Couch: Lansing Community College's men's basketball team has a little bit of everything — and Zander Woodruff

21 hours ago 2

LANSING — For the first time in a little while, Mike Ingram has a Lansing Community College men’s basketball team with some real depth of talent. But he still only has one Zander Woodruff.

So when the Stars were sometimes getting five minutes into games without Woodruff having taken a shot, it was time to tweak the starting lineup.

Wednesday against visiting Mott Community College, they moved DeAire Lee to the point and put Messiah Niang Casey into the lineup and, voila: “We were a lot faster and I thought we shared the ball a lot better,” Ingram said.

Also significant: Woodruff had a season-high 32 points, hitting 6 of 7 3-pointers, scoring right out of the gate, as the Stars blew out Mott, 100-70, to cap their non-conference season at 10-4. They host Glen Oaks at 3 p.m. Saturday to open conference play.

“We're a good team,” Ingram said. “We're big, we're fast, we play together. We just made an adjustment in our starting lineup, and I thought it helped everybody get loose today.”

It’s a roster with a little bit of everything. The Stars have guards who can pester opposing guards, including sophomores Devon Hodges (Lansing Sexton) and Isaiah Foster (Holt), who had six assists off the bench Wednesday.

Lansing Community College's Devon Hodges, right, grabs a rebound over Mott's Donnie Huddleston during the first half on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Lansing.

They’ve got secondary scoring in players like freshman DeAndre Berry, a walk-on from Ohio who showed up for several offseason open gyms and has become an indispensable part of the team. Berry, who averages 12.4 points per game, had 17 in 19 minutes Wednesday, efficiently making 7 of 11 shots. “He’s been a pleasant surprise. He can really play,” Ingram said.

They’ve got size, including 6-foot-8 freshman Shannon Henderson from Stockbridge, who had 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes Wednesday. Henderson’s high school coach, Nate Lott, played for Ingram in the mid-1990s. Henderson’s got a beanpole frame, but he’s got some talent, potential and doesn't back down. He said he wants to play the game as long as he can.

They’ve got players like Lee, who will push the ball and pass it more than he’ll shoot it — which fills a need. Lee’s dad played for Ingram, too. He was living in Florida, looking for a place to resurrect his career and found it back in Lansing. “His impact on the game was great,” Ingram said.

They’ve got seasoned guys like sophomore Ben Smith, from Williamston, who had 13 points off the bench Wednesday, and Lamont Green-Torbert, who had 10 points Wednesday and averages 10. Green-Torbert, from Flint Hamady, played for LCC two years ago, took a break, grew up a little and has become an important piece for this team. “He became a better basketball player and just a lot more mature,” Ingram said. “You can get on him now and he doesn’t fold.”

And they’ve Woodruff, their headliner, the focal point of defenses, the Laingsburg kid who came back for his sophomore season because he wants better Division I scholarship offers than he received at the end of last season, when mostly low Division I and solid Division II programs were interested.

“I put my trust in Coach Ingram and put my trust in my work, and I'm going to go where I want to go,” Woodruff said.

Woodruff has seen increasing attention from defenses this season. “Teams really go after him. They're nose to nose all the time,” Ingram said.

Lansing Community College's Zander Woodruff makes a 3-pointer against Mott during the first half on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Lansing.

Part of the goal for Woodruff this year is to show the rest of his game, even if he scores a little less than the 30 points a night he did last season. But the Stars still need him to shoot.

“I think the last game, he was 6-for-13,” Ingram said. “I told him, ‘You take 13 shots, we’re losing all those games. I know you're trying to show everybody your (entire) game.’ But if he gets up to 24 (shots), we’re really winning, because it opens up other things, other guys. And if he's not shooting, then you get the wrong guy shooting.”

Woodruff might have big dreams beyond this season, but he’s also living in the moment. These are good times.

“You can really tell the energy we have and the good environment that our team brings to the game,” he said. “I mean, even the first guy on the bench, all the way to the last guy, all the way to me — we're all up for each other. We're all trying to cheer each other on. That stuff goes a long way.”

“I think this team's going to do some stuff,” Ingram said.