Kosmo knows he is a little late with his 3 stars for Friday's basketball games but, it is a little hard when the paper bag freezes and sticks to your seer's head. Just like there was a certain wind chill point that caused school districts to call off school on Friday, evidently there is a certain wind chill point to where paper bags stick to faces. Anyway, Kosmo found a blow torch in his cave and is back in business. Here are the 3 stars for Friday's games. Third star Alex Stuart, Notre Dame Prep Kosmo certainly didn't expect a Notre Dame Prep win over Bishop Foley let alone a rout. But thanks to 25 points from Stuart the Fighting Irish looked mighty impressive in a 57-32 win. Second star Kaitlyn Smith, Holly Can we just give the Flint Metro title to the Bronchos? Kosmo thinks after Holly's 42-30 win over Swartz Creek. Smith was a big reason for the victory as she scored 18 points in limited minute because the game got out of hand. First star Elise Gustafson, Milford It was a grand night for Gustafson against Grand Blanc, who turned in an unreal game. She had a rare 20-20 game, scoring 22 points and pulling down 24 rebounds in a Milford win. Don't mess with that force in the paint.

So much for January doldrums. Kosmo knows these can somewhat be the dog days of basketball season but there was certainly plenty of excitement on Tuesday with big games and outstanding performances. As always, it was hard to narrow the latter down to 3 but Kosmo will do his best. Here are his 3 stars for Tuesday night's games. Third star Shannon Wilson, Bloomfield Hills - It was yet another rock solid performance from the senior star for the Blackhawks, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in a win over Rochester. She has been a one-person wrecking ball for Bloomfield Hills this season. Second star Nick Owens, Clarkston - Owens out scored Lake Orion by himself on Tuesday, literally. While Lake Orion scored 27 points, Owens had 30 on the strength of eight makes from behind the 3-point line. First star Sierra LaGrande, Farmington Hills Mercy - Here is hoping Mercy and Marian play a couple more times this season because the first two games have been something special and a great thing for girls basketball in this state. LaGrande was the hero, draining what turned out to be the game-winning 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining.

Up until the last two years, Martin Luther King weekend was one of Kosmo's favorite of the basketball season because of what would take place at Pontiac Northern/Pontiac High School. Each year Pontiac would host the Martin Luther King Classic on Saturday and Sunday that would feature some of the best boys and girls teams in the state playing games all day on both days. It was definitely a weekend to look forward to each year but it appears as if the event is dead. The organizer of the event, legendary Pontiac AD Tarlton Small, retired and no one else has taken the baton, so to speak. Granted, it is hard to take that baton because there are few AD's as great as Small and the financial mess the district is in. The money problems were the big reason why the event wasn't held there last year and why it wasn't again this year. Kosmo understands why the event is no more, but it still doesn't make it any less sad or make Kosmo yearn for the days when Pontiac was the center of the high school sports world every Martin Luther King weekend.

Believe it or not we are just about at the halfway point of the basketball season, so if this was a dog sledding race, we would be past a bit marker and Kosmo would be furiously telling his dogs to mush. This is the time of year where teams and players are peaking, so there are plenty of great individual performances to choose from. Here are the best from Friday and Kosmo's 3 stars. Third star Amber Jamison, Rochester Adams - It might have been another tight one for the Highlanders, but once again they pulled through thanks in large part to the versatile junior, who had 11 points and 17 rebounds. Second star Yankee Maten, Bloomfield Hills - One of the state's premier big men was on top of his game against Southfield, scoring 21 points, pulling down a whopping 22 rebounds and adding eight blocks for good measure in a win for the Blackhawks. He just continues to impress those college coaches. First star Jonathan Radner, Berkley - Don't look now but the Bears are off to a 4-0 start in the OAA Blue thanks in huge part to Radner, who is on a roll. He scored 28 points for the Bears in an overtime win at Stoney Creek on Friday and is a rising star. In the case of Friday he was the first star.

As Kosmo wrote about before Tuesday night, it felt weird seeing so many rivalry games in the middle of the week and not on Friday. While it was odd, it still didn't make it any less exciting to see bragging rights decided in so many cities in one action-packed night of basketball. Here were the players that shined the brightest and earned a place in Kosmo's 3 stars. Third star Mike Williams, Troy Athens Kosmo was anxious to see which team would win a key early-season battle in the OAA White at Oak Park, and that squad turned out to be the Red Hawks thanks in large part to Williams, who scored 22 points to lead the way for his team. Second star Elise Tolbert, Birmingham Seaholm Admittedly, Kosmo didn't know what the single-game scoring record was at Seaholm before Tuesday night. He does now since the record now belongs to Tolbert after she went off for 34 points in a lopsided win over Groves. First star Chris Seaborn, Farmington Kosmo didn't think the Falcons would beat rival Harrison but Seaborn sure told Kosmo where to stick it. He scored 26 points, pulled down eight rebounds and dished out five assists for the Falcons in a big rivalry night win.

Unfortunately, the basketball games scheduled to take place in Waterford on Tuesday signify the big negative aspect of the season change a few years ago and having boys and girls basketball in the same season. Waterford Kettering and Mott will play in both boys and girls games, with Kettering hosting the boys game and Mott the girls contest. Both games have a lot of intrigue. A lot of intrigue. The boys game features an out of nowhere Kettering team that has already won more games than last year behind new head coach Ben Kelso against a Mott team that has been among the KLAA's best the last 3 years. The girls game should be just as good if not better, with the teams being the best in the KLAA North. Mott has the best player in Lauren Hung but Kettering no doubt wants to get the taste of last season's playoff loss to Mott out of its mouth. Too bad people have to choose which game to go to. Both are going to special events on a Tuesday night and not only will the city of Waterford be anxious to see what happens, so will Kosmo.

Lo and behold, we had a full night of games on Friday! Thanks to Mother Nature for cooperating and not only allowing teams to play after multiple nights of postponements, but also giving Kosmo further motivation to return to this blog. It is a little difficult to blog when gyms are empty and players are going stir crazy in their homes, but Kosmo is happy to once again offer 3 star selections. Third star Kristen Massey, Novi Franklin Road Christian One of Kosmo's favorites at a small school, Massey scored 33 points against Plymouth Christian and the Warriors needed every single one of those points given they eked out a 50-49 win. Second star Maceo Baston, Country Day Kosmo always loves to see a player stepping up and filling a greater role when called upon to do so, and Baston is doing that right now. He poured in 31 points in a win over a previously unbeaten Holly team and is looking good so far this season. First star Shannon Wilson, Bloomfield Hills Kosmo doesn't care that Oxford was missing its best player when the Blackhawks and Wildcats met at Oxford. The Wildcats still have a good coach in Steve Emert capable of devising a defensive game plan and players that can execute. Still, Wilson managed to score 30 points and lead her team to a lopsided road win. As some English people like to say, brilliant stuff.