Eastpointe High School’s basketball season was a slam dunk

EASTPOINTE — The long hours of practice for this year’s Eastpointe High School varsity basketball team paid off.

The star athletes won a district title on March 1 with a 76-71 win over Chandler Park Academy. Along the way, EHS student James Phillips earned MAC Gold all-conference honors for his efforts this season.

At the May 13 Eastpointe Community Schools Board of Education meeting, the team was recognized by state Sen. Veronica Klinefelt, D-Eastpointe. Coach VaShawn Glover and teammates Phillips, a senior, and juniors Raymond Willis and Kean Davison were in attendance as Klinefelt presented them with a state tribute signed by her, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“I wanted to do this because when my kids were in school, we had a tough time with sports. My kids played soccer, and we just lost game after game after game,” Klinefelt said. “Some of you will remember years where the football team didn’t win anything or won one or two games. The residents still came out and still supported them.”

Klinefelt felt that the basketball team’s students deserved to be recognized for the work they put in “to make this happen.”

“Nothing brings spirit and brings a school district alive like being able to celebrate the accomplishment of a winning team, and being able to get excited and share,” Klinefelt said. “And not do it just because you love your school and you love the students, but because they worked so hard and they’re doing so well.”

During the meeting, district Superintendent Christina Gibson pointed out that Phillips received a full-ride scholarship to Friendship Christian, which he said is a school in Georgia.

“The (scholarship) is to play basketball at the prep school,” Phillips said. “I’m excited to be able to go down there and play against the best talent in the country.”

Prior to last week’s school board meeting, the district released a press release about the varsity team’s successful season.

“We are so proud of these athletes who represent Eastpointe High School very well. This is a great group of gentlemen who show up every day as scholars, athletes, and citizens we can be proud of,” Gibson said in the release. “We are grateful to have a state senator who sees the importance of advocating for our students and celebrating their accomplishments. We are excited to celebrate our student-athletes with Sen. Klinefelt, and look forward to continuing to celebrate more of our Eastpointe students in the future.”