Underdog story ends with national runner-up finish for MCC men’s basketball

MACOMB COUNTY — The dynamic of community college sports is unlike any other.

With the majority of the Macomb Community College men’s basketball team’s roster planning to transfer to Division 1 or Division 2 basketball teams after their freshman year, there was a mutual understanding in the locker room that there was only one shot at a national championship together.

“We had a team meeting, and we all knew this was just a one-year thing,” freshman guard Juwan Maxey said. “We knew it was one year, so we had to go all-out to get to that next level. That one year kind of hurt because this team was the best team I’ve ever been a part of. The one-year aspect hurt a little bit, but it also made us better because we never took any game or practice for granted, and that made us better.”

Macomb (28-8) went into the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 2 National Championship Tournament in Danville, Illinois, having reached the tournament only once before — in 2016-17, when it  lost 78-67 to Niagara County Community College in the first round — and they were ready to prove everyone who underestimated them wrong.

The stage was set for the 2023 team after Macomb last season won the school’s first Michigan Community College Athletic Association Championship, first MCCAA Eastern Conference Championship since 1992-93, and first outright Eastern Conference title since 1983-84.

With that foundation and key returners in sophomores Jaylen Daughtery, a forward who led the team in rebounds with 233 this season; guard Cameron McEvans; forward Shawn Brown; and guard/forward Tom McNelis, second-year coach Hassan Nizam — who earned Michigan Community College Athletic Association Coach of the Year honors in 2021 — said the team was confident going into the year.

“The mindset was to finish the job in terms of Danville and qualifying for the national tournament,” Nizam said. “We felt like last year, we had a top-five, top-six team in the country. It was about finishing; it was about getting back and finishing.”

Macomb earned the school’s first national tournament win in school history in a 72-59 first round victory over Chesapeake College on March 21 at Mary Miller Gymnasium in Danville behind freshman guard/forward Aidan Rubio’s 25-point performance.

Rubio would follow up his impressive performance with a dominant 23-point showing, leading Macomb to a 66-63 win over No. 1 seed Davidson-Davie Community College in the quarterfinals on March 22.

Rubio, who led Macomb with 12 points per game and 56 blocks on the year, was a dynamic two-way guard and formed a dominant backcourt with freshman guard Tamario Adley, who finished second in scoring with 11.6 points per game and who had a team-high 45 steals on the year.

“If I had to describe both those guys in one word, I’d say ‘special,’” Nizam said. “Aidan and Tamario are both guys who could’ve averaged 20 points per game for us, but they both decided, ‘We’re going to play the right way, and it’s not going to be about an individual; we’re going to play good team basketball.’”

In the semifinals against Danville Area Community College on March 24, Adley scored 17 points while Rubio added 16 and a team-high nine rebounds to earn the 69-67 comeback win in overtime over the hometown favorites. Maxey, who led the team in three pointers made this season, added 13 points in the win.

Macomb was behind by double digits for the second consecutive game in the tournament, but a 17-3 run launched Macomb into the lead. Danville countered with a 12-2 run of its own to take a four point lead, but Macomb answered to take the game into overtime.

That’s when Macomb showcased the nation’s top-ranked defense, holding Danville scoreless the final three minutes in overtime.

Nizam, who previously coached at Roseville High School from 2017 to 2021, said the team’s steady structure was key to its defense, which held opponents to 61.6 points per game this season.

“We play hard,” Nizam said. “That’s part of why the defensive numbers were what they were. It’s a credit to our guys and a credit to our coaches for showing up every single day and holding each other accountable and setting the standard high. One thing we talk about in our program, whether it be here or Roseville, is the foundation of your team is built from your first practice to your first game. You’re gonna have to stand on that foundation all year, even when it’s rocky, so you better make sure that foundation is strong.”

Riding a 10-game win streak into the national championship game against Milwaukee Area Technical College, Macomb fell short in an 86-65 loss on March 25. Adley led the scoring with 12 points, while Daughtery tallied his second double-double of the tournament with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Linden Holder, who led the team in assists with 121 this season, and freshman forward Tymias Williams, who finished third in scoring on the year with 10 points per game, each added eight. Adley, Rubio and Daughtery were named to the NJCAA Division 2 all-tournament team.

Nizam had high praise for his guys and Milwaukee Area Technical College head coach Randy Casey.

“He (Casey) had his team more prepared for that national championship than I personally did,” Nizam said. “They had been there for the last three or four years, and they had a lot of success doing it. We just ran out of gas. Our guys played their hearts out all week, and they played their hearts out that night.”

While the players poured their hearts into the season, the Macomb coaching staff has proved itself to be one of, if not, the strongest in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association.

Nizam said coaches Kyle Lorentzen, Tyler Johnson and William Patsalis were key contributors to the team’s success.

“Those guys are the reason we had great practices,” Nizam said. “Those guys put the game plans together, and those guys are the reason our guys developed the way they did. They deserve way more credit than they get. Hopefully, I think they’re going to be stars in this profession as the years go by.”

Just weeks after the season’s end, Nizam has already begun the recruiting process for the 2023-2024 Macomb basketball team.

It’s a tough pill to swallow knowing the ride is over with a historic group as guys go their separate ways, but Nizam said they will always be part of the Macomb family no matter where they continue their careers.

“Our relationship with them doesn’t end when they take off the Macomb jersey for the last time; that’s really where it begins,” Nizam said. “You come to Macomb, and this is a lifetime commitment that we’re going to make to you and to each other. We want to see you become great fathers and husbands, and just great members of society. We want to see you achieve all your goals.”