MUSKEGON – Every season, Muskegon boys basketball coach Keith Guy talks openly about the possibility of winning a state championship.

He can do that, because year in and year out, his Big Reds are always at least very good, and capable of playing with the best teams in Michigan on any given night.

Of course the Big Reds don’t win state trophies every year. They’ve only done that once during the Guy era, in the magical season of 2013-14, when they posted an amazing 28-0 record and blew everyone out of the water, including Bloomfield Hills in the state finals, 91-67.

But when you maintain a great program, a lot of other championships come your way, like conference and district titles, which are by no means easy to earn.

Muskegon Coach Keith Guy. Photo/Jeremy Clark

Going into the 2020-21 season, the Big Reds had won nine straight conference titles, in both the O-K Black and their current O-K Green divisions. They had also won nine straight district titles, going back to Guy’s first year on the bench.

If you count his years coaching at Muskegon Heights, Guy had won 16 consecutive district titles.

That’s why it was big news last season when those streaks ended, in what was arguably Guy’s most difficult year at Muskegon. The Big Reds lost twice to Zeeland East and once to Reeths-Puffer in the regular season and did not repeat as conference champions. Then they lost to Grand Haven in the local Division 1 district championship game, so the district title streak ended, as well.

The 13-7 season was a sobering experience for a team that was used to bringing home at least two trophies per year, and sometimes more.

It took a perfect storm to bring the Muskegon basketball team back to earth. Last year’s Big Reds were very young, after graduating nine seniors from the 2019-20 team, so there was a lot of learning to do. And there weren’t many opportunities to learn, because the state was in the grip of a major COVID outbreak, making a lot of normal workout and team-building activities very difficult or impossible.

Muskegon’s Jordan Briggs (2) battles for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark

“I felt like we didn’t accomplish the things that our program sets out to accomplish every season,” Guy said. “We didn’t bring home one trophy last year. I felt disappointed in that. The kids all worked hard, but they were young kids. We had graduated nine seniors from the year before, and those were all guys who played major roles on our team. So for us to go into a COVID season with a totally new group, without team camps, without the weight room or team bonding things, really hurt us.

“To top it all off, we had to play three games per week. There was not a lot of teaching going on. It was kind of like an NBA schedule.

“I don’t think a lot of those kids knew what they got themselves into playing varsity basketball for Muskegon. I warned them that everybody we played would be giving us their best shot, then they got in those games and realized coach was right.”

In the midst of the disappointing results came a disturbing incident in late February of this year, on a night when the Big Reds played and lost to Zeeland East. Guy had an argument with a referee, he claimed he was pushed in an assaultive manner, and was extremely upset about the situation.

Charges were eventually filed against the referee, and the incident was widely addressed in the local media.

“I felt disrespect, and I felt helpless at that moment,” Guy said. “You should never be put in a position where you have to make decisions that could affect your livelihood, or affect those around you. As a man, when someone puts their hands on you, you normally react, but I couldn’t at that point, because part of my job is teaching my guys how to use restraint.

“The sad part is that the kids were very upset by it. It upset me when I saw their faces in the locker room. I felt bad for my kids, and I felt bad for Zeeland East. They won the conference title that night, it was their night, and it became about something else.”

‘They’ve gone through the wars’

The nice part about bad seasons is that they eventually end and are hopefully followed by much better seasons – and that’s been the case at Muskegon this winter.

Nearly all of the players from last year’s Big Reds squad – including all five starters – returned this season, determined to turn things around. They were not happy to be the group that allowed the conference and district title streaks to end, and they’ve been working extremely hard to make up for it.

So far that hard work is paying off in a very big way. The Big Reds improved their record to 9-0 on the season with a 55-47 victory over Reeths-Puffer on Tuesday. Every one of their wins except that one had a victory margin of at least 11 points. Most of the games have been blowouts, like the 59-35 win over Traverse City Central, 74-57 over Zeeland West, 84-58 over Benton Harbor and 74-29 over Mona Shores.

While most good teams have a few guys who can score consistently, Muskegon has a lot of them. Jordan Briggs currently leads in scoring with a 14.3 point per game average, followed by Anthony Sydnor (13.1), Maurice Sain (10.7) and Ethan Hill (10 points, 10 rebounds per game).

“We are at least 10 deep,” Guy said about the depth he has in his rotation.

Big Reds Maurice Sain (5), Ethan Hill (11) and Anthony Sydnor (4) apply defensive pressure in a game against Wyoming. Photo/Jeremy Clark

The vast improvement from last season is largely the result of last season, Guy said. Sometimes the best lessons are learned the hard way, and the Big Reds certainly learned their share.

“They’ve gone through the wars, and now they’re more experienced,” Guy said. “They’ve been through a lot, good and bad, and it’s made us better. Now they see how physical they’ve got to be, and they’ve been in the weight room and gotten stronger. They’re better at taking care of the basketball. We weren’t able to help them improve in those areas last year because everything was shut down.”

Sain, a senior co-captain, said the players started working out shortly after last season ended, and were determined to do much better this winter.

“It was disappointing we lost so early in the playoffs,” Sain said. “We were making 500 shots per day a week after the season ended. We were in the gym shooting pretty much all summer.

“I think we’re a lot better this year. We have toughness on the defensive end, good rebounding, and guys who can do multiple things. We are a totally different team.”

Muskegon’s Ja’Den Walker goes high for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark

The early success does not mean the Big Reds are a finished product, by any means. They still have their inconsistent moments, like in a recent game against conference foe Wyoming, when they trailed 30-29 at halftime, prompting Guy to bemoan their performance.

“(Wyoming) played well, and we played terrible,” Guy told a MuskegonSports.com reporter. “I felt like we thought they’d roll over for us. They didn’t and I was very disappointed in our effort, and I told them at halftime how disappointed I was.”

The new and improved Big Reds showed up in the second half, however, scoring 31 points in the third quarter alone and steamrolling to an 82-59 victory.

“The energy and defense picked up,” the coach said. “We showed better effort and hustle in the second half. I think we’re tough and we’re deep. I think our potential is unlimited, and I think we can go as far as any team in the state.”

Guy says his current team has the potential to rank up there with the best Muskegon teams from the past – but the key word there is potential.

“It’s still early for them,” he said. “They have to earn it. On paper we look pretty good, but they have no trophies yet. They have to earn those things. In March I will be able to tell you.”