TRUE GRIT: Kuban brings strength, talent to Northville athletic teams

Kaden Kuban is the starting point guard for Northville’s basketball team and a two-way contributor for the Mustangs’ football program.
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell would love coaching Northville senior two-sport star Kaden Kuban.
Yes, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound student-athlete plays with grit — a trait Campbell obviously covets.
But Kuban also brings a ton of talent, physicality and controlled aggression to the football field and basketball court.
The combination of his skills set and mindset has resulted in multiple All-KLAA accolades in both sports the past two seasons.
Weight room is his home away from home
“I love being in the weight room and I love getting gritty,” said Kuban, who estimated he spent 10 hours a week during his summers at Northville High School pumping iron. “I like to bring a football mentality to the basketball court. I try to attack instead of laying back.

“I’m a pretty big point guard, so I love going downhill and getting into the paint with the ball.”
Opposing hoops defenders who draw charges against the solidly-built guard probably think twice about doing it a second time, given Kuban’s fullback mentality.
One of his trademark runs during his junior season at Northville was capped in the end zone when he trucked an overmatched Brighton defense back.
Speed/strength combo
He has good wheels, too, which he displayed against Canton this past season, taking a short swing pass to the house for a 58-yard TD reception.
“Kaden is so strong — probably one of the strongest players we’ve ever coached,” noted Northville Head Basketball Coach Todd Sanders. “He’s a difficult match-up for opponents because he can take other point guards into the paint and score around the rim.
“He plays with a blue-collar mentality on both ends of the court. We kind of go as Kaden goes because he has the ball in his hands a lot. If he has a good night — which he does often — the team usually has a good night.”
Kuban expects a lot from himself — and more often than not, he delivers on those expectations.
“Honestly, I wanted a few more accolades than I received after this past football season,” revealed Kuban, who was voted to All-KLAA and All-Region teams. “But when I was playing linebacker, teams didn’t run to my side of the field as often as I wish they would have, which is a compliment, I guess.”
Dynamic DNA
Kuban is a member of an ultra-athletic family. His dad, Kurt, was a standout football player at Westland John Glenn, where he met his current wife, Cheryl, who starred in volleyball for the Rockets before playing the sport at Oakland University.

He has an uncle who played Division 1 basketball and his grandfather, Bill Hawley, is a former Wayne Memorial athletic director who was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
Last but not least, his older brother Kameron was — like his. younger sibling — a stellar linebacker for the Mustangs; and his sister Maggie swam for the perennially powerful Northville swim-and-dive team.
“All of my family members inspired me in some way or another, but the reason I play sports is mostly because of my dad and my brother,” he said.
“I even switched my number in football this season to 2 from 14 because my brother wore 2. We played the exact same position and he was a big weight-room guy, too.”
Bright future
When it comes to the future, Kuban is still weighing his next-level football options.
“[Northville Assistant] Coach [Matt] Sexton is helping me connect to a few college football programs, so we’ll see how that goes,” he said.
“During my football career here, I didn’t love the 6 a.m. summer workouts, when we’d be flipping tires and doing stuff like that. But looking at it now, I really think I’d miss the bonding experience that takes place during those workouts.”
As far as career goals, he may follow in his dad’s journalistic footsteps.
“My dad’s a great writer, so I may end up doing something in that field,” he said. “But I’ll probably pursue some type of business degree and take it from there.”
Whatever the future holds for gritty, determined and talented Kaden Kuban, it’s bound to be bright.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.