Clawson

Clawson expects to be in the thick of things in the race for a MAC Silver title this season

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

While it is still too early to know exactly what this season has in store for Clawson’s girls varsity basketball team, one thing coach Kelly Horne can probably count on is having a team that is excited about the opportunity to don a Trojans uniform.

This marks Horne’s seventh season as varsity coach at the school, and she is observing a level of enthusiasm for Clawson basketball she has not experienced before.

“Our program is at its highest interest level right now,” she said. “As long as I’ve been in the program, this is as many girls as we’ve had. We have 16 girls on JV, 13 girls on varsity. Our numbers are way up, and we’re really excited about where the program is headed.”

Of the 13 players on the roster, Alli Costine and Josie Daniel represent the only two returning starters.

Costine is a 6-foot-1 senior center, and she is more than capable of hurting teams on the offensive and defensive end of the court. Last season, she averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds. Although she has already committed to play volleyball for Macomb Community College next season, Horne believes Costine’s skills on the basketball court could also translate to the next level.

“I’ve been telling her for three years she can probably go play at the college level,” she said. “She is as focused as any kid I’ve ever seen. She is a phenomenal basketball player. She’s a three-year starter, a great kid, a good leader. If the rest of the kids can buy into the Alli Costine attitude, then we’re going to be a hard team to beat.”

Taylor Kaufman and Ryann May are Clawson’s other two seniors. If the Trojans are going to make some noise in the MAC Silver this season, both will play big roles.

“(Kaufman’s) a very hard worker — great leader, a vocal leader,” Horne said. “She keeps our kids in line in practice. She really knows the game. (May) is a great complement down low to Alli Costine. I have two pretty good post players offensively. They complement each other real well. They’re probably the two best passers on the team, so when we get the ball down low, we know good things happen.”

From Horne’s perspective, a roster that includes 13 players is a big plus for the program. However, looking at all those extra jerseys in practice may make some players wonder where their playing time is going to come from.

The competition that can ensue as a result of players trying to earn minutes on the court could turn out to be a big plus for the Trojans.

“We’re working a little more to push each other in practice,” Horne said. “They’re all scrapping for playing time. We have very little varsity experience, but we are a bunch of hard workers. I have scrappy kids, kids that will get on the floor for loose balls.”

Goal setting is considered a top priority in Clawson’s program, as Horne believes in the philosophy of having each player set individual goals.

After speaking with each of her players regarding their aspirations for the season, Horne was pleased to discover that much of their individual goals are actually team-oriented.

Taking the time to study their opponents is one aspect of the game Horne’s team will look to focus on.

“We play everybody twice in the league,” she said. “Say we play a Marysville, and they’re a scrappy team that likes to press us and throw half court traps at us. To adjust the second time through, we’re going to do a little more breaking down game film this year. Last year, we didn’t do so much of it, but the girls are really into it this year. We’ve already scouted some of our opponents, so we’re going to try to use that to our advantage this year.”

Last season, Clawson finished in fourth place in the MAC Silver. The Trojans were not in striking distance of a division title toward the end of their campaign and found themselves looking up at Clintondale, New Haven and Marysville in the standings. Horne believes her team is capable of bigger and better things this time around.

“We expect to be in the top three,” she said. “We expect to be competing with Marysville, and Clintondale’s going to be good this year. You never know what kind of program they’re going to have at East Detroit and Madison, but we expect to be in the top three. We have two of our best players coming back, so we expect to be there and possibly competing for a title.”

The Trojans will be in action next at 7:00 p.m. Jan. 17 at South Lake.
 

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mark Vest at mvest@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112.