Ironwood's Mackey makes All-U.P. First Team for second straight year

MARQUETTE — Three for three.

Ironwood junior Adam Mackey made the All-U.P. team for the third year in a row. It is his second consecutive season on the Class ABC First Team. He was Second Team as a freshman.

Mackey finished in sixth place in voting for the five-person Dream Team this year.

Voting was held at Wednesday’s 63rd annual boys basketball meeting of the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

Mackey averaged 17.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He led the Devils in eight statistical categories: points scored, points per game average, field goal percentage, 3-pointers made, total rebounds, steals, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (plus 32).

Mackey became the career scoring leader in Ironwood history and stands at 1,233 points after his junior year. It would have been more had he not broken his foot in a district semifinal win over L’Anse. He missed the district final loss to Houghton.

Mackey was a prolific passer, setting up teammates for open shots throughout the season. He played like a coach — smart, committing only 30 fouls in 21 games, encouraging and giving pointers to teammates during games.

“Adam’s points are down slightly, but he has a better supporting cast around him as three other players besides Adam are averaging in double figures,” Ironwood coach Pete Lewinski said. “Adam is a smart ballplayer as he is the son of a coach (GCC’s Dennis Mackey). Besides his outstanding scoring ability, Adam is a great passer and rebounder. He set up his teammates for easy baskets. Like all outstanding players, he makes his teammates better players.

“Another thing that a lot of people do not know is how quick Adam’s hands are. He picks the ball from the dribbler, which leads to steals and layups for us”

Three local players made the Class D Second Team out of a tough field from many good Class D teams across the U.P. They are: Ewen-Trout Creek’s Mike Borseth, Bessemer’s Taylor Smith and Wakefield-Marenisco’s Eric Lane; all are seniors.

Smith finished his career at 1,069 points for the 16-4 Speedboys, who finished the regular season at No. 5 in the U.P. Class D poll.

Smith averaged 19.8 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Smith was tough to stop at the basket and he helped the Speedboys to wins over Ironwood and E-TC.

“He worked hard,” Bessemer coach Mark Movrich said. “He worked as hard as anybody we played this year. He wasn’t always the highest scorer, but he was usually the best player on the floor. That’s because he worked on both ends of the floor.”

Smith’s teammate on the Gogebic Miners, Lane, averaged 18.2 points and 13.5 rebounds per game for the Cardinals. Smith was the receiver and Lane the quarterback for the Miners.

Lane was a matchup nightmare while on offense and he finished with 1,073 points.

“How he played in the districts was, I think, what really made him stand out this year,” W-M coach Terry Fetters said of Lane. “You could sense that he really wanted to win.”

Borseth was a defensive pest during his four-year career, making it especially difficult to get the ball up court against his constant pressure. He was also a threat from outside for the 17-5 Panthers.

Borseth was Defensive Player of the Year in the PMC for two consecutive years.

Ironwood sophomore Jacob DiGiorgio, Bessemer junior Ben Zielinski, and Ontonagon senior Aaron Kaikko were named honorable mention.