T ake

ty good people at the guard
spot."
There's another Hoffman
waiting in the wings — Seth.
Matt's "little" brother is a
6-foot guard for the North Far-
mington freshman team who
is averaging about 30 points
per game. However, Seth also
is one of the country's top-
ranked tennis players in the
14-and-under age bracket, so
he misses some practices to
play in tournaments. Other-
wise, he would be a junior var-
sity cager this year — and on
his way to a three-year varsi-
ty career, like his brother.
Seth, says Negoshian, has
"quite a bit more size than
Matt. He's a different type of
player in that respect. He sees
the floor very well. I think he
plays basketball because he
loves the game. He's a very
good basketball player for a
ninth-grader."
Andover finished 7-14 last
year, the best record since
coach Rick Krisniski began
reguilding the program,
almost from scratch, four
years ago. "We haven't had a
great deal of success" as far as
winning games, says
Krisniski, "but we've made
some progress over the last
three years. And I really felt
this year we could put it all
together and come up with a
season that would be .500 or
even above."
Krisniski will try to gain
that success with four Jewish
players, including two
starters.
Darin Frank, a 6-foot-5
senior center, is a third-year
letterman and second-year
starter. A co-captain this year,
Frank is maintaining his
10-points-per-game average
from 1988-89, while grabbing
seven rebounds per contest.
He is one of three senior
starters "who we look to for
leadership," Krisniski says.
Frank's role, Krisniski says,
"is to be our big man inside.
He really can set the tone for
our rebounding game by the
way he performs in that
aspect. And on offense, he
works well inside and he also
has a pretty good outside shot.
We look to him from 10-12 feet
away from the basket."
The other Jewish starter,
sophomore point guard Jeff
Rosenberg, made the jump
from the freshman team,
where he was the most
valuable player last year.
"He's probably the best
overall ballhandler we have in
our program," Krisniski says,
"and that's why he's starting
for us. He passes well and he's
got a good court-sense, in
terms of finding the open
man.
"He's done a good job for us
in running the offense," says

the coach. "He's made some
mistakes, but he's young, and
he's going to get better each
game. I think by the time he's
a senior, he'll be one of the
best players we've had at An-
dover."
Jeff, whose brother Brad
played for Andover last year,
seems to be gaining more
poise with each game,
Krisniski says, adding that
some fellow coachs also have
commented about Rosenberg's
improvement in that area.
Darren Rosenberg, no rela-
tion to Jeff, is another
member of the Barons' varsi-
ty. Darren does not play much,
but, says Krisniski, he helps
the team in other ways. "He's
been a real cheerleader for us
on the bench, which is real im-
portant. And Darren works
hard in practice."
The fourth Jewish Baron is
senior forward Matt Citron,
who has seen some playing
time. "He's been in the pro-
gram since he's been a
freshman," Krisniski says. "I
think Matt understands his
role and is just happy to be on
the team as a senior. He is
willing to do whatever we ask
him to do to contribute."
Ann Arbor Huron's Vaughn
Swartz, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound
senior center, has Maccabi ex-
perience with both the Ann
Arbor and Detroit teams. He
is a co-captian and starter for
the River Rats this year,
averaging 6 points and 4.5 re-
bounds per game.
Huron coach Harold Simons
describes Swartz as an "in-
teligent player who is still
developing as a ballplayer."
Although Swartz usually
plays the low post, Simons
says, "The best part of his
game is probably his outside
shooting," noting Swartz has a
good 10-tp-15 foot jump shot.
Swartz's role is to rebound
both offensively and defensive-
ly and share some of the scor-
ing responsibility.
Simons hopes Swartz con-
tinues to develop. "We need
him to," says Simons, whose
team started this year 3-0.
At Oak Park, coach
Golding's hopes revolve
around a pair of key players —
senior Marcus Iverson, "a
legitimate Division I basket-
ball player," and junior Herb
Taylor.
"We are making progress. I
see the improvement in the
team play," Golding says of his
4-1 team.
Oak Park plays in the com-
petitive Northwest Suburban
league and also plays a tough,
non-conference schedule, in-
cluding state power Detroit
Country Day, Southgate
Aquinas and Warren De La
Salle.
Golding, in his second stint

your
kids
to court.

Franklin's Junior Tennis Program

•

is open to members and non-members alike. Geared to those
between the ages of 5 and 18, instruction is provided on an
individual basis at all levels. Sessions fill up rapidly so call and
register today or stop by at 29350 Northwestern, just west of
Franklin Road in Southfield.

Winter Session Begins
In January

To register, or for more information, call: 352-8000

Ext. 38.

FRANKLIN

Fitness & Racquet Club

"We asked women what
they really wanted from
a health club,
and created ,

♦ 27877 ORCHARD LAKE

T_HENTROIT JEWISH NEWS

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