Cousino basketball overcomes adversity to win league in 2023

WARREN — Regardless of their outcome in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state tournament, Warren Cousino is turning the corner towards a successful boys basketball program.

Not only did Cousino, which competes in the Macomb Area Conference-Blue, post its best regular season record in 10 years, but the squad also claimed their first league title since 2010, when they competed in the MAC-White.

“It’s definitely taking a turn into hopefully a basketball school,” Cousino coach Joe Kohl said. “Cousino is kind of a strong soccer school. If you look at records and MAC championships, soccer has been strong for Cousino. Hopefully, we can turn that into a basketball program as well, and we start getting league championships and district finals games.”

On March 8 at Hamtramck High School, Cousino (14-9) was eliminated from the state tournament in a 72-40 loss to Hamtramck (15-8).

While the score may not indicate a close matchup, Cousino held their own against a strong Hamtramck team.

“Looking at that film and watching that game, we were predominantly in most of it,” Kohl said. “We had a chance to cut it to I think nine, and then we had a couple bad turnovers, and again being young had an impact on us. “

Cousino’s youth was thrown into the fire early this season after a slew of injuries put them in a position where depth wasn’t an option.

Dropping their last five games of the season, Cousino’s lack of bodies and injury concerns left the starters in a compromised position throughout the season.

“This year, we just got gassed come the last second quarter and third quarter where I just didn’t have a lot to put in there to give those guys a breather,” Kohl said.

Still, senior captain Donald Wilburn was an explosive threat at the guard position for Cousino, leading the team in scoring.

Behind Wilburn’s offensive skill set, Cousino went on a 12-1 stretch, beating MAC-Blue champion Utica in what would end up being a league deciding game with both teams finishing the year 9-1 in league play.

Wilburn scored 20 points in the Feb. 2 win over Utica, and Kohl said Wilburn’s efforts showed how big of a piece he was to the program this season.

“He really did everything for us,” Kohl said. “Just a dynamic kid to watch and coach. He could elevate above the rim, so he had a lot of spectacular plays this year to spark our offense especially in transition. He’s going to be a tough guy to replace; not replace, because you can’t replace him, but a tough guy to lose.”

While injuries were a significant blow to Cousino this year, the decreased numbers left room for the underclassmen to make a name for themselves in the rotation.

Freshmen guards Nicholas Farr and Kameran Hayward played a pivotal role in Cousino’s success this season in the backcourt, and will look to be reliable pieces for Kohl next year.

“Those guys stepped up huge, and I brought them up last year for summer league, so I was able to kind of scope them out and see if they could handle the pace of the varsity game, the pressure and the speed,” Kohl said.

Farr and Hayward’s contributions were able to assist in getting junior guard Justin Lifshay a breather every now and then.

Lifshay, a team captain this season, is a dynamic, two-way guard who will hold a crucial role for Cousino in the leadership department.

Kohl said Lifshay was battle-tested this season on the offensive end.

“I asked a lot out of him because as we moved through the year, teams were throwing two or three guys at him and chasing him up and down the floor the entire game,” Kohl said. “His leadership and toughness was key. Without him, we would’ve been in big trouble.”

The league title may not have meant more to anyone than Lifshay, who watched his brothers Joey and Jacob play varsity basketball at Cousino.

Lifshay said his experience watching his brothers play from the bleachers brought an added element of appreciation for the league title win.

“Especially for me, I’m the youngest of two brothers who both went to Cousino,” Lifshay said. “One played four years of basketball at Cousino, and the other played for three years. I grew up my whole life watching Cousino basketball.”

Alongside Lifshay next season will be junior forward Samuel Hawk III, who will command the frontcourt for Cousino.

With Hawk and Lifshay at the helm alongside another year of experience for Farr and Hayward, Cousino will look to improve on its league-winning season in 2024.

“Those two guys (Lifshay and Hawk) were really crucial for us, so having them back next year is going to be huge for us,” Kohl said.