Flint always shows up to support its stars, so it was no surprise that hundreds of people attended ‘Trey Day’ at the University of Michigan-Flint on May 14 to honor Flint native Trey McKenney, who helped lead the Michigan basketball team to a national championship last month.
But as much as the event was about showing love from the city and honoring McKenney, it was also about showing young people in attendance what they’re capable of with hard work and commitment. Among the people in attendance were kids from Flint Community Schools, basketball players of all ages, and even some players from legendary AAU program Flint Affiliation, an organization McKenney himself played with growing up.
“Growing up playing with Flint Affiliation and going to those AAU tournaments when I was younger, that’s something that I’m always gonna look back to,” McKenney said. “That’s where it all started.”
Demarkus Jackson, the boys’ varsity basketball coach at Flint Southwestern and a longtime youth coach in the city, brought several players to get the chance to see and hear from McKenney up close.
“It’s very big to bring kids here to see Trey, somebody that grew up in the same place that they grew up in,” Jackson said. “So now they can see that their goals are more realistic than what they thought, seeing somebody that’s doing it from the same place that they came from. That’s the reason why I have them here, so they can really dream big now.”
The ‘Trey Day’ program included McKenney showing off the national championship trophy and answering questions from the audience. Mayor Sheldon Neeley presented McKenney with a key to the city and Dale Weighill, chair of the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, presented McKenney with a proclamation in his honor. An array of other political leaders, athletes, coaches, and community members attended to show appreciation for McKenney’s accomplishments, of which there are many.
On the biggest stage, McKenney hit a championship-sealing stepback three-pointer to push Michigan’s lead to nine points with less than two minutes remaining against UConn in the title game, extinguishing a late UConn rally attempt and putting the game out of reach. But the list of accolades in his career prior to that moment already position him among the most successful basketball players to come out of Flint.
He won the Michigan Mr. Basketball award, given to the best senior, after a standout high school career at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. He joins Glen Rice, Kelvin Torbert, and Monte Morris as other Flint natives to win the award. This year’s winner, Torbert’s son K.J. Torbert of East Lansing, also has a Flint connection as he and his dad are the first ever father-son winners of the award. And like Rice, he went on to win a national title at Michigan.
He was a McDonald’s All-American in high school, and then made the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after his first season at Michigan in which he averaged nearly 10 points per game and made 39 percent of his three-pointers. He’s already announced he’s returning to Michigan for his sophomore season, and he is excited to be relied on even more as Michigan loses some firepower from their championship squad with Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson Jr. all likely NBA-bound and key seniors Roddy Gayle Jr. and Will Tschetter out of eligibility.
“That’s one of the reasons I chose Michigan, to be able to build a legacy,” McKenney said. “And I think it started off the right way. It’s pretty exciting to be able to be a national champion. But I think the goal after that is to be able to be in Detroit next year at the Final Four and try to compete for another national championship. In this day and age, there’s a lot of other things on the table. But I wanted to come back and show that I could show my game more and expand my role.”
The pride Flint has for McKenney even supersedes traditional rivalry boundaries. Mateen Cleaves, a Flint Northern grade who led Michigan State to a national championship in 2000, spoke at Trey Day and shared his admiration for his accomplishments. And McKenney noted that another Flint player who chose to go to college in East Lansing has also been an influential voice for him.
“There’s countless guys that I’ve looked up to coming from Flint,” McKenney said. “But one in particular, Miles Bridges. I’m really close to him and he’s given me little bits and pieces to be able to go through this journey with. And I really thank him because he’s been at this level before, and he’s done it at the highest level. But there’s just so many guys from the city and so many great people that are so talented, and I appreciate them all.”
Flint also provided McKenney with a support system to have a laser focus and consistency in approaching his goals. He’s from a famous Flint family – his grandfather is former Flint Mayor Woodrow Stanley – and has a strong extended community of family and friends who he can rely on here.
“Flint means everything,” he said. “It’s built who I am now, and it’s a big part of who I am and how I go about everyday life and not just basketball. So I think my parents have done a really good job of just raising me and helping me and guiding me throughout my mistakes that I’ve made and also just keeping me humble. I think it’s really good to have a support system like this that cares for you no matter what you do or where you go.”
For Jackson, one take away he hopes the young players he brought to hear from McKenney have is that even large goals can be accomplished with the right mindset and a consistent work ethic.
“He represents motivation. He represents resiliency,” Jackson said. “He’s been motivated since he was a young kid playing FA (Flint Affiliation). I remember him when he was younger playing, and I’ve just seen his work ethic. He always worked hard, being number one at everything that he did. That’s a big thing, showing kids how to do whatever you got to do to go out and reach your goals, because it’s accomplishable.”
McKenney takes his responsibility as a role model off the court seriously too, saying that he wants to be as impactful of a leader off the court as he is on it. But he definitely has a goal in mind basketball-wise that he’s already chasing – one that would give him another unique claim to fame in his home state. The 2027 NCAA Final will be in Detroit at Ford Field, and he believes Michigan has a good shot at once again playing for a championship.
“I would say (for a prediction), just us being in Detroit for the Final Four next year,” McKenney said. “I don’t think that’s a crazy prediction, but that’s my next prediction for us for Michigan basketball.”
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