Cosmos basketball team is off to a winning season

Former HHS basketball coach Elijah Warren was honored during the Cosmos’s season opener Monday night. Warren’s jersey number was retired that night. Warren said of growing up in Hamtramck: “Hamtramck has done a lot for me. I was raised here since I was a pup.”

By Charles Sercombe
If Monday’s opening game for the Hamtramck High School boys basketball team is any indication, it’s going to be a rollicking – and winning — season.
The team steamrolled over Lake Shore right from the tip-off. By halftime, the Cosmos were far in the lead, 54-12.
They played tough and physical and did not let up for a moment. In fact, as the final minute wound down in the first half, it looked like Lake Shore had simply given up and sloppily allowed the Cosmos to score several times before the buzzer saved them from further humiliation.
A standout for the Cosmos was Amari Allen, who racked up these impressive stats:
o 30 points scored
o 11 steals
o 8 assists
o 6 rebounds
This team didn’t happen by accident. Coach Dennis Foster has long mentored the players, teaching them about the sport, as well as how to become responsible young adults.
Foster has been delivering winning seasons for the past several years.
The Cosmos finished off Lake Shore by a score of 82-27.
As good as the Cosmos looked Monday, the team is poised to get even better. That’s because Hamtramck scored a top player, Chuck Bailey, who had been playing at a Los Angeles academy that had been run by Kanye West – yes, that Kanye West.

The academy has since closed down.
He was not able to play Monday because the district is still waiting for Bailey’s school transcripts to make him eligible. When he does hit the court, watch out.
While the players displayed incredible skills, the highlight of the game was at half time.
That’s when former coach Elijah Warren, who at one time mentored coach Foster, was honored for his service. His jersey number, 34, was retired that night.
For Foster and Warren, and the packed house, this was an emotional night. Among those present were former Hamtramck 31st District Court Judge Patrick Cahill and his wife, Leslie, a former editor of Hamtramck’s Citizen newspaper.
Foster credited Warren for his career in basketball, which is impressive, including playing professional ball in Ireland.
“I wouldn’t be here without you,” Foster told Warren.
Warren knew talent when he saw it, and eventually asked Foster to be his co-coach.
“That changed my life,” Foster said.
He went on to praise Warren:
“You are the true definition of the game. You are my best friend. There is no way I’d be here.”
Warren was raised in Hamtramck and, like many residents, his roots remain strong here.
“I love Hamtramck,” Warren said. “Hamtramck has done a lot for me. I was raised here since I was a pup.”
As for his jersey, which was framed, he said: “This right here goes to my mother.”
Foster concluded by saying: “We have to honor our guys.”
(The Cosmos next game is today, Dec. 9, against Catholic Central at the Hamtramck High School Community Center, located on Charest, just north of Caniff.)
Posted Dec. 9, 2022