Fenton Basketball Team in Midst of Successful Summer

No basketball team has ever won four straight Metro League titles.

With the and , as well as the improvement of other team's in the league, will have a tough road if the Tigers are to become the first to do it.

Indications so far this summer are that the Fenton players are taking the opportunity seriously.

The varsity team made it to the Elite Eight at the Michigan State University team camp, picking up wins over Clarkston, Detroit Martin Luther King and Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

The team also went undefeated (4-0) at the Hillsdale College Shootout and (3-0) at the Lakeland Shootouts.

"They like winning and want to keep winning," Fenton coach Tim Olszewski said. "They have a familiarity with each other and there has been a lot of development of the players. They have a real sense of teamwork and commitment. It’s just a nice melting pot of all that stuff together that creates a pretty good environment."

Two keys this season will be last year's top two scorers, Ryan and Dylan Hickoff. The twins have played on Fenton's varsity team since they were freshmen and have a chance to win their fourth league championship. Olszewski says both have continued their growth this summer.

"They’ve always had the spotlight on them and rightfully so, but this year, I can tell over the summer already that they’re a lot stronger than last year and a lot more physical than last year," he said. "They’ve been a lot stronger taking the ball to the basket and finishing. They’ve been handling the ball much better."

Both have attracted the attention of colleges, but Olszewski expects that they will take their time making a decision, waiting to find the right situation.

"I know, especially starting late June, there has been a lot of interest in both Ryan and Dylan," Olszewski said. "I think what’s going to happen is they’re going to go to where they feel that their style of play best suits the team. Where and when is that going to be? Oh heck, I don’t know. It’s just kind of a wait and see type of situation."

Their improved ability to handle the ball and create will be especially necessary with the loss of Mowery. As a traditional point guard, Mowery was responsible for initiating the offense, getting others involved and had the ball in his hands a lot for Fenton. Now, that responsibility will be shared among several players, including the Hickoffs.

Fenton could also look different defensively minus Herzog, whose height gave the team a shot-altering presence in the paint.

"I wasn’t real happy with our defense last year, to be honest," Olszewski said. "I think it was lax at times, and maybe that was because they knew they had Charlie in the paint to challenge shots behind them. I want to increase the intensity, so I think you’ll see a team that is focused on defensive effort this year and that’s what I want to improve on."

The league should be even more competitive at the top. Swartz Creek, Holly and Kearsley all proved to be formidable opponents last season and Olszewski expects Lapeer West, a team that finished near the bottom of the league standings, to turn things around quickly this year. One of West's four league wins last season came against Fenton.

"I expect Creek to be tough, Holly will be solid," Olszewski said. "Kearsley once again will be knocking on the door. And Lapeer West with Zeshawn (Parker-Jones) and (Cullen) Turczyn, they have two top quality athletes and a fantastic coach, so I think they could rise. I’m excited that we get a chance to win our fourth in a row. That’s never been done before by any school. I have a lot of expectations for our team, but I also know that it’s going to be very very challenging."

Adding more excitement is the fact that Fenton's program has shown a lot of depth this summer. The junior varsity team finished 9-1, taking first place in the high school summer league at The Cage Fieldhouse.

"My sophomore class is very talented," Olszewski said. "I’ve got a lot of quality players that are going to be a big part of this program in the coming years. Right now, we’re just top heavy and have a lot of varsity players. But these sophomores, they went 9-1 at The Cage and I just think of us as re-loading."