Story by Jacob Holmes:
Milford High School will once again host the seventh annual Reaching Higher showcase of Michigan’s top high school basketball players. The boys’ event will be held on July 15, with the girls’ event taking place on July 23.
Over 200 student athletes will train and scrimmage under high school coaches from all across the state, and will do so in front of college coaches from all three divisions of the NCAA, the NAIA and junior college levels. Last year, coaches from 33 schools came to the Reaching Higher events.
The Reaching Higher events include classroom sessions for athletes and their parents in addition to the on-court drills and scrimmages. The goal of the events is to teach athletes what it takes to be a college basketball player and how to succeed in college life.
Local participants in the boys’ showcase include Braden Burke from Lakeshore, Benton Harbor’s Curtis Dawson and Jaton Gunn, Gavin Rasler from Niles, Brandon Winchester-Jones from Dowagiac, Dante Razzano from Edwardsburg, and Kalamazoo Central’s Ontario Burnett, Orlando Little, and Isaiah Livers.
Local participants in the girls’ showcase include Lakeshore’s Taylor Wagner, Buchanan’s Brooke Wesner, Niles’ Elyse Zimmerman, and Gobles’ Ellen Doyle.
A complete list of expected attendees can be found on the “Reaching Higher” page of the MHSAA website.