Notebook: Sparta coach reaches 200 career wins
Sparta High School boys basketball coach Scott Berry has 200 career wins. (Photo | Lenny Padilla)
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - Scott Berry won his 200th career game last week.
The Sparta boys basketball coach earned the milestone on Friday, Feb. 10 with a 76-39 win over Kelloggsville.
“It just means I’ve been around a long time and that I’ve had some great players,” Berry said. “I’ve have some good years. The players I’ve been around have allowed me to coach them. To be part of 200 wins is extraordinary.”
Berry spent the first 15 years coaching varsity boys basketball at Comstock Park.
“Fifteen years at one school is almost unheard of now,” he said. “There are some guys who have been around longer like Mark Keeler at Tri-Unity and Thom VanderKlay at Wyoming.”
Last season was Berry’s first year at Sparta and the team won a district title.
“It creates excitement,” he said. “Anytime you can put a trophy in the trophy case, it gives the kids, parents, youth programs excitement. To me it was a big deal. I don’t think many people expected it.”
This season, Sparta has won six of its last seven games to improve to 11-4 overall and 7-4 in the O-K Silver Conference.
AQUINAS COLLEGE: Senior Gabe Overway was named WHAC Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 6-11. The 6-foot-7 senior had a career-high 32 points in a win over Indiana Tech on Feb. 11 and 20 points and 12 rebounds against U-M Dearborn on Feb. 8. The Holland Christian grad leads Aquinas with 15.4 points and 7.2 rebounds.
AQUINAS COLLEGE: Former Aquinas basketball player Jeff Jayson is being inducted into the Aquinas Sports Hall of Fame. He played with the Saints from 2003-07 and holds the school record for most career 3-pointers with 332. He finished his career with 1,919 points, which is the fifth most in school history.
CALVIN UNIVERSITY: Freshman center Jalen Overway was named the Division III National Player of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Tuesday. Overway (Holland Christian) won the honor after averaging 28.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in a pair of wins last week. In a 84-51 win at Kalamazoo on Feb. 1, Overway was 12-of-16 from the field for 27 points and 15 rebounds. He then backed that up with a 30-point, 10-rebound game in a 92-74 win over Olivet on Feb. 4.
CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Kaden Brown became the school’s all-time leader in career steals. The senior had eight steals against Cedar Springs on Feb. 7 and now has 175 as of Feb. 13. Brown passes Austin Braun, who had 173 steals from 2016-19. Brown, who has signed to play at Wright State next year, also holds the Cougars record for most career points with 1,432 and counting and 3-pointers with 186.
CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Durral Brooks is 18 points from 1,000 career points. The junior guard is currently fifth place in the school’s list for most points. Brooks has college offers from Michigan State and Michigan.
CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Jack Karasinski (GR Catholic Central) got his first two starts of the season for the College of William & Mary last week. The freshman forward had eight points and eight rebounds in a win over Towson on Monday. He is averaging 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds. Karasinski was fourth in the Michigan Mr. Basketball Award voting last season.
HOPE COLLEGE: Clayton Dykhouse (Zeeland East) had a game-high 22 points as the Flying Dutchmen beat Calvin University 65-57 on Wednesday. It was the third-best game of the season for the senior. He is averaging 13.1 points per game. Jackson Weigerink (West Ottawa) had 12 points and eight rebounds for Hope.
NORTHVIEW: Kyler VanderJagt (Northview) had a season-high three points as Belmont beat Evansville on Wednesday. The freshman guard has played limited minutes this season. He finished second in the Michigan Mr. Basketball Award voting last season.
EAST KENTWOOD: Christian Humphrey-Rembert returned to the lineup this week. The 6-foot-7 junior missed much of January and February after suffering a high ankle sprain.
FERRIS STATE: Ethan Erickson (Forest Hills Northern) leads the entire nation in 3-point field goal percentage. The sophomore is shooting 52.6 percent from beyond the arc and has 80 overall. His 80 threes is fourth in Division II. The Ferris State single-season record is 102 by Carlton Epps in 2004-05. Erickson is 11 away from second place, held by Willie Thomas (2003-04).
ROCKFORD: Charlie Deutsch has committed to play basketball at Olivet College. The 6-foot-5 senior forward played his travel ball with the Grand Rapids Storm.
WEST OTTAWA: Jackson Wiegerink, a 6-foot-7 senior, had 10 points, 10 blocks and 9 rebounds against Hudsonville on Feb. 7.
