Northville basketball teams have winning ingredients heading into 2022-23 campaigns
Northville girls basketball head coach Todd Gudith talks about the upcoming season as Sydney Brown (left) and Eve Tanaskoska look on.
Northville High School was the site of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association’s inaugural basketball media event, which leads to the question: Will the Mustangs be the hosts with the most during the 2022-23 season?
We won’t know until sometime in February, but given the wealth of experience and talent returning for both the boys and girls squads, it’s not a stretch to think the upcoming campaign will be coated in gold for the orange-and-black ballers.
The Mustangs girls team is coming off a stellar 17-6 season that was capped by a Class A district championship. Among their three returners are Eve Tanaskoska and Sydney Brown, who accompanied head coach Todd Gudith to the podium during Monday’s event.
Other key returners for the Mustangs include Susy Heller, Lauren Talcott and Evelyn Deren.
Northville finished third in the always-competitive KLAA West Division, its highest finish, Gudith noted, since the league divided into east and west divisions.
The Mustangs‘ roster is loaded with nine returning players, six of which are seniors who are entering their third or fourth year on varsity.
“Quite frankly, this is as wide open as this division has ever been,” said Gudith. “There are a lot of high-quality teams in our conference. In fact, I could make a pretty good case for half a dozen of them to win the (conference) championship.
“The key for us is to get better every night because we know we’re going to be facing stiff competition in the West Division.”
A pre-season coaches poll predicted Northville would win the West, followed by Brighton and Hartland.
Mustangs boys tough too
Like the girls squad, Northville’s boys earned a Class A district title following a 13-10 regular season.
Head coach Todd Sander welcomes the return of three starters and four key contributors from last season: Nolan Thomson, Max Anderson, Cullen Foley and Carlos Adamson.
“We are very excited about the upcoming season,” Sander noted. “We have a tough December schedule, which should get us prepared to face a tough division schedule that has great coaches and great teams.
“Hopefully, we can hang with the Brighton, Canton and everybody else. There really are no easy games this year. We have a log of guys back this year and I’m excited about what we may be able to accomplish this season.”
The Mustangs open Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Ann Arbor Skyline before traveling to Lakeland on Monday, Dec. 12. Both games tip at 7 p.m.
Northville opens its home slate Dec. 12 against Detroit Catholic Central in a contest set to tip off at 7:30 p.m.
The Mustang boys were picked to finish second behind Canton in the pre-season coaches poll.
