Follow us on Twitter                                                                                                                                                                                                                             @Rocketcountry
NEW HAVEN BASKETBALL
  • Home
  • Coaches
  • Rosters
    • Varsity (2021-2022)
    • Varsity (2020-2021)
    • Varsity (2019-2020)
    • Varsity (2018-2019)
    • Varsity (2017-2018)
    • Varsity (2016-2017)
    • Junior Varsity (2016-2017)
  • Schedule/Results
  • Rocket News
  • Championships
  • Player Honors
    • Mr Basketball
    • All-State Players
    • All-County Players
    • All-League Players
    • Program Awards
    • Team Awards
    • Coach Awards
  • Photos
    • 2022-2023 Season
    • 2021-2022 Season
    • 2020-2021 Season
    • 2019-2020 Season
    • 2018-2019 Season
    • 2017-2018 Season
    • 2016-2017 Season
    • 2015-2016 Season
    • 2014-2015 Season
    • 2008-2014 Seasons
  • Video
  • Next Level Alumni
  • Youth Camps/Leagues/Training
  • Community Service
  • Sponsors
  • Philosophy
  • Contact Form

New Haven flourishes after 'rough summer'

3/7/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
New Haven coach Tedaro France led the Rockets to a 20-0 regular-season record. France also played for a New Haven team that went 20-0.
Rockets enter district tournament after 20-0 regular season

By Chuck Klonke
@MIPrepZoneMD on Twitter

MADISON HEIGHTS >> If someone had told New Haven coach Tedaro France II last summer that his basketball team was going to have an undefeated regular season, France might have questioned their sanity.

“We had a rough summer. We got beat bad by some teams this summer,” France said Thursday after the Rockets defeated Madison 61-52 to complete a 20-0 regular season. “I didn’t think we’d be this good, but I knew if the kids would continue to work hard and develop we’d win some games. I didn’t expect us to be No. 2 in the state and go undefeated.

“There were some nights when I’d come home and say, ‘we’re going to have a long year.’ That just shows how hard these kids have worked and how much they want to learn.”

Point guard Marquis Perkins, who has been on New Haven’s team for three years, wasn’t planning on a perfect season either.

“No, you never see that,” he said. “But it’s pretty exciting to get it.”

New Haven is the seventh Macomb County team to have a 20-0 regular season. The last to do it was Romeo in 2002-03, but the Bulldogs lost to Eisenhower in their first district game to finish 20-1. Ford and Memphis were the first to do it in 1991-92. Lake Shore went 20-0 in 1992-93 and 1993-94 and the Shorians became the county’s only boys basketball state champion in 1994. New Haven was undefeated in 1996-97 and France was a player on that team.

He remembers it well.

“It was a long time ago,” he said. “We had a special team. We lost in the regional final and that still hurts. I tell my kids that they will have the memories from this season for the rest of their lives. Don’t make this the most special moment of your lives because you’re going to become dads and husbands but the time you share with your friends will stay with you forever.

“I tell them, ‘when you play, don’t have any regrets. If we get beat, let’s say that we gave our complete all. Don’t feel that you could have made that play or dove on the floor or took a charge. Let’s make those plays now so you know you gave 100 percent effort.’”

Although New Haven is 20-0, there’s still business to be taken care of. The Rockets open Class B state tournament play Monday at home against a good Lutheran North team.

“We have to use this season as a stepping stone to get to the spot where we want to be,” France said.

That spot is the Breslin Center, the site of the high school final four.

One of France’s favorite sayings is “win the day.” That means not only win on game day, but improve each day in practice.

“We’re trying to make a push to the Breslin Center. That’s our main goal right now,” Perkins said. “Every day is an individual step that we have to succeed in.”

France said that the Rockets have to keep doing the things they’ve done to achieve the 20-0 record — and get even better.

“We have to keep playing hard. We have to keep playing together. We have to keep growing,” France said. “We played through adversity tonight. We had guys in foul trouble in the first half. (Madison) was intense. Their crowd was intense. We overcame that. If we can win in this type of environment that’s going to prepare us for March.”

Dmonta Harris has been the go-to player for New Haven all season but he got whistled for two fouls in the first half, picked up his third early in the third quarter and got his fourth during the final minute of the third quarter. The Rockets were ahead when he left the game and they maintained the lead while he was on the bench.

“We’ve been playing nine kids all year so every kid on the team has played a key role in getting us to where we are now,” France said. “Dmonta is a great player, but they know that if they’re called upon they can come in with confidence that they’ll get the job done. It was great to see that when he was out, he was the biggest cheerleader. He was just as excited as if he was on the court.

“That shows we’re not just a team, we’re a family. That’s on the back of our shirts. During the season you develop into a family. You see each other every day. We watch film. We cry, we laugh, we fuss but in the end it’s all love. I’m so proud of this group of kids. They won the MAC Gold, which hasn’t been done since we came into the MAC in 2004, and we went undefeated for the first time since 1997.”
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    New Haven Basketball

    Rocket Country

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011
    December 2008

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.