Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
SPRING LAKE — Oakland University’s interest in Camden Thompson became serious when the Division I basketball program offered the Whitehall High School junior a scholarship.
The interest was reciprocated with Thompson’s official visit to the Rochester, Mich., campus recently.
When veteran Oakland head coach Greg Kampe made the nearly six-hour round trip to Spring Lake Tuesday night to watch Thompson play, you knew the Golden Grizzlies were putting the full-court press on the 6-foot-5 wing’s recruitment.
Thompson certainly did not disappoint in Whitehall’s hard-fought 50-44 nonleague victory over Spring Lake. He did a little bit of everything — really, he did a lot in some areas.
Thompson filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 23 rebounds (15 defensive, eight offensive), six blocks, three assists, and one steal. The springy, multi-sport standout, who also excels in football and track and field, also put down a crowd-pleasing, two-handed dunk.
“It was amazing for coach (Kampe) to come out. I really appreciate it. It’s like a three-hour drive …,” Thompson said.
While Thompson was the star attraction, Whitehall (2-0) is far from a one-man team. Explosive senior guard Camar Ready finished with 14 points, four rebounds, three steals, and one block. Sharp-shooter senior DJ Jamison and reliable face-up forward Kal Koehler added seven points apiece.
Whitehall senior Camar Ready (Courtney Jimison | CatchMark)
“We got great compliments during the summer, ‘You’ve got Cam, right, but you’ve got some other guys, too,’ and we do. And they don’t get enough respect for what they do,” said Whitehall coach Christian Subdon, whose team’s summer circuit included a stop at Oakland University.
“Cam’s an awesome player, but he’ll be the first guy to tell you that we’ve got some dudes on this team.”
Spring Lake (1-1), which won 58-53 last Friday at Ludington, was led by senior Karson George with a dozen points against Whitehall. Senior Zach Schlepp scored 11 points for the Lakers, while seniors Eli Morrison and Colin Burt added nine and eight, respectively. Junior Jaden Core grabbed seven rebounds for the hosts.
As per usual, Whitehall and Spring Lake are in the same Division 2 district this season. Orchard View is the district host.
Matchups between Whitehall and Spring Lake tend to be physical and feature sticky defense. That was the case again Tuesday, as both teams made only one-third of their shot attempts from the field.
Whitehall outrebounded Spring Lake, 37-25. The Vikings went 14-of-20 from the free-throw line compared to 9-of-11 for the Lakers.
“Defense is the main part of the game. Last year when we won against (Spring Lake), it was a terrible game. Our defense was all over the place. We were just lucky we hit shots,” said Thompson, referring to his team’s 64-61 season-opening victory over the Lakers last year at Whitehall. “This time, the win felt so much better because we could just ‘D’ up.”
Whitehall is off until next Tuesday when the Vikings face another nonconference test with Sparta coming to town. Whitehall visits arch-rival Montague next Thursday in the first of two West Michigan Conference Lakes Division grudge matches.
The schedule certainly does not get any easier for Spring Lake. The Lakers’ next five games are nonconference tests against Grand Rapids Union, Grandville, Grand Haven, Traverse City St. Francis, and Petoskey, before they tip off OK Blue Conference play Jan. 5 against Fruitport.
WHITEHALL MEDIA DAY
In case you missed it, check out photos, the hype video, podcast, and more from the Whitehall boys basketball team’s media day with CatchMark.
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