Mott Community College ruled in junior college
basketball from 2006-08.
Rarely ever did the Bears lose.
To honor the success, both teams will join the Greater Flint
Area Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012 inductees.
With a roster flooded with elite talent, the Bears captured
back-to-back national championships in 2007 and 2008 with
a combined record of 70-5 overall. Nine players signed NCAA
Division I basketball scholarships after their sophomore
campaign while six went on to play at the Division II level after
leaving Flint from those teams.
Longtime Bears sideline leader Steve Schmidt called the
2007 unit “the best team I’ve ever coached” and often reflects
on what may have happened if he was given more time to work
with the squad.
“If I could’ve had that group together as a coach for 3-4
years, there’s no doubt in my mind that we could’ve competed
for championships in Division I conferences,” Schmidt said. “I
think those guys would’ve loved to continue to be able to play
together.”
Although the 2006-07 team wasn’t Schmidt’s first
championship group at Mott, that squad set the standard for
everything his program currently embodies. MCC is now
considered to be a national JUCO powerhouse for men’s hoops.
A championship blueprint was formed through the trial and error
of those teams.
