JONESVILLE — After a prolific senior year at Jonesville High School, 2024 graduate Warrick Elder is now getting ready to make an impact for Spring Arbor University men's basketball.
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Elder was joined by his family and Spring Arbor associate head coach Ted Stowe when he signed with Spring Arbor men's hoops. He was one of two seniors from this past Jonesville boy's basketball team that is continuing their careers at the next level, including Gavin Van Kampen who signed with Kalamazoo College.
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Elder saw interest in the recruiting process from several schools but Spring Arbor was the best fit for the 2023-24 first team county dream team honoree.
"I really liked Spring Arbor the most," Elder said. "It was the best fit for me. I hung out with a lot of the guys over the summer and on my visit, and I just clicked with them. I think it's a great fit. It's only 25 minutes from downtown Jonesville. That's going to be great. I think I can get a couple of fans and some of my family to come to the games."
Elder was a student-athlete at Jonesville High School for two years. In addition to basketball, Elder was an accomplished soccer player for the Comets, but there was never a doubt that basketball was his dream sport to play at the collegiate level. On the academic side, Elder is undecided but plans to pursue studies somewhere in the range of business or finance.
While Elder does not have any former teammates joining him at Spring Arbor, he is excited to hang out with one of his best friends, Conner Welden, who is a former Academy graduate that plays soccer at Spring Arbor.
Elder attended Gull Lake, playing two years of varsity basketball and two years of junior varsity soccer, before transferring to Jonesville.
While at Jonesville, Elder's dad, Jason Elder, was an assistant coach and has been a coach for Warrick his entire life. Elder thanked him and his mom Kelly Elder for helping him throughout his academic and athletic journey.
"I just thank them for believing in me, allowing me to get in the gym late at night and staying up."
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Playing for Comet boys basketball
Warrick Elder's first season with Jonesville varsity boys basketball saw the team win their way to a Big 8 conference title and a district championship. The team beat Jackson Lumen Christi and Hanover-Horton in those two district games to win the title. The team finished the season with a 19-6 overall record.
Elder finished the season averaging 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.1 assists per game. He had a two-point field goal percentage of 40. For his efforts, he earned all-area dream team honorable mention honors and first team all-conference honors.
Elder was one of the team captains heading into his senior year, alongside a group of six other seniors, that looked to help the program navigate a difficult first season of Cascades conference basketball.
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After a 1-2 start to the season, the group had four distinct winning streaks that propelled the team to a 18-7 overall record, including a 12-4 finish in the Cascades conference. This included the team winning the Pat Paterson Pool A tournament over their former league and county rivals from Reading. They played for the Cascades West division title.
They won two district playoff games, including a 55-52 thriller over Hillsdale in the quarterfinals and another thrilling win over Concord, 54-51 , in the semifinals. Elder scored 19 points in each matchup and had a total of 11 assists.
Their season ended with a 66-49 loss to league rival Hanover-Horton in the district title game. Elder finished the playoffs with a total of 54 points scored.
His senior year saw the 2023-24 team MVP shoot a two-point field goal percentage of 45.6, a three-point percentage of 29.2 and an overall field goal percentage of 38.6. He averaged 16.4 points, five rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.9 steals a game. He had 42 3-pointers.
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This earned him first team conference dream team honors , first team all-area dream team honors , BCAM's best (D3 all-state) honorable mention honors, team academic all-state honors and individual academic all-state honors.
Soccer
Elder had played soccer more most of his academic years before transferring to Jonesville. After playing football in 2022, Warrick Elder played his one year with Jonesville soccer his senior season, ready to contribute right away for a younger core of players and coach Jeff Dice. He quickly made an impact.
What resulted was an explosive season that saw Elder lead the team to its first regular season win in four years with a 9-4 victory over Leslie. Elder scored five goals in that game.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Comets defeated Blissfield 8-5 to earn their first postseason win since 2016. The Comets were down 5-2 in the second half before Elder led a comeback that sent the game to overtime. Elder then proceeded to score three more goals to seal the win.
His six goals in the game put him in the MHSAA record books for goals scored in a playoff game. They eventually lost to Hillsdale Academy in the district semifinal game.
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Elder was a first-team all-conference selection and made the MIHSSCA all-district team. Elder also was an academic all-conference honoree, and his team received academic all-district honors. He was selected as one of the honorees for Hillsdale County's fall sports athletes of the year. The team earned seven wins for their best program record since 2009.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Warrick Elder brings his shooting talents to Spring Arbor University men's basketball
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