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Ray Mitchell has been down this road before.
During his time leading the East Lansing boys basketball program, the coach has had talented players leave before their final seasons.
Andrel Anthony Jr. is one of the most prominent members of that group and didn’t suit up for his final season in the program after signing to play football at the University of Michigan. The 6-foot-10 Ethan Dunn in the past and Paul Van Dam this year are other college-bound athletes who opted not to play their senior seasons. Van Dam opted not to play last winter after signing to play baseball at Michigan State and wanted to prepare for his future.
So the loss of all-state wing and Division I prospect Kingston Thomas with his transfer to prominent Indiana prep school La Lumiere isn't a foreign concept for Mitchell and the East Lansing program to navigate.
"For us, it's next man up," said Mitchell, whose program also has to replace Mr. Basketball winner and Bowling Green signee KJ Torbert. "It gives other guys opportunities to grow and play a bigger role. It's a chance for us to have guys step up and see who can fill those shoes.
"... I always say this. At East Lansing if a guy can give me two quality years on varsity (that's great) because back in the day that's what normal guys did. There's so many opportunities for these kids at East Lansing and normally we have guys that play other sports."
So which players could play a larger role for East Lansing as it attempts to remain the top team in Greater Lansing and a factor once again statewide in Division 1? It may start with Tyree Anthony, who came on in the late stages of his sophomore season while helping the Trojans reach the Division 1 championship game for a second straight season before finishing as the runner-up.
Anthony, who is the younger brother of Andrel, picked up an offer from Saginaw Valley State in March and now is finding success playing AAU for The Family 16U team in the Nike EYBL circuit.
"That's what you want to do as a program," Mitchell said. "You want to make sure you're developing your younger players so as the seniors graduate and upperclassmen leave and you have guys not play, that next guy or that next person that kind of no one else knows about that you know about that has the Division I potential, or whatever their potential is, is able to carry on the tradition of the school and of the program.
"You're always trying to promote those kids and Tyree is definitely going to take that torch. We've got a couple of other guys that are going to follow in his footsteps and have a breakout year."
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Mitchell believes one of the other options who can help fill that void is Dillon Stewart, the younger brother of Trojans starter DQ Stewart. Dillon saw some varsity action as a sophomore last winter and has made an impression this summer.
"Dillon, the first game down at the University of Detroit on Saturday turned some heads," Mitchell said about the team's recent summer play. "He had all the college scouts tune into our game. I think he had six or seven 3-pointers and a few dunks. I know he's going to get some scholarship offers off of that game.
"He's ready to also fill those shoes and really step up and have a big-time junior season. That's the beauty of it is that these guys (Anthony and Stewart) are both juniors, so it's time for those guys to try to build their legacy."
Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing boys basketball aims to reload once again
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