Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the Michigan Monarchs basketball program has nothing to do with basketball at all.
David LaGrande, who co-founded the club in 1999 with wife Minnie, treats his program in much the same way a scholastic coach would administer his. That is, academics matter – in a big way.
“Our main philosophy and mission statement is to provide these young ladies with opportunities to develop as basketball players and student-athletes,” LaGrande said. “We put a major emphasis on academics, so we truly embrace ‘student-athlete.’”
That manifests itself in an important rule for athletes who aspire to play for the Monarchs: You must have a minimum 2.5 grade-point average to participate.
Each June, the Monarchs conduct a banquet to honor academic achievement. Those who have maintained at least a 3.0 GPA are honored.
“This year, out of 107 players, we had all but nine players receive an academic achievement award,” LaGrande said. “The first year we did it, in 2000, we had about 67 percent that received it. The next year it went up to 83 percent, and it has been going up every year since then. We are very big on the academic side.”
And it has been that way since Day 1. David and Minnie founded the club in 1999, and a year later began their first season of competition. The club sponsored eight teams this year.
The Monarchs certainly aren’t the only club that utilizes an academic component. But such clubs are sufficiently uncommon as to draw respect and admiration.
“There’s very few,” LaGrande said. “A lot of the college coaches just rave about it. It’s funny … we had the head coach from Wayne State University as our keynote speaker when we had our banquet. She said she had never seen anything like it. Never.”
And LaGrande said he’s raising the standards next year.
“We just found out that JUCOs are raising their GPA to a 2.5 now, so we’re going to next year raise our minimum to a 2.8,” he said. “We have what’s called a business manager for every team, and the business managers handle all the money we collect for fees and our coaches don’t handle money at all. Their job is to make sure these kids are staying on point academically. I get to see all the report cards so we make sure we know what the kids are doing.”
The academic side is one portion of the broader picture that LaGrande seeks to create. He wants an environment that is conducive to the overall development of his athletes, on and off the court.
“We also started doing background checks with our coaches probably about 8 or 9 years ago, well before everything came out with the NCAA and Lexus Nexus and those types of things,” he said. “And then with this new concussion law that Michigan just passed and went into effect June 30, our board made it a requirement that our coaches, business managers, board members, and any volunteer had to go through that online educational tutorial and get certified on concussions. We just try to make sure we’re staying on top of things for the kids’ best interests.”
Since 2000, the Monarchs have had 203 players earn college scholarships, LaGrande said. “I would venture to say that about 91-92 percent of those kids have gone on to get their college degree.”
And no doubt many more from the current batch will be included in that group soon. A look at some of the prospects:
Sierra LaGrande, 2014: “She is definitely one of the best lead guards in the state and the Midwest. She’s being recruited by several mid-majors and recently made a visit to Kent State. She is left-handed and probably one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached. Sometimes I just shake my head and go, ‘wow.’ She’s a pass-first, shoot-second guard and one of the best shooters in the country.”
Jada Woody, 2014: “She has committed to the University of Toledo. She’s a 6-foot wing / forward. This kid is extremely athletic and long with about a 6-5 wingspan. And is still growing. Jada is a slasher who can take it to the basket and has really improved her jump shot.”
Charlesann Roy, 2014: “She has committed to Grand Valley State. She’s a 6-foot power forward who has great post-up moves, a high motor, rebounds strong and runs the court extremely well for a big girl. A tough kid.”
Nicole Urbanick, 2014: “She has committed to Detroit Mercy. She’s a 5-8 shooting guard / small forward. She’s a good shooter, goes to the basket well and is an athletic kid. Very cerebral.”
Brittany Washington, 2014: “A 5-7 point guard and a tenacious on-ball defender. Handles the ball well and sees the court. Has really improved her range and is a great kid.”
Laura Bruton, 2014: “A 6-1 wing forward who is extremely athletic. She gets up and down the court well, has a feathery touch, takes it to the basket and is a really good defender.”
Cortney Williams, 2014: “A 6-foot power forward. All 10 of these kids are very athletic, and Cortney is probably the best athlete we have on the team. Great body, can jump out of the gym, is a very good defender, blocks shots and has good post moves. All with a high motor.”
LaGrande said mid-major schools are recruiting all of them, along with 2014 grads Charity Godbold, a 5-9 wing/guard; Kristen Massey, a speedy 5-6 point guard; and D’asia Clark, a 5-11 wing forward.
The 2015 class is spearheaded by Megan Carter, a 5-7 point guard whom LaGrande describes as “definitely one of the top two guards in the state in that class. She can flat-out play.”
Other promising 2015’s are 5-8 wing / guard Taylor Jones, 6-0 forward Hannah Brefled and Jordan Wright, a 5-7 shooting guard.
The younger levels are led by a 2016 group that LaGrande said has won the state championship in Michigan the last four years and is led by Kristen Nelson, Amber Stephens, Hailey Leidel and Bailey Thomas.
