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BCAM names Magic Johnson and Spencer Haywood as Retro Mr. Basketball winners
Lansing – It’s always interesting to speculate which players would have been named Mr. Basketball before the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan began presenting the award in 1981.
The winner that season was Sam Vincent of Lansing Eastern who later went on to play for Michigan State.
Ron Pesch, the Michigan High School Athletic Association historian, in conjunction with BCAM, has supplied us with those players who would have the award, or at least would have been highly considered, for the award through a series titled “Retro Mr. Basketball”.
Pesch has diligently dug into the archives and the latest installment, which follows a decade by decade format, has Ervin “Magic” Johnson of Lansing Everett at the 1977 winner.
Difficult choice, right Ron?
The winner for 1967 is Spencer Haywood of Detroit Pershing.
Another easy call.
Haywood and Johnson are two of the best players to come out of this state.
The ’57 winner is Ed Burton of Muskegon Heights and the ’47 winner of Sammy Gee of Detroit Miller. Bob Osterman of Detroit St. Theresa was named the winner for 1937 and for the ’27 winner is Bill McCall of Muskegon.
Going back to ’77, Johnson has serious competition. Jay Vincent of Lansing Eastern and Kevin Smith of Birmingham Brother Rice were among the other candidates.
Among Haywood’s competition was Dane Fife of Clarkston and Kennedy McIntosh of South Haven.
