Robert Farr, left, and Tyler Smith, right, are pictured here with Rockets head coach Tedaro France as they sign there scholarship offers to play basketball at Concordia University.
by Andrew Benoit
April 8th, 2011
The New Haven Rockets had one of their best boys basketball seasons in years, and despite having a fairly young team, much of that success can be attributed to two senior standouts.
New Haven coach Tedaro France said seniors Robert Farr and Tyler Smith were the team's leaders from day one. Even with the two senior standouts, France was not sure how the season would go and if the inexperience would win out over talent.
"It was going to be either a really good season or a really bad season," France said.
The Rockets' post season run to a regional final, where they lost to Saginaw Buena Vista, is proof it was definitely a good season and the future should be just as bright for this young group. That magical postseason run included a district title and Class C regional semifinal victory over Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central.
The Rockets' strong run to end the season helped a handful of players earn postseason honors, including all MAC Gold first team selections for Farr and Smith. Farr was also named a first-team All Macomb County and third team Class C All-State. Smith was named second team All Macomb County and shared the team's MVP award with Farr.
With the way the two seniors carried the load this year for the Rockets it's fitting they will continue their basketball careers together at Concordia University.
"It's really a dream come true," Smith said about playing basketball at the collegiate level.
Having played together for years, Smith said he is also looking forward to having Farr as a teammate at the next level.
"We get to just continue our careers," he said.
A group of young Rockets also received postseason acknowledgements, including Tedaro France III, Roemello Moore, Deion Sims and Jamael Bell.
France said the loss of Farr and Smith will be significant next season but if the crop of youngsters continue to work hard in the offseason, the team should be even better next year. The MAC Gold should again provide a tough challenge for the Rockets by competing against all Class A schools. France said his team did not play against another Class C school this year until the postseason.
"Playing in that league gets us ready for the playoffs," France said.
Although the Rockets' magical postseason run ended a little sooner than the players and coaches would have liked, they made an impression on their head coach.
"I'm so proud of them because they never quit," France said. "This group stayed strong and kept fighting."
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