.”

Sticking around

For the last two years people have wondered if or when McKenney might bolt to a prep school, as Darius Acuff did after winning a state title at Detroit Cass Tech last year.

Acuff is now playing at IMG Academy, a prep school in Florida. And McKenney is a target of prep schools.

“Most every prep school in the country wants me right now,” he said. “But I’m just focused on graduating from Orchard Lake, which I’m going to do. I’ll come back here next year and hopefully get a state championship.”

McKenney assured the media he was not going to pull an Acuff or even an Emoni Bates, who left Ypsilanti Lincoln after winning a title as a freshman.

Winning this was too much fun and he wants to do it again. The kid understands you only go through high school once and why not do it with your best friends?

“This just means everything,” he said. “For our school coming out to support us and everything being in a brotherhood, an actual brotherhood. Everybody loving on each other and helping each other win. Everybody wants to see the next one succeed.”

So McKenney wants to do this all over again next season at St. Mary’s not some prep school, which is his story and he’s sticking to it.

“No, I’m going to come back,” he said with a nod. "It’s kind of crazy, just being a kid from Flint. It’s just crazy.”

Earvin Johnson, before the world grew to know him as Magic, won the 1977 state title at Lansing Everett and went on to win an NCAA title at Michigan State and then a bundle of NBA titles with the Lakers.

To this day, Johnson says his favorite championship was the one he won at Everett.

So, yeah, there is no need for McKenney to leave for a prep school.

“I’m kind of sore a little bit, but it was all worth it, winning that game,” he said with that bump on his forehead. “It’s one of the biggest games you’ll ever play in your life.”

How can you not love this kid?

That was rhetorical, too.

Mick McCabe is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@gmail.com. Follow him @mickmccabe1. Save 10% on his new book, “Mick McCabe’s Golden Yearbook: 50 Great Years of Michigan’s Best High School Players, Teams & Memories,” by ordering right now at McCabe.PictorialBook.com.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: OLSM's Trey McKenney in high demand after MHSAA hoops state title wins