Where are they now ? Mr. Basketball finalist ’88-’89
We are catching up with the 30 year reunion of the Class of 1988-89 Mr. Basketball nominees.
1988-89
1) MICHAEL TALLEY, DETROIT COOLEY – 563
2) Sander Scott, Northport – 305
3) Dwayne Stephens, Ferndale – 149
4) Dennis Kann, Mio – 133
5) Jeff Warren, Litchfield – 121
MICHAEL TALLEY, DETROIT COOLEY
He is a former 1989 Mr. Basketball in the State of Michigan and led Detroit Cooley High School to three state championships. He continued his playing career at the University of Michigan earning four letters from 1989-90 until 1992-93. Michael was on the Adrian University coaching staff a few years ago and continues to work in coaching.
SANDER SCOTT – NORTHPORT
Sander Scott is Leelanau County’s most prolific scorer with 2,348 points over a four-year career at Northport that included the 1988 Class D State title. After finishing play at Central Michigan University, Scott mostly put basketball on the back burner in favor of his professional careers. He’s the superintendent at the Glen Lake Community Schools, and the Scott family owns two businesses in Northport — the Filling Station, and Leelanau Propane.
DWAYNE STEPHENS – FERNDALE
A Ferndale, Michigan, native, Stephens was a four-year letterwinner at MSU from 1989-93. In his four seasons, MSU posted an 84-38 overall record and made four postseason appearances, as Stephens never missed a game. Dwayne Stephens is in his 16th season as an assistant coach at Michigan State, and his seventh as associate head coach.
DENNIS KANN – MIO
He lead the 1989 Mio basketball team to the the state championship for Class D. Kann had a fine career with Central Michigan after graduating he took up coaching at his alma mater Mio High School. Dennis Kann has deep roots in Mio basketball, playing in the late 1980s and coaching since after college. He retired as head coach of the team in 2012.
JEFF WARREN – LITCHFIELD
Warren’s record-breaking accomplishments at Litchfield made him a local legend in the town of fewer than 1,500 people in Hillsdale County. He averaged 27.4 points and 16.5 rebounds per game as a senior and finished his four-year varsity career with 2,105 points. Warren went on to play at the University of Missouri where he averaged 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds during his four seasons at Missouri as the Tigers racked up 86 wins. After a battle with lymphoma that lasted less than a year, Warren died in hospice care May 8, 2015, in Olathe, Kan.