Photo by Daniel Gretzner
Khalil Beidown (left) and A.J. Dombrowski are playing for the University of Michigan-Dearborn this season. Both cagers are from the Dearborn, Dearborn Heights schools.
John Mackson, men’s basketball head coach at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, has entered his second season. The cage mentor of the Wolves would like to see an improved team that can be more competitive in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.
The UM-D cagers have been struggling with a 2-7 record during the month of November. Hope springs eternal, however, as the Evergreen campus squad moves deeper into the 2012-13 season.
Home games coming up in December are on subsequent Saturday evenings. On Dec. 8, the Wolves will host University of Northwestern Ohio, and Dec. 15 will host Cornerstone University. Both of these games are against Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference opponents and will tip off at 7 p.m.
A pair of Dearborn area hoopsters are returning to the UM-D lineup. They are A.J. Dombrowski, a 6-3 junior forward along with Khalil Beidown, a 6-2 sophomore guard.
Dombrowski is a former Crestwood High School player from Dearborn Heights and Beidown had past experience on the hardwoods at Dearborn High School. Both are expected to see action through the new season under Mackson.
Incoming freshman players from the Downriver suburbs are hoping to contribute. The newest faces belong to Pat Hebda, a 6-5 forward from Trenton, and Marcus Tillmon-Cornet, a 6-0 guard from Lincoln Park.
How well the Wolves do on the basketball court this year depends on how well they can make improvements in their overall game.
Plenty of cage tilts are still to be played. For only a few bucks (general admission is $5), they’re worth watching, and the UM-D Fieldhouse is right across Evergreen from Fairlane Town Center.
The team is playing a full schedule that will run through mid-February. Interested basketball fans can get more information online at www.gowolves.net.