If there were ever a golden era in Charlotte High School’s boys varsity basketball program, the Ernst name would be first on the list. From coach Jerry Ernst, whose teams battled year in and year out for Capital Circuit titles, to his sharp shooting son, Steve Ernst, who help guide the Orioles as one of the top guards in the area.
Aside from district championships in 1996 and 2011, the Orioles have never consistently challenged for league championships since Jerry Ernst resigned in the early 1990s. Steve, however, has returned to his hometown to resurrect the hoops program. Ernst guided Lansing Christian to the Class D state semi-finals just two years ago.
Steve said he is excited to bring a different style of basketball to his hometown and to teach his young team about what playing for Charlotte really means.
“To play has hard as you have to play in our system, you have to understand why,” Steve Ernst said. “We have a brotherhood of people all over the country that have been proud to play for Charlotte.”
Ernst said he has spent a good portion of the preseason breaking down some of the walls his young players have built up, getting them to understand that they are playing for and representing their community.
“We’re desperately working on that on a daily basis,” he said. “We have become united and play for Charlotte, not for ourselves. To play as hard as you need to in our system, it takes all pulling the rope in the same direction.”
Ernst said he thinks his team will play an exciting brand of basketball, which includes constant defensive pressure and a lot of full-court press. He will have a young team in his first year with just three seniors, two of which are proven players at the varsity level, he said.
Seniors Matt Donley and Liam Hickey have had some success on the varsity level. Ernst will lean on their leadership this year. He said he has been pleased with the work of his seniors to this point. He said his juniors bring a lot of talent, though it is unproven at the varsity level.
The team scrimmaged last weekend in Dearborn Heights and Ernst said he came away pleased with the team’s effort.
“Certainly we are a work in progress,” he said. “It’s been a cultural and philosophical change for the kids. I think people will be proud of how hard our kids are working. We’re going to need the community support to help make the dome a special environment for basketball.”
The Orioles open the season Tuesday, Dec. 9 at home against Lakewood. They travel to Jackson Lumen Christi on Friday, Dec. 12 for their first Interstate 8 game of the season.
