State championship Lansing Everett girls basketball teams left lasting legacy

At the time, Darryl Scott knew what he was experiencing was a big deal when he was an assistant coach for a Lansing Everett girls basketball program that made itself one of the state's best in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But as he reflects two decades later, Scott has realized even more the significance of what Everett did in getting to three consecutive Class A championship games and winning state titles in 2000 and 2001.

Outside the Vikings, no Greater Lansing program has won back-to-back girls basketball state titles in the Michigan High School Athletic Association's two largest classes/divisions. And Everett's 2000 and 2001 championship teams will be honored for their success Thursday when they are enshrined in the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame.

Seven individuals and three teams will be inducted in a ceremony at 4:30 p.m. at the Lansing Center.

"To me what we did for the Lansing area, not just in girls basketball, but for the Lansing School District (was big)," said Scott, who was an assistant to coach Johnny Jones for those championship squads.. "As you look back on it, we had a strong four- to five-year run and we just happened to win back-to-back state championships. We went to three consecutive state championship games. There was a span where we were getting the attention of the whole state of Michigan and the notoriety.

"What it did was it brought positive recognition to the Lansing School District. To me that was special."

The induction into the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame is part of a big weekend for the squads, who will also be celebrated at the Everett High School gymnasium from 1-4 p.m. Friday.

"The city lit up for them," said LaToya Turner, who was an Everett student at the time and has helped organize the upcoming festivities. "Just that era was something special.

"They are finally getting their appreciation for what they did. It's definitely a long time coming."

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Everett boasted plenty of talent during that era with players like Sheena Moore and Patrice McKinney being the top scorers. Miranda Walson and Kristen Rogers were the other starters on both championship teams.

The Vikings went 28-0 in 2000 while winning the first of the titles and followed with a 26-2 mark in 2001 to repeat as state champions. Everett bounced back from a 1999 state finals loss to Utica by beating Detroit Martin Luther King in the 2000 title game. The Vikings knocked off Saginaw Heritage in the 2001 state final.

It took a decade for a team to win back-to-back state titles in Class A after Everett pulled off the feat. The next team to do so was Grand Haven in 2012 and 2013.

Moore, who went on to play at UNLV and then overseas, relished being part of a dynasty for the Vikings that began in 1998 when they fell just short of reaching the Final Four with a roster that featured Candice Jackson and Shakera McReynolds.

"I don't know the entire history of Michigan high school athletics, but we had a hell of a run for four years," Moore said. "Four games or however many games that we lost, three state (finals) appearances and two back-to-back championships. Especially with basketball, that is very difficult to do.

"It was a special time. A huge accomplishment. One of the things I'm most proud of in my basketball career is this honor that we're getting inducted. I feel like it's a legacy we were able to leave with Everett and with the city of Lansing."

While the talent on the roster was evident with several players who went on to play at Division I programs, Scott said the thing that set Everett apart then was the family involvement.

"You need that to be a state championship team," Scott said. "That means not only you concentrate in the current basketball season, but you're promoting your daughter and taking her to travel tournaments, whether it's AAU, Junior Pro. There was a strong family commitment. That was the main thing when I tell people about those teams. It was a special group, but it was a special amount of family commitment and community involvement as well."

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That buy-in Moore noticed from her peers during that time. She recalls many of the sacrifices players made during those years to help Everett make itself a statewide force.

"It was a true commitment," Moore said. "I don't know if everyone knew at the time all that went into what we were able to accomplish. The state championships were like the finishing result. We had summer workouts and we were doing things like the Tennessee Lady Vols summer conditioning workout. We were absolutely putting in the work.

"That's the kind of success you need and the players to buy into the vision. All of our coaches — it was just the full complete effort with all that went into that."

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.

Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony

When: 4:30 p.m., Thursday

Where: Lansing Center

Cost: $35. To order, go to lansingsportshalloffame.org. 

2022 inductees: Jim Brandt, Roger Callard, Roland Carter, Josephine Mask, Dan Olsen, Rocky Shaft, Rachel Turney, 2000 Everett girls basketball team, 2001 Everett girls basketball team, 2000 Lansing Community College softball team

Sponsors: Dean Transportation, Shaheen Chevy/Cadillac, Applegate Home Comfort, Gregory Eaton Associates, ASAP Printing, Dan Henry Distributing, One North Kitchen & Bar, AF Group, Bill and Andrew Archer Financial Advisors, Magic Johnson Enterprises, Mary Ellen Sheets

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Championship Lansing Everett girls basketball teams to enter Hall