It's been a busy offseason for Livonia Public Schools athletic directors, as half of the school's varsity basketball coaches have resigned since the season ended in March.
Livonia Stephenson women's basketball coach Kareem Smart is stepping down after four seasons, Churchill men's coach James McCullough is stepping down after eight seasons and Stephenson men's coach Eoghan Stephens is leaving the Spartans, including head coach for the past four years. After 10 years of service with the team, he took over the torch and became Livonia's new AD. Frost Junior High School.
So far this spring, two of those positions have been filled and only Stephen's old position is still open.
On Monday, Stevenson AD Ernie Muscat announced he had hired Birmingham Groves coach Allison Heidi to take over the women's program, while Churchill AD Casey Conway announced Tuesday night that Dearborn assistant Cameron Scott has announced that he will be the Chargers' men's coach.
Both new hires face unique challenges.
Hidey knows what it takes to beat the top teams
The only thing stopping Heidi from winning the division championship in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East District is the powerhouses the Spartans will face each year.
They will face the likes of Wayne Memorial, which seems to make a trip to the Breslin Center twice a season almost every year, and Belleville, which has the nation's No. 1 ranked player in the 2027 class according to most recruiters. . Sydney Savory outlet.
But facing elite competition is nothing new for Heidi. In fact, that's all she did in the past while not coaching at Dearborn Divine Child and Groves.
In D.C., where she was an assistant for 12 years, the Falcons competed in one of Michigan's best leagues, the Catholic League Central, competing against teams like Farmington Hills Mercy and Bloomfield Hills Marian. , achieved some good results. A state championship for many years.
And she coached the Groves in Oakland Activities Association Red, another incredibly tough league, for two of the past three seasons, including state championships in 2022 and 2024. That included playing West Bloomfield twice a season.
“I'm not scared at all,” Heidi told Hometown Life Wednesday afternoon. “What do we have to be afraid of when we've played against all these great teams? I'm excited to learn from those games and learn from playing against their style of play. I didn't play with Belleville when I was in South Carolina, but I'm really looking forward to it.”
To be fair, Heidi, a Livonia resident who lives near Stevenson's campus, never expected to be playing against the Tigers so soon in his head coaching career.
She recently resigned as Groves' head coach. The daily commute from Livonia to Beverly Hills in rush hour traffic while juggling the busy schedules of three children became too much. Additionally, longtime Globes AD Tom Flynn is retiring at the end of the school year, so this would be a great opportunity for the show to take a new direction while waiting for a spot like Stephenson to open up, she said. thought. Up.
She didn't have to wait long.
more:Former CYO champion leading Livonia Stevenson girls basketball as a freshman.
Instead of taking a year off to recharge, she landed her dream job. And that's giving her the excitement she needs to get serious with her Spartans.
“Stevenson is a job I had my eye on since I was the JV coach at Divine Child,” Heidi said. “That's exactly what I wanted for my program. We used to scrimmage a lot with Livonia Stevenson, and I lived across the street from there. “I thought, 'One day, maybe here. I always thought, “Maybe I can coach there.” My best friend went to Stevenson and I know it's one of the best schools in the district and I always enjoyed playing against them when I was at DC and Groves. It is. ”
Fortunately for her, Smart is expected to return sophomore Vera Sapir, who was selected to the All-KLAA selection team, and Gabby Yankula, an All-KLAA first-team player, so Smart is starting the program in a good spot. gone. They also need to return junior Karlie Piergentilli, who was named All-League Honorable Mention, breakout freshmen Vera Claramund and Samantha McLeod, and several other experienced returners. be.
Under Smart's leadership, the Spartans improved each season. 6 wins and 12 losses in the first year, 8 wins and 14 losses in the second year, 11 wins and 13 losses in the third year, and 13 wins and 11 losses this winter, defeating rivals Churchill and Franklin and winning the Livonia City championship. Contributed.
“Kareem has put the team on a good trajectory with a win-loss record over the last three to four years,” Heidi added. “I want to get him back on track and keep it positive. I want to make sure we do what we can do and, besides, I'm excited to get in there and learn the team dynamics. I'm just going into the game By the way, I still have a lot of planning and preparation left to do. ”
Her goal is to compete in the city and district championships.
Of course, I also want to defeat Goliath at least once.
“I want to upset one of them,” Heidi said. “I don't care who the opponent is, but I'd like to upset a top-ranked opponent (like Wayne or Belleville). That's not scary for me. After two years in OAA Red, that's not something I want to do. “There's not much that scares you. I played in the Catholic League against a great basketball team called Marian and Mercy, then went to the OAA Red with West Bloomfield, Clarkston and (Rochester Hills) Stony Creek. “There were some really, really difficult matches, but nothing too scary. ”
Scott learned from the best.
Scott, 30, has no traditional background when it comes to coaching basketball, none at all. But he was definitely with some of the greatest coaches to ever do it at Detroit Metropolitan.
He grew up in Amherstburg, south of Windsor, Ontario, just across the Detroit River from Grosse Island and Wyandotte. He played his AAU basketball in high school, but was also naturally a hockey player.
He played club hockey at Wayne State University, where he met his wife, Nicole, a Churchill alumnus.
After starting his coaching career in Canada eight years ago, he returned to Michigan and began rising through the ranks.
He actually became a certified trainer at Kettlebell Gym in West Bloomfield. There, he met North Farmington men's basketball coaches Todd and Tom Negociant, as well as Todd's older brother Ryan, who was an assistant at Walled Lake Northern at the time. Of course, the national coach of WLN at that time was Gyon Jokai.
Scott joined the WLN staff and spent four seasons learning under Gjokaj and Ryan Negociant.
Scott announced that Gjokai, who was just named Oakland Community College's men's basketball coach last week, will leave WLN to join Warren De La Salle, where he led the Pilots to a Division 1 state championship in 2022. He joined the Dearborn staff under.
And, as everyone knows, the Pioneers spent most of this winter ranked No. 1 in the Michigan Basketball Coaches Association poll, won the Kensington Lakes Activities Association, and fielded a 6-footer. By the way, we just finished a 23-1 season. No. 9 power forward Mohammad Habhab will play at Central Michigan University.
As someone who is new to the business, he will be learning under the negociant who just led North Farmington to a state runner-up title over Jokaj and Masseur in March. That's exactly where the coaching tree comes from.
“I have been very blessed to be surrounded by a great group of mentors and leaders, each with different styles and teaching methods,” Scott said. “They all do it their own way. So I know what it takes to build momentum and enthusiasm in a program. I know what hard practices are like. “I've been attending Abe Mashua's practices for years. That guy is intense. “I've seen Kyon practice, and I've seen Tom Negociant practice. If you make the conditions tough in practice, then when it comes to games and tests, everything slows down and becomes easier. ”
Momentum and enthusiasm around the program is definitely what Churchill needs.
The Chargers finished the season 0-23, but haven't won more than five games in a season in nearly a decade. Over the past five years, they have never won more than two games in a season.
Part of that has to do with the league Churchill is in. Currently, the KLAA-East has three of the best teams in Michigan: Dearborn, Wayne, and Belleville. The Chargers must play future Division I college players at least six times a season, but at Livonia Franklin, Stevenson, Westland John Glenn and other schools with occasional college recruits. There are often more matches depending on who stars.
“I know what I'm getting myself into,” Scott joked. “My wife is a Churchill graduate, and since she entered the coaching world eight years ago, his wife's Churchill friends are always asking how Churchill is doing, or if he's doing well. ”
more:WATCH: Livonia Churchill Preview at KLAA Basketball Media Day
It's going to take blood, sweat and tears for Scott to tell them that the Chargers are indeed better someday.
Churchill is expected to graduate last season's top player, guard Jayden Feagin, while returning sophomore Levi Florence, who played well in the winter and was named honorable mention to the All-KLAA team.
When it comes to blank slates, nothing gives you a better blank slate than a 0-23 program.
But Scott is excited about the opportunity to build this program into something Chargers fans can be excited about.
“Based on what I've gathered so far and my evaluation of the program, I think this is a good fit for me,” Scott said. “They are exactly what I am looking for in my first job starting my career as a national team head coach. They provide me with a positive direction and the knowledge and background to really get the program off the ground.” there is.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metropolitan Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on Twitter @folsombrandonj.