MARCH 30 • 2023 | 71
MELISSA MICHAELSON
MELISSA MICHAELSON
their heads.
“Their effort was great. They fought
and scrapped. I never thought they
were out of a game. They competed.
They never got discouraged. They
improved week by week. I’m very proud
of them,” Sutton said.
Six of Frankel’s 14 losses were by five
points or less.
Frankel was in the five-team Catholic
League Intersectional 2 Division.
Three of its losses were inflicted by
division co-champion Waterford Our
Lady of the Lakes, including a 53-40
defeat March 6 in a Division 4 district
opener that was only a four-point game
with four minutes left.
Merrick Michaelson scored 23 points
in the loss.
Let’s get back to Adamczyk before
finishing the Frankel story.
His college recruiting is going full
steam ahead. As of last week, he had
offers from Central Michigan and
Illinois-Chicago.
“I had an official visit to Illinois-
Chicago — I thought the campus and
coaches were great — and I’m trying to
set up one with Central Michigan,” he
said. “There may be more offers coming
in. I’d like to make my choice in about a
month. It’s an exciting time.
“I haven’t talked to the (college)
coaches about whether they want me to
play point guard or shooting guard. I
was a combo guard in high school.”
Sutton had a relatively young team at
Frankel. There were four seniors, three
juniors, four sophomores and three
freshmen on his roster.
Freshman shooting guard Hudson
Rosner started 17 games.
“Everyone bought in to a new coach,
which was essential,” Sutton said.
“Several guys were inexperienced, so
they had to start with the fundamentals.
They had to learn how to play before
they could make plays.”
Michaelson was the team’s leading
scorer. He averaged 21 points per game.
He had back-to-back games of 36 and
33 points vs. Farber Hebrew Day School
and the Rudolph Steiner School out of
Ann Arbor.
“Pure scorer,” Sutton said about
Michaelson. “He can score in the paint
and if you lay off him, he’ll hit a three.
He was our point guard out of necessity.
But he was up to the challenge.”
Michaelson is a four-sport athlete
at Frankel. He ran cross country for
four years — twice running in the state
meet — played basketball for four years
and is starting his fourth year on the
baseball team. He also played tennis
last fall.
“I love competing and playing sports
with my friends,” he said, explaining his
busy schedule.
He’s going to attend the University
of Michigan to study kinesiology. He’s
giving some thought to trying out for
the U-M basketball team as a walk-on.
Also on the Frankel boys basketball
roster this season were seniors Gabe
Gordon (leading rebounder), Koby
Robbins and Ethan Baker; juniors Ryan
Schmeltz (assist leader), Ryan Rubin
(outstanding defensive player) and Ben
Schwartz; sophomores Spencer Cherrin,
Noam Goel, Elan Rosenberg and
Ethan Schwartz; and freshmen Robbie
Feldman and Evan Bronstein.
This was Sutton’s first year as a high
school head coach.
The former Berkley High School
basketball player was a varsity assistant
coach for the Berkley boys basketball
team last year after spending five
seasons at Birmingham Seaholm High
School as the freshman boys basketball
coach.
His day job is a social worker in
Macomb County.
Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
LEFT: Coach Bret Sutton consoles Merrick Michaelson in the waning moments of Frankel’s season-ending loss to Waterford Our Lady of the
Lakes. RIGHT: Coach Bret Sutton with Frankel co-captains Merrick Michaelson (left) and Gabe Gordon.