It’s fitting that, on a day celebrating Flint basketball, a Torbert was the most dominant player on the court.
K.J. Torbert, a senior on the East Lansing boys’ basketball team and son of Flint legend, former Michigan Mr. Basketball winner, and Michigan State star Kelvin Torbert, led East Lansing to a 76-46 win over Hamady at the first annual Vehicle City Flintstone Classic on December 6.
Torbert, a Bowling Green commit and a favorite to win Mr. Basketball, which is awarded each year to the best senior in the state, gave a Flint crowd that included family and friends out to watch him a memorable performance. He capped things off late in the fourth quarter with a quick flurry that included a steal and breakaway dunk, followed by a steal and 3-pointer, and then a steal and a bounce pass through traffic from near halfcourt to a teammate for a layup before getting a big ovation as he exited the game.
Torbert’s dad got to watch his son win a state title last season, and in addition to defending that championship, Torbert Jr. is trying to accomplish something no other father and son have done: add another Mr. Basketball award to the family.
“I’m trying to get Mr. Basketball, that’s my main personal goal I’m trying to get,” Torbert told Lavish Sports after the game.
Celebrating Flint Legends
The Torbert name wasn’t the only other legendary one represented Saturday. In fact, the name of the showcase itself was an homage to the 25th anniversary of the national championship won by Michigan State University’s Flintstones in 2000. The Flintstones on that title team were Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, and Charlie Bell. A fourth, Antonio Smith, graduated the year prior.
Peterson and Smith were among invited Flint legends in attendance and recognized during the games.
“I’ve been all around the country, all around the world, and there ain’t nothin’ like playing basketball here in Flint,” Peterson told the crowd.
Other Flint basketball legends in attendance included Justus Thigpen Sr., the first player from Flint ever to make it to the NBA, former Flint Central star and NBA player Darryl Johnson, former Beecher and Michigan State star Marquise Gray, former Flint Northwestern and Michigan State player Anthony Mull, and former Mott Community College star and professional player Kevin Tiggs. David Thomas, who isn’t from Flint but played on the 2000 national title team, was also at the showcase.
The Flintstone Classic is put on by the Vehicle City Sports Committee, which was founded by Judge Duncan Beagle. The committee began an annual high school football showcase at Atwood Stadium in 2017. The committee put together yearly high school boys’ soccer games beginning in 2023 and added girls’ soccer in 2024. Those games are also played at Atwood Stadium.
The inaugural basketball showcase featured four matchups: Flint Elite vs. International Academy of Flint; Davison vs. Centerline; East Lansing vs. Hamady; and Carman-Ainsworth vs. Saginaw United. In addition to East Lansing, International Academy (63-55), Davison (68-60), and Saginaw United (59-53) were victorious.
A Proud New Tradition
Davison coach Mike Williams is plenty versed in Flint basketball lore. Williams guided Beecher to six state championships before taking the job at Davison in 2021. He was proud to have his team participate in the first Flintstone Classic.
“This has been a long time in the making, and Judge Beagle and the people that are participating in this mean the world to me,” Williams said. “When Judge Beagle called me, I rearranged our whole schedule for us to be in this. And so we played three games in three days to play in this to represent Flint and Flint basketball.”
Centerline is coached by Derrick Walton Sr., a great friend of Williams, and he happily accepted the chance to come and play.
The matchup itself looked lopsided at first – Centerline jumped out to an early double-digit lead, but Davison’s young team chipped away led by 27 points from Cortez Porter. Davison’s physicality and size inside helped the team get back into the game through offensive rebounding and toughness finishing around the rim. Bigs Blake Schuch, Willie McQueen, and Owen Keltner all proved to be difficult matchups.
Although most teams play some variation of a pace-and-space, five-out offense, Davison’s size has dictated a different approach – especially for Williams, whose Beecher teams were typically undersized and famous for fast, efficient guard play.
“Our defense has to be tough and on offense we have to play inside-out,” Williams said. “Our bigs are the key to that. This style fits our personnel. It just so happens a lot of teams aren’t playing this way anymore, but it works for us because many teams aren’t teaching this style anymore, so they don’t know how to defend it.”
Williams also credits the Davison players for collecting themselves and playing through Centerline’s initial wave and slowing the pace down.
“I learned a long time ago that coaches need to know when to just shut up and let kids play,” he said. “I couldn’t play with my coach yelling and screaming and hollering at me, so coaches gotta let players play, and that’s what we did. We let them play. The kids won the game.”
International Academy also picked up an impressive win in the showcase, beating Flint Elite, which is a co-op team with students from New Standard and Madison academies. Like Williams, International Academy coach Kevin Crosby wanted to make sure his team was a part of a special day for Flint basketball.
“I got a lot of respect and love for Judge Beagle,” Crosby said. “He’s been serving the Flint community for a while. He’s present, he’s personable, he does a lot and he’s been doing a lot for a long time. He’s an unsung hero.”
Crosby also wanted to pay homage to Flint’s basketball legends, particularly Cleaves, who he describes as his “big brother.” He said it is important to him as a coach that he conveys to his players the history and high standard for Flint basketball their predecessors have set.
“I’m just representing the Vehicle City, the Flintstones,” Crosby said. “Paying tribute to their legacy is a big deal. I’m proud that we were selected to participate.”
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