Molly Deurloo achieved status of her Howell basketball idols
The basketball heroes for Molly Deurloo back in elementary school weren’t the big names anyone with a basic knowledge of the sport would recognize.
Molly didn’t want to “be like Mike” as she progressed as a young player in Howell.
She wanted to be like the high school girls who were stars for her hometown team and idols for the kids who would come to games or show up at Howell’s youth camps.
“I remember vividly going to some games, but mostly what I remember are the summer camps,” Deurloo said. “Being with Erin Honkala and Lexie Miller was my biggest thing. I looked up to them at the camps and definitely wanted to be like them.”
Deurloo would eventually be coached by Honkala and Miller, who returned to Howell as assistants, and blossom into a player who young girls watching the Highlanders now hope to emulate.
Deurloo played four seasons of varsity ball for Howell, helping the Highlanders go 62-22 over that span. The one thing missing from her resume was a district championship, which she achieved when Howell beat long-time nemesis Hartland, 49-35, on March 4.
In that game, Deurloo scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to earn Livingston Daily Athlete of the Week. It was the first district championship for Howell since 2016, Honkala’s senior year and Miller’s sophomore season.
Deurloo’s career ended Tuesday night in a 47-44 loss to Lake Orion in the regional semifinals.
“Those girls on that team, I actually played travel basketball with three of them,” Deurloo said. “We’re very close, and an assistant coach was one of my coaches in AAU. It was a very tough game. I knew going in it was going to be a very tough game; I knew it was going to be a battle. One of my best friends is No. 20 (Madeleine Ebbert). We guarded each other. I’m upset, but looking back I wouldn’t trade anything for the way my season went. We won a district; that was our big thing. We took a big step forward. The other girls can grow next year.”
After missing the first five games of the season with a broken finger, Deurloo led Howell in scoring average with 12.1 points per game and rebounding at 7.2. She had seven double-doubles in 20 games.
Those numbers don’t begin to measure Deurloo’s value in the Howell basketball program.
“I don’t want to overembellish, but Molly’s one of my all-time favorite people,” Howell coach Tim Olszewski said. “She’s a great young lady, a great kid. I’ve known her forever. They broke the mold with Molly as a human being and a person. She’s an all-star across the board.”
Deurloo will continue her basketball career at Alma College.
“The biggest thing for me is the coaches,” she said. “They’re amazing. I love them. I want to be an elementary teacher when I get older. They have a really good teaching program. That’s another thing, because school’s obviously first.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Molly Deurloo achieved status of her Howell basketball idols
