Ferndale basketball ends state title drought behind strong senior class

FERNDALE — Ferndale head coach Juan Rickman aspired to bring a state title home to Ferndale High School when he took over the varsity boys basketball head coaching job in 2018, but he wasn’t the only person who held the same vision.

“That was the goal,” Rickman said. “It’s funny because me and the athletic director, Shaun Butler, who recently retired, when he hired me, we talked about winning a state title within five years.”

Butler, who held the athletic director position for 20 years, retired earlier this year. Not only was Ferndale’s state championship game against Grand Rapids South Christian on March 25 at the Breslin Center at Michigan State University going to be one the school would remember forever, but it was almost exactly five years to the date from Rickman and Butler’s first discussion about this very moment.

After a 57-year drought between state titles, Ferndale boys basketball took home the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 State Championship trophy in a thrilling 44-38 win over South Christian.

“It was really an unbelievable feeling,” Ferndale senior guard Cameron Reed said. “When the buzzer went off, it was like all the work we put in from the start of the year, from starting out 1-5, it was just a big release of a lot of energy.”

Like their start to the season, Ferndale was slow out the gate against South Christian, shooting just under 24% from the field as South Christian held a 16-14 lead at the half.

But like the entire season, with their backs against the wall, Ferndale’s players responded to the best of their abilities, and their senior group did just that.

South Christian opened up the second half with a quick three to take a five-point lead, but Ferndale would fight back to eventually notch the game at 28 all.

That’s when Ferndale would take control.

Senior guard Noah Blocker, who had seven points on the night, drained a go-ahead three to give Ferndale the 33-30 lead, but senior wing Christopher Williams, who finished with 16 points on the night, hit the would-be three-point dagger to give Ferndale the win.

“Once I knew Noah (Blocker) hit the shot, I was like, ‘Yeah, we’re good,’” Williams said. “Cam (Reed) had got it, if I recall, and he came down the middle and saw me open in the corner. He gave it to me in the corner, and I saw the dude closing out on me, but I knew it was going in before I even shot it.”

Aside from the state title drought, this Ferndale senior group has been put through the wringer within a two-year span.

Falling in two straight semifinals matchups in 2021 and 2022, Ferndale knew what the route to the final entailed, but it was a matter of fine-tuning the little things within the program.

Rickman said the team did just that entering this season.

“I just thought they understood what it took to get there, and they did a great job making it where we were only talking about basketball,” Rickman said. “They took care of their grades, had great attitudes and had great work ethic. A lot of the time, we were just talking about basketball and how to get better, so we were really maximizing that time.”

Following their 1-5 start to the season, Ferndale finished the year 20-3 en route to a second-place finish in a brutal Oakland Activities Association-Red division that featured North Farmington, Rochester Adams, Oak Park and Clarkston.

Ferndale silenced any doubters with emphatic victories over Ferndale University, Detroit Old Redford, Detroit University Prep and Warren Michigan Collegiate to open the state tournament 4-0, and they earned hard-fought wins over Goodrich and Saginaw to reach the state finals game.

What finally pushed Ferndale over the edge toward a state title? Reed said his senior class credits the past seniors for where they stood this season.

“Guarding them in practice and seeing the work they put in and all that they do, it kind of motivates us to be better than them,” Reed said. “Of course, we want to be better than them when we’re playing them because we’re their little brothers. When we do that, it’s a great feeling. In practice, guarding Jason Drake is not the easiest or guarding Treyvon Lewis is not the easiest thing, because they’re such great offensive players. My freshmen year, we had Collin Golson, Jaylen Daughtery and Jayshawn Moore. It was so big having those guys a part of our team.”

Reed, Blocker, Williams, senior guard Caleb Renfroe, senior forward Jayden Hardiman and senior forward Jacoby Jackson have cemented their own legacy and made their own impact on the program now, and it’ll be up to the young Ferndale players to carry on what they’ve started. Junior guard Trenton Ruth will headline the 2024 senior class for Ferndale.

Earning Ferndale’s first state title since 1966, Rickman said the 2023 senior class has set the expectations for years to come at Ferndale.

“They’ve been amazing at establishing the culture at Ferndale and maintaining it, too, as well,” Rickman said. “That’s been a great part of really what they’ve done. They set the standard.”