Sunday marks the last day of the Motor City Roundball Classic at Country Day and Kosmo hopes people have enjoyed some good basketball over the past few days. There actually have been lots of holiday tournaments going on over the break and Kosmo doesn't have a problem with that because it is a good idea to keep kids sharp and active over the break. Kosmo's problem is this. Why doesn't the same logic apply for spring break? School districts have policies in place that let kids go away on spring break and not get punished for not being with their teams, yet no such policies exist for holiday break this time of year. If anything, the policy should be in effect for this time of year and not spring break, given the winter season is much longer anyway. Spring sports teams have a much shorter season yet have to deal with the policy while winter teams this time of year can play holiday tournaments galore. It makes no sense and reeks of hypocrisy.

Kosmo hopes everyone out there had a wonderful Christmas, or whatever other holiday you observe out there. Kosmo was able to both hand out and receive many good gifts, which leads to the following question. Why even exchange gifts because it all just evens out in the end? Seems to Koz it would save a lot of time and hassle. Anyway, Kosmo was in his cave reading a fine story by spy Drew Ellis in Wednesday's Oakland Press on former Stoney Creek football player Eric Fisher. Evidently, Fisher is on the cusp of an NFL career since he's a potential first round pick after this season. That's pretty awesome to Kosmo, given he remembers when Fisher was a talented, but also skinny player for the Cougars. The K-Man knew it would take a lot of bulk for Fisher to become a successful college player, and he admits he had some doubts whether Fisher could do it. Well, Fisher certainly showed Kosmo and did exactly that, busting his butt and working his way into a chiseled, 305-pound lineman, which only enhances his greatful footwork and athleticism he honed playing basketball at Stoney Creek also. It's a great story about a great kid who simply worked hard and rode his determination to what looks like will be an NFL career. A kid from Stoney Creek becoming a first round NFL draft pick? Are you kidding Kosmo? Hopefully others around the area look at this story and realize their dreams can come true as well if they keep believing and working like Fisher has. He's definitely a role model to emulate.

The world may not have ended, but for many basketball teams, the 2012 portion of their schedules ended the past couple of days. Some will play in holiday tournaments, but many will just gear ahead towards 2013. Kosmo is about to do the same, but before he does, it's time to honor the best performances from Friday night's basketball games. Third star Aaron Howell, Farmington girls basketball — You just simply have to be impressed with what Howell brings to the table. The only real scoring threat for the Falcons, Howell still overcomes constant defensive attention and she did so again by scoring 25 points in a loss to rival North Farmington. Second star Zak Noor, Troy boys basketball — Is there a better story so far than what Troy has done? Who needs James Young? Evidently not the Colts, who upset Clarkston thanks to 17 points from Noor and a buzzer-beater by Ben Horvath. And Clarkston head Jordan Dasuqi back from injury also, making it an even more impressive win. First star Caleb Hogans, North Farmington Hogans has struggled a bit to score so far this season, but he rectified that big-time against Farmington, hitting eight 3-pointers and scoring a game-high 37 points for the Raiders in a lopsided win.

Consider Tuesday to be upset night around the county. Whether it was Rochester Adams beating Clarkston (boys), Bloomfeld Hills Andover winning at Lake Orion (boys), FH Harrison winning decidedly at North Farmington (girls) or Rochester winning in lopsided fashion at Stoney Creek, the unexpected occurred. What wasn't unexpected was more great individual performances, and once again Kosmo is here to offer his 3 stars for Tuesday night's basketball action. The NHL may not be in season yet, but Kosmo happy to carry on the 3 stars tradition. Third star Allie Shaner, Waterford Kettering - Kosmo figured the Captains would beat Pinckney and they did thanks in large part to Shaner, who scored a game-high 20 points for Kettering in the win. Second star Marcus McQueen, Bloomfield Hills Andover - This was a result Kosmo didn't see coming. Andover went on the road and upset Lake Orion thanks mostly to McQueen, who scored 20 points in an overtime win. No doubt, that was a statement win for the Barons. First star Stephon Williams, Oak Park Turning in a career-best performance, Williams showed why he could be one of the more underrated players in the county this season, scoring a game-high 29 points in a win at Southfield-Latrup. Kosmo feels he could be in for a big year.

Last week, Kosmo was reading the fine prep hockey preview done by spy Jason Schmitt, and something really caught your seer's eye, something that those who always voice displeasure with the breaks private schools get should definitely take note of. Jason reported that Brother Rice moved up from Division 2 to Division 1 this year, which isn't that big of a deal because the Warriors are usually one of the state's top teams regardless of class each year. However, as a result, it's created an interesting situation as far as the state tournament goes. Because of Brother Rice's move to Division 1, it was placed in a pre-regional with arch rival and fellow state power Orchard Lake St. Mary's. In the other pre-regional is Novi Detroit Catholic Central, so in one region is those three superpowers. Often times in recent years in certain sports, the MHSAA has separated such private school powerhouses, giving them easy districts or regionals to advance through. Of course, that leads to a lot of anger from other public schools who wonder why the privates got such a break. Well, that certainly wasn't the case this time. In an unusual move, three of the state's best private schools and teams for hockey will be in the same regional and not separated. Hopefully this will prove that the notion that private schools always have advantages is nonsense.

Basketball season is officially in full swing, because did you see all the games that were played tonight? Wow. It's certainly a big roundup on MIPrepZone.com, so coming up with the best individual performances of such a busy night is no easy choice. But in honor of the NHL's tradition, especially since the league is on strike, it's time for Kosmo's 3 stars for Friday night's basketball action. Third star Jessica Mehr, South Lyon The big reason why Kosmo is highlighting Mehr is because she did something that seems to be so basic, yet so hard on Friday: Hit free throws. Mehr was 15 of 16 from the line and scored 21 points for the Lions in a win over Livonia Franklin. Talk about fundamentals. Second star Akhemji Williams, Rochester Adams Williams has a ton of ability and Kosmo hopes this is a year where he lives up to his full potential. He certainly was on his game against Oxford, scoring 29 points for the Highlanders. First star Charity Godbold, Southfield Christian Not only does she have a divine name, but a divine game. Hey, that rhymes! Anyway, Godbold tore up a solid Auburn Hills Oakland Christian team, scoring 29 points for the Eagles in a 49-42 win. She not only has one of the county's best names, but she can flat out play.

The basketball season is already a couple of weeks old, and Kosmo already is noticing a problem that seems to get worse every single year, particular for girls teams. Can't anybody score any points anymore? Looking at the box scores, there are many times where teams can't get to 30 points, there have been some occasions where teams haven't gotten to 20 and there's even been a couple of times where teams can't even get to 10 points in a game. That's unfathomable to Kosmo and he wonders what the reasons are. Of course, the obvious source of blame for some is AAU, which many coaches say are more about money and the amount of games played rather than player development. Others blame the season switch of a few years ago and also the fact that players have more sports to choose from. Whatever the excuse, Kosmo never thought he'd see the day where getting off shots were considered successful possessions and that a team could easily win a game by getting to the 40-point mark. Hopefully it improves as the season goes along.

It was another busy Tuesday night in December, as tons of girls and boys basketball games were on the schedule. With so many games, there had to be great individual performances, and there certainly were. The NHL may still be in a labor dispute, but in honor of that league, Kosmo is here to offers his 3 stars for Tuesday night's basketball action. Third star Chaz Miller, Lake Orion boys basketball Miller certainly hasn't taken long to get adapted to hoops from football, has he? He scored a game-high 27 points for the Dragons in a win over Ferndale. He and John McCarty are going to be a nice tandem for the Dragons. Second star Erika Davenport, Clarkston girls basketball Kosmo focused on Delaney Kenny in his picks column the other day, but it was Davenport who stole the show in a 47-31 win over Auburn Hills Avondale, scoring 24 points and pulling down 16 rebounds in what was a monster game for the Wolves. First star Sydni Davis, Southfield-Lathrup basketball There had to be a lot of emotions for Davis going back to the school she transferred from, West Bloomfield, but she did a nice job of using those emotions in a positive fashion, scoring 28 points for Lathrup in a lopsided win.

There was some noteworthy news on two coaching legends in Oakland County over the weekend, and Kosmo is here to share his two cents on both. One, Clarkston boys basketball coach Dan Fife moved to ninth on the state's all-time wins list with Clarkston's win over Bloomfield Hills Lahser. Kosmo's take on that is that he's surprised Fife is only No. 9 given all the games he's won and how much he's gotten out of so many players. Hopefully he keeps moving up on that list. The other news involving a legend is in regard to the state's all-time winningnest football coach, Al Fracassa of Brother Rice. He decided to come back for one more year, and Kosmo is not only happy to hear that he'll be back on the sidelines for another year, but that he'll get to retire on his own terms. Rumors have it that Fracassa was trying to be forced out, which Kosmo finds hard to believe. How do you force out the state's all-time winningnest coach who has proven the game hasn't passed him by since the Warriors have won the last two Division 2 state championships? Kosmo thinks that's nonsense, but regardless, it's great to see Fracassa gets to decide when he wants to hang it up. He's earned that right.

Kosmo hopes everyone had a wonderful weekend, as winter sports are officially in swing. Big kudos to Kosmo's spies for all the previews this week, including the hockey preview by Jason Schmitt and the boys swim preview by Drew Ellis that ran on Sunday. Sorry for being tardy, but here are Kosmo's 3 stars for Friday and Saturday's action. Third star Nick Owens, Clarkston boys basketball - Just as Kosmo thought Dan Owens was a great shooter, along comes his little brother, who put on quite a shooting exhibition in Friday's win at Bloomfield Hills Lahser, hitting eight 3-pointers and scoring 26 points. Second star Sami Stormont, Royal Oak girls basketball - If there's a better scorer in the county, Kosmo doesn't know who it is. Stormont poured in 35 points in a win over Cranbrook and could be on this list lots of times this season. First star James Young, Rochester - Speaking of someone who could be in the 3 stars every night, here's the state's best player. It wasn't an easy thing on Friday for Young, who had to step on the court with lots of anticipation and people watching since it was his first game at Rochester. He responded like the great player he is, scoring 29 points in a win over North Farmington.

Kosmo was in his cave reading the annual boys basketball preview put out by main spy Keith D. and noticed something interesting in the league alignments. Troy was originally supposed to be in the OAA Red with James Young in the fold, but when Young transferred to Rochester, it was thought that Troy would be moved down to the White and Rochester would go up to the Red. It made sense, but for some reason, it didn't end up happening. Kosmo isn't sure who at Rochester spearheaded the decision to veto the move to the Red and stay in the White, but it was a horrible decision. Instead of seeing Young compete with the likes of Clarkston, Lathrup, North Farmington or Pontiac twice this season, the Falcons will stay in the second Division. Obviously whoever made the decision wasn't very considerate of Troy, either, which is terrible. Already reeling from Young's departure, the Colts now have the double whammy of having to compete in the OAA's top Division and essentially get blown out on a consistent basis. That is not right, especially when Rochester could compete in the Red with those teams. Again, Kosmo isn't sure who at Rochester was responsible for making this awful decision. If it was the AD, then he should know better. If it was the principal or any other administrator, it once again proves the point that administrators shouldn't be making athletic decisions. That's what athletic directors are for and if administrators aren't going to led AD's do their jobs, then what's the point of having them?

Kosmo had so much fun doing his 3 stars during football season, and add the fact that the NHL is still in labor strife, he's back taking a page out of the NHL's book by offering his 3 stars for Tuesday night's basketball action, both boys and girls. Kosmo is sorry for not doing this until now, but even seers have internet trouble at the cave sometime. Third star Amanda Miller, Pontiac It was quite a season debut for the Phoenix and Miller, who had 20 points and eight rebounds in a win over Waterford Mott. Kosmo knows Lance Davis will do a great job as always. Second star Paris Bass, Birmingham Seaholm Without question, Bass is headed for a big season. He started it off right on Tuesday with 26 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Livonia Franklin. Hard to believe he isn't committed to a college program yet. First star Jon-Jon Williams, Southfield-Lathrup This might be a regular occurrence this season for the all-stater. He poured in 39 points against state power Country Day and will likely be havingnlotsnof similar games this season.