The Dragons have named their new Girls Basketball coach, but it’s not whom you think it is.
Orion named Mike Griffin as the new Varsity Girls Basketball
Coach replacing Kevin Kopec last week.
Griffin brings a ton of Basketball experience, especially
from the Boys side of things. He used to coach at Sterling Heights and was an
assistant coach at Birmingham Detroit Country Day under coach Mark Bray.
Griffin is a teacher in Sterling Heights, it is not known if
he will travel to Orion every day or not.
It will be a new challenge for Griffin coming to Orion as
well coaching the Girls instead of the Boys.
The Dragons finished 8-13 last season losing to Waterford
Kettering in the pre-district. They were bumped up from the White to the Red
and have a ton of experience returning in Tessa Nuss, Paytin Shadaia, Sophie
Canine, Sophie Wyborski, Cameron Coltrin, Sydney Strenger, Lauryn Van Loon, and Shannon Falter.
Thoughts.
I don’t know what to think about this move, he has a lot to
prove to me. There are a ton of unanswered questions surrounding this coaching
hire like how will the Girls respond to him???, Will the turmoil come back???, Can
he win with this group now and in the future???, Can he be there for the Girls
when they struggle???, How will he be in the community???, Can he make this
team a State title contender and go deep into the postseason???
Yes, Griffin brings experience to this team but I have some concerns
looking at his record when he was a Sterling Heights. His record when he
coached at Sterling Heights is a bit alarming. Also, the division the Dragons
will be in will not be easy, heading into the Red and going up against teams
like Clarkston, Southfield Arts and Tech, North Farmington, and Stoney Creek.
In his three seasons at Sterling Heights he posted a 25-32
record, and has not necessarily fared well against other big schools when he
was in the Macomb Area Conference. Griffin went 0-3 against Chippewa Valley in
the postseason.
Now this is a different situation that Griffin has stepped
into than the time he spent at Sterling Heights and at Birmingham Detroit
Country Day. Orion has suffered a ton of turmoil surrounding this program in
recent years. Everyone likes to move on from this, and I expect they will.
Experience matters, I’m not sure if Pandora’s Box has been
opened. Could it be a Gene Chizik situation with Auburn for College Football
with this hire, I don’t know???
We’ll find out.
Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest updates on this
developing story.
