Thoughts on Coach of the Year

Here are who I consider to be the top candidates for the coach from Oakland County for Boys and Girls basketball

GIRLS

After the Southfield Christian girls basketball team’s impressive showing in the playoffs, which included the Eagle’s first district title in 28 years, it became apparent that head coach Seena Allen should be considered as THE frontrunner for coach of the year. In her first year as head coach at the high school level, Allen took the Eagles to new heights, leading the Eagles to a 20-6 record along with a regional finals appearance where we saw Southfield Christian push heavy favorites Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes to the edge before falling at the end.

This season was no fluke either, as freshman phenom Charity Godbold as well as hard-nosed junior Alexis Hart, who was unable to play against WOLL due to an ankle injury suffered in the regional semi-finals, are two of three starters returning next season for the Eagles. In just one season as head coach, Allen has turned Southfield Christian into serious contenders for a very longtime.

BOYS

Throughout all of his years coaching at Clarkston, Dan Fife may not have had a better of a season on the bench than the one he had this season. After a rough 1-3 start, Fife's Wolves were virtually unbeatable for the remainder of the season, including grabbing yet another district title before falling at the hands of Bay City Western in the Regional final. Up until that regional finals loss, the Wolves went off on a 15 game win streak where Clarkston outscored opponents by an average of 18 points per game.

Even with losing senior standout Marcus Hardy, next season looks just as promising for the Wolves, who have 10 players returning including junior guards Nick Tatu and Mitch Baenziger, along with forward Matt Dellinger who played key roles in the second half of the Wolves season.