Chiefs well-represented at
BCAM A-B All-Star game

BY ED WRIGHT
Aug 12, 2010, 8:15 a.m.

  Five months after playing in what she thought was her final competitive basketball game - a Class A semifinal game against Detroit Renaissance in March - ex-Canton standout Alyssa Cottrell hit the hardwood again Saturday in a star-filled contest played at Brighton High School.

  Cottrell was a member of the "Black" team in the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan's Class A-B All-Star game, an entertaining match-up that was won by the "White" squad, 86-80.

  Cottrell, who is headed to Michigan State University in a few weeks, was selected to play in the game by Canton head coach Brian Samulski, who earned the honor of coaching the All-Stars by being named BCAM's Class A "Coach of the Year" earlier this year.

  "It felt really good getting out there and competing again," said Cottrell. "It wasn't the same without my teammates from Canton because we were so team-oriented and they're what made me the player I am, but it was fun.

  "There were a lot of really good players in the game, including Miss Basketball (East Lansing's Clarissa Bell). I didn't know a lot of them, but I recognized them as girls we played against last season.

  "I'm not a huge scorer, so I didn't score, but I was able to keep up and hold my own. It was a cool experience."

  Samulski commended Cottrell's performance in the un-Canton-like up-and-down-the-court game that - judging by the final score - featured few defensive stops.

  "Alyssa was very solid," said Samulski, who will receive his Coach of the Year award at a BCAM banquet in the fall. "She did all the little things - setting screens and creating shots for her teammates - that she did for us at Canton."

  Cottrell will turn her athletic talents to the sport of rowing at MSU.

  "I've never tried it before, so I'll be a novice, but I was looking for something new that will keep me in shape, and it looked like a fun sport to try," Cottrell said.

  Ed Wright can be reached at (734) 453-1980 or info@plymouthcantonsports.com.