Pontiac A&T Basketball Resurgence: Historic State Tournament Run Rekindles City’s Pride

Pontiac Arts & Technology’s journey to the Michigan Division 3 state finals wasn’t just about basketball—it was about restoring pride to a once-dominant basketball city. After two decades of decline, this small charter school brought hope back to the community.

The Pontiac Arts & Technology Academy boys basketball team advanced to the Division 3 state championship game in Michigan, uplifting a once proud basketball city in the process. / Keith Dunlap

For players and coaches on the Pontiac Arts & Technology boys basketball team, it became about something clearly more important than themselves.

Oh sure, everybody on the team wanted to win a Division 3 state championship in Michigan (there are 4 total Divisions, with Division 1 being the largest schools based on enrollment) for themselves, something they fell short of by losing to a terrific Riverview Gabriel Richard team in Saturday’s state title game.

But despite the loss, the team knows it did something even more important on its run to the championship game, and that was restore some pride to a proud basketball city in need of something positive to rally around.

“It just uplifts the city and lets them know that we can be there,” said Arts & Technology head coach Orlando Lovejoy.

Pontiac went from a rich tradition to a fallen power

Arts & Technology became the first team from Pontiac to advance to the state’s final four since 2004, when Pontiac Northern advanced to the semifinals in the state’s largest classification. 

Back then, having to wait 21 years for another team in the city to get to the final four seemed unfathomable. 

Northern had won state titles in 2001 and 2002, while rival Pontiac Central was also a good program. 

Many feel a 2002 state playoff game in the district round between Northern and Central was the de facto state championship game that year and the greatest sports event in the city’s history, a double-overtime classic won by Northern. 

Those Northern teams featured a couple of eventual Division I college players in Ricky Morgan (UNLV) and Lester Abram (Michigan). 

It was the continuation of a rich tradition of basketball in the city that produced standouts such as Frank and Campy Russell, both NBA players who shined in Pontiac during the 1970s. 

While those two were outliers in terms of NBA players coming from Pontiac, basketball long remained the fabric of a city where the high school teams were always strong and great high school players who went on to small or bigger college careers were churned out regularly.

After Pontiac Northern advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2007, it all started to fall off a cliff.

With enrollment in the district declining, Central and Northern were merged in the fall of 2008 into one high school. 

The talent level in the district dropped tremendously. Whatever great basketball players Pontiac was producing decided to go to play at nearby private schools or public schools with open enrollment. 

Pontiac joined other communities with a rich basketball tradition in the state such as Flint and Detroit in a rapid and sad decline when it comes to producing talent. 

Since 2009, the Pontiac public district had a 39% enrollment decline and are now at less than 4,000 students. The high school was down to less than 1,000 last year and the basketball team now competes in Class B in the state tournament and in a lower division of its league.

All of that has been a blow to a community that packed the gyms when Central and Northern played and had a deep-rooted passion for basketball.

But this winter, the Arts & Technology team restored a little life to Pontiac.

“Pontiac was kind of down and we came here to pick it back up,” said senior Terrance Hicks. “We’re going to represent Pontiac.”

A meteoric rise

A small public charter school which has a high school athletic program barely a decade old, Arts & Technology went 21-2 this year after going 3-12 two years ago and 8-7 last year. 

Lovejoy was hired after last season and helped bring in some newer talent, including his son Lewis Lovejoy, a point guard who is one of the top freshman in the state. 

Hicks and his twin brother Teyshaun transferred in from nearby Detroit Pershing and became leaders, while senior Khalif Stovall, senior Jordan Hardiman, junior De’Vontae Grandison and freshman Carter George also were important contributors. 

The newfound talent made Lovejoy more or less focus on what his team could do each game, not what obstacles opponents would present.

“We don’t watch film on nobody,” Orlando Lovejoy said. “Why would we even watch film on somebody when we don’t even know how they are going to play us? There’s no need to watch film. The most important thing is to play the way we are going to play and control what we can control, and that’s how we play defense. That’s the main thing we can stop anybody with, our defense.” 

Arts & Technology didn’t beat opponents en route to the title game, but generally routed them until running into the buzzsaw that was Gabriel Richard.

A senior-dominated team led by Nick Sobush, Luke Westerdale, Charles Kage, Drew Everingham and Bryce White which made the semifinals the year prior, Gabriel Richard had five players score in double-figures in a convincing 79-63 win.

That same group helped comprise the core of a Gabriel Richard football team that lost in the state championship in its division last fall. 

While it was a disappointing end, the ride from Arts & Technology was a glorious journey back in time to the glory days for Pontiac.

“I feel like we have got all of Pontiac behind us,” Orlando Lovejoy said. “They are traveling everywhere we go.”

Bright future

Lewis Lovejoy and George are two of the most promising freshmen in the state and Grandison should also be back next year, so as much as the present was great for the Lions, so is the future.

Many didn’t know the school and program existed before this season, so getting to the state championship game should only do wonders for its profile and chances of getting more talent to come into the program. 

The Pontiac Arts & Technology Academy boys basketball team is introduced before a Division 3 state semifinal game. / Keith Dunlap

Should that be the case, it should only further give a city rich in basketball tradition something to cheer about.

“Coming here, everybody was like, ‘What school is that?’” Teyshaun Hicks said. “This is Pontiac and we are going to show out for the city of Pontiac.”

Arts & Technology certainly did that the entire winter.