By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | C&G Newspapers | Published November 26, 2024
METRO DETROIT — Over the course of its 14-year existence, The D Zone has prided itself on showcasing the best teams, athletes, and programs around the state in the high school world of football and basketball.
They travel all over Michigan with a coverage radius that makes you wonder how they do it, especially with only a handful of members on staff, but they’ve prided themselves on growing the popularity of both sports with their social media and web outreach.
“The D Zone spends a lot of time over the year promoting all these teams, programs, and players, and we’ve developed relationships,” Stuart Carlin, co-owner of The D Zone alongside Jeff Corrion, said.
“We’re very neutral. We’re not aligned with anybody. We’re very good communicators – Jeff (Corrion) and I. We develop relationships with football and basketball across the board.”
In December, a handful of teams in the C & G Newspapers coverage area, along with several of the top teams across the state, will compete in three in-season showcases that promise to bring competitive, exciting matchups to local high schools.
Auburn Hills Avondale (Dec. 8), Birmingham Groves (Dec. 20), and Clarkston High School (Dec. 21) are slated to be the host schools.
The D Zone is well-known for its summer showcases on the football and basketball scene, drawing significant crowds and an entertaining atmosphere for viewers.
Now, The D Zone is looking to break out into the in-season showcase world, priding itself on bringing competitive games and filling up the bleachers in local high schools.
“We run them very organized,” Carlin said. “The games are on time, we get top referees, we have great people doing the scoring. We don’t want to have parents doing this stuff because parents want to watch their kids, so we hire people in. We get people that are experienced and know how to do the job.
“We also want to have better food. We have great concession stands with chicken fingers and fries, funnel cakes, and lemonade. We have halftime events where we’ll have dance teams and kids being able to shoot free throws. Every little area we can, we want to be a step above.”
Dec. 8 @ Auburn Hills Avondale High School
It’s called the “Rising Team Tip-off Classic” for a reason.
Not only will teams you don’t typically see match up go head-to-head, but you’re also looking at a couple teams who could easily make a run to the state finals.
“We literally see 150 teams at our summer event, and we notice teams,” Carlin said.
“It was very indicative the year before with how well teams did. Grand Rapids Christian for instance, they were such a standout at our event. So was (Ann Arbor) Huron, and Grand Rapids Christian and (Ann Arbor) Huron both made it to the Breslin.
“We think our summer event is a great event to see some rising teams, and that’s why we called our Dec. 8 one the ‘Rising Team’ event because we saw some teams standing out like Oxford, Romulus, and Detroit Central.”
Grosse Pointe North will go head-to-head with Oxford at 5:15 p.m. while North Farmington will take on Hamtramck at 7 p.m.
Other games are listed below:
• Detroit Central vs. Milford, 10:15 a.m.
• Romulus vs. Walled Lake Central, noon.
• Mona Shores vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1:45 p.m.
• Grand Ledge vs. University Prep, 3:30 p.m.
• Auburn Hills Avondale vs. Ann Arbor Skyline, 8:45 p.m.
Dec. 20 @ Birmingham Groves High School
A team currently ranked in The D Zone Top 100, Birmingham Groves (No. 12) will host a slew of out-of-town teams with Flint Powers, Riverview Gabriel Richard, Grand Blanc, Whitehall, and Detroit King all taking part.
Gabriel Richard and Flint Powers, who will open the showcase at 5 p.m., will be a battle between two state semifinalists last season while Grand Blanc will take on Whitehall at 6:45 p.m.
Groves will have the home-court advantage against Detroit Martin Luther King at 8:30 p.m., which will be a difficult test for a Falcons team with its eyes set on capturing the Oakland Activities Association Red league title and making a run in the state tournament.
Dec. 21 @ Clarkston High School
The heavy hitters will be taking the court at Clarkston, which is no stranger to hosting massive crowds.
“We want that one to be the top, top 15 teams or so in the state, and Clarkston fits 5,000 people,” Carlin said. “That’s just an amazing venue, and Clarkston is a fresh venue.
“You don’t see Clarkston hosting these kinds of things. Back in the Foster Loyer days, and he won two state championships there, but when he played the gym was filled to capacity. That’s why we picked Clarkston because we know the teams we’re getting are going to draw those kinds of crowds.”
A strong group of The D Zone’s Top 100 will take part in the showcase with local teams Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (No. 16), Warren Lincoln (No. 2), and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (No. 1) taking part.
Below are the matchups:
• Brother Rice vs. East Kentwood, 10:15 a.m.
• Port Huron Northern vs. Ann Arbor Skyline, noon.
• Clarkston vs. U of D Jesuit, 1:45 p.m.
• Northview vs. Ann Arbor Huron, 3:30 p.m.
• Warren Lincoln vs. Byron Center, 5:15 p.m.
• Muskegon vs. East Lansing, 7 p.m.
• Rockford vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 8:45 p.m.
For more information on The D Zone, visit www.thedzone.com.