Seven seniors set the bar for future Comet boys basketball success in the Cascades league

JONESVILLE — A year removed from their Big 8 championship and 2022-23 district title, the Jonesville varsity boys basketball team entered a new era for the program and for coach Jeff Turner. The Comet athletics program would join Homer in their move to the Cascades Conference, leaving behind decades of legacy that included Big 8 rivalries and recent dominance on the basketball court.

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Despite all the changes happening before and in the middle of their 2023-24 season, a group of seniors, returning and new players alike, bonded and brought the team together to earn the program's fourth straight winning season, and 18-7 overall record and a 12-4 finish in their first season of Cascades West basketball.

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After a 1-2 start to the season, the group had four distinct winning streaks that propelled the team to their final record. The team won the Pat Paterson Pool A championship over Reading, their former Big 8 county rivals, at the end of 2023. That sent them on a six-game winning streak. They had another four-game win streak that saw the team get revenge against the Golden Eagles on their home court in a 72-65 overtime final.

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That winning streak sent the team into a matchup with Hanover-Horton in a game that would decide the fate of the Cascades West division title. The two Comet teams have played each other in many meaningful games in recent years, including last year's district final. Jonesville beat them earlier in the New Year, but Hanover got revenge in overtime 72-68 on their home court.

The team would head into the postseason having to battle their way from the district quarterfinals in order to earn a second-straight district title game appearance, starting with a 55-52 quarterfinal win over Hillsdale, earning revenge from an earlier loss.

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They then faced Concord in the semifinals, a team with a terrific offensive scorer in senior Mekhi Wingfield and home-court advantage. It was another thrilling finish, with the Comets putting the finishing at the free-throw line to defeat Concord 54-51.

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It was fitting that they would come face-to-face with the Comets of Hanover-Horton again, this time for the district championship. Jonesville matched the pace of Hanover-Horton in the first half of the district title game, trailing 30-25 after two quarters, but Hanover's ability to drop 3s and a couple timely turnovers would lead Hanover-Horton to a 66-49 victory.

It was a tough and emotional end to an impressive season for seniors Carter Baker, Warrick Elder, Carter Rounds, Micah Calligan, Gavin Van Kampen, David Fowler and Wade Sommers. During the playoff run, the Comets were led by Elder with a total of 54 points. Van Kampen had 38 points.

Elder moved to Jonesville two years ago, where he got to play for coach Jeff Turner and play under his dad and assistant coach Jason Elder. Elder was one of the Hillsdale County boys soccer players of the year this past fall, but the senior's passion for hoops made this season a special one. Warrick was grateful for the hard work the team put in this season, and also for having the opportunity to meet and play for Turner.

"I moved here to years ago and I'm very fortunate to have a great coach in coach Turner," Elder said. "He's become one of my best friends, actually. ... I'm very glad I met him. (The team) worked our butts off this year."

This year saw several senior members earn starting time in bigger roles, and even saw athletes like Micah Calligan put in season-high numbers in the most important games of the year.

"Turner is a very good coach and hard working," Calligan said. "He puts his whole life into it."

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Wade Sommers was grateful for the support from each member of the coaching staff and believes the program has a very bright future ahead.

"I've only been a part of this program for a year, but while I've been here the coaches have been really supportive of me playing," Sommers said. "They do a great job really uplifting (everyone). They are really growing a positive program here and I just appreciate all of that. Good things are going to happen in the future."

Gavin Van Kampen's prep hoops career for the Comets was filled with plenty of impressive accomplishments and memories made, but the work put in to make this group of Comets a family was the biggest highlight this year for an athlete that was also a dream-team cross country runner in the fall.

"I'm just proud of the family that we built," Van Kampen said. "We came here, and played hard, and did all that we could ask for and came up a little short of what we wanted. I'm so proud of everyone that was here with us; the coaches and just everybody. I want to thank coach Turner and coach Elder for pushing us every day to be the best players we could be and for making us a family."

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At the end of the Cascades season, Edler and Van Kampen both earned first-team all-conference honors, with Elder being named to the conference dream team list. Calligan was named to the honorable mention conference team.

With the departure of the seven seniors, the Comets now have set the bar and standard of success to reach for in the Cascades Conference going forward. Looking to carry on that torch will be returning all-conference honorees Caleb Blonde and Drew Bradley. Bonde, a freshman, earned first-team honors this season. Bradley was a second-team honoree. Other returning members will include Makinlee Packer, Nicholas Fowler and Ian Doyle.

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This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: How Comet seniors set the bar for boys hoops' future in Cascades