IN ROD THEY TRUST: Young-ish Rocks excel with veteran coach Wells
Salem Head Coach Rod Wells has the full attention of his players during a late-November practice in the Rocks’ gymnasium.
Fifteen minutes after a recent Saturday morning Salem girls basketball practice officially ended, the rhythmic sound of basketballs thumping against the gymnasium floor could still be heard.
The thumping was music to the ears of Rod Wells, Salem’s veteran head coach, whose resume includes a 2016 state championship with Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
“They can leave as soon as we end practice, but they don’t,” said Wells, motioning toward multiple players who stayed late to work on their jump shots. “That’s one thing I like about this group: They want to get better and they’ll do whatever it takes to get better. To me, that’s inspirational.”
Mutual admiration
The coach-player inspiration works both ways, Rock players said.
“Coach Rod is so passionate about basketball, and that rubs off on us,” said Lainey Claramunt, a sophomore guard who started and excelled as a freshman.
“Coach is very serious about the game of basketball and he has great knowledge of the game,” added junior Julia Steinhebel, the team’s best perimeter shooter who said she tries to take a minimum of 100 shots a day, whether it’s in her driveway or a gym. “And he’s great at passing that knowledge down to us.”
“And he’s always pushing us to work harder and get better,” said sophomore point guard Stella Stotz.
The Rocks entered this week’s 2025-26 schedule — they opened with a lopsided road win at Walled Lake Central — with more freshmen on the varsity roster than seniors.
Young and tested
But don’t let the team’s youth fool you.
Regardless of their age, these Rocks aren’t intimidated by playing against more-seasoned competition.
“I love this team’s unity,” Wells said. “They get along together, they work together and they believe in each other. Our guards — Lainey and Stella — led us in scoring, rebounding and assists last year as freshmen. They were never intimidated, no matter who we were playing. They stay after practice to work on their skills. What more could a coach ask?”
Wells raved about the skill set his three top returners — Stotz, Claramunt and Steinhebel — bring to the court.
“Stella is tall for a point guard, so she’s able to get a lot of rebounds,” Wells said. “And when she gets a rebound, she’s able to start fast-breaks, Magic Johnson style.
Super sophs
“Stella worked hard this past summer to be a better distributor. I think you’ll see better passing from her and getting her teammates involved.
“Lainey is a guard who wants to be a center. She rebounds, drives to the basket well and her jump shot has improved a lot since last year. She’s a mis-match for our opponents because she’s such a tough person to guard. She can handle the ball, post up, and she can guard the other teams’ 5 with no problem. Her versatility really helps us.”
Steinhebel, a junior, put on a three point-shooting clinic during the Rocks’ inaugural Rock Madness long-range shooting contest last month.
“Julia is one player who always has the green light to shoot,” Wells said. “We’re trying to get her to shoot more because her jump shot is pure. She can score off the dribble, too.”
‘Out of nowhere’
Sophomore guard Lillian Saab has earned a starting spot thanks in large part to her uncanny marksmanship.
“I watch Lillian shoot in practice and I don’t remember her missing two in a row,” Wells marveled. “She came out of nowhere last year. Early on, we thought she was going to be on the freshmen team.
“That’s three sophomores and a junior starting.”
Seniors Elise Antoun and Julia Montgomery are also expected to play key roles for the Rocks.
Seniors ready to shine
“Elise is very versatile; she can do a lot of different things,” Wells said. “Been to the final four, started before, and she has a good chance of starting now.
“Julia very, very good defensive player.”
Salem’s freshmen class is loaded with talent.
“Haley Steckel is really moving her way up,” Wells said. “She’ll be on JV some, but I see a bright future with her. And Natalie Lawler has a chance to start.”
‘They get after it’
Wells said he loves the aggressiveness his 2025-26 team displays on a daily basis at practice.
“We have a two-in, two-out drill, and they get after it,” he said, using an example of the Rocks’ don’t-back-down style of play. “We need to work on our communication a little bit, because that is huge. They’re all pretty young, so that will come.”
How does Wells forecast the KLAA West Division battles?
“Howell will be really good, Northville is really good as they’re returning most of their top players from last year,” he said. “After that we’re in the rest of the pack. Canton and Plymouth will be solid and Brighton solid. It’s going to be a good fight.
“This program has a fantastic future. Salem is going to be a team to be reckoned with and we’ll get stronger as this season goes on. We have a lot of hungry young kids.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
