NILES — Corey Harbaugh still remembers a 1987 TV commenter on Channel-41 calling Niles High School’s class of 1987 basketball team one of the “best passing and most unselfish high school basketball teams,” he had ever seen.

Being unselfish is the secret to many of the teammates’ success on and off the court as they have remained lifelong friends since picking up the game in elementary school to their crushing four-overtime loss to Battle Creek Central in the Class A regional finals.

The close-knit group of friends: Bill Magrane, Alex Doxie, Paul Morgan, Dan Hargreaves and Harbaugh, along with team managers, Doyle Raush and Brian Childs, have entered many stages of life together. They have supported each other through the ups and downs. From standing up in each other’s weddings to being godparents for each other’s children, the teammates have attended funerals, births of children and gone on vacations together.

Individually, the athletes started out in the Niles Elementary basketball school program. Some players hailed from the west side, others the north and some lived in the east. It was a talent, Morgan said, from all sides of town.

In sixth grade, Bill’s dad Bud Magrane, the Niles Varsity head basketball coach at the time, decided to coach his son’s sixth grade team. The team competed in a Burger King sponsored tournament.

“That’s really the first time it sort of sunk in that there was a lot of talent coming up,” Bud said. “Of course, [the team] got together in junior high and went through there undefeated, pretty much. It just kept going. You stuck together and worked hard at it and were great friends with each other. It was just a great environment to be involved in.”

The team moved through its freshman and junior varsity levels remaining successful. As the team prepared to enter varsity, Harbaugh remembered how Niles basketball became standing room only. Rausch, who kept stats and used to fire up the crowds with a dance and cheer called, the “Heidi Ho!” noticed the atmosphere shift.

“I think our basketball team was an example of how sports can kind of unite everybody. I’ve always felt like that was a very special time in the community,” Rausch said. “Basketball was the number one thing to see in Niles whether it was a Tuesday or Friday night. The gym was packed every single time. It was exciting to be a part of it.”

Senior year, the team found its grove and was beating teams by more than 30 to 40 points per game. The team’s biggest test had been Battle Creek at home.

“It really showed where our team was at,” Morgan said. “I remember it was packed. I can remember people trying to get tickets after Wednesday and not being able to go.”

At that game, teammates still think about Doxie’s dunk against Central from the baseline.

“I think our junior year and our senior year were probably the best team ever that Niles produced in Class A conference,” Doxie said.

Even after all these years, some teammates still have regrets. For Doxie, he sometimes sits and thinks about how the team was unable to bring a state championship to the fans, the team, to the school and to Bud.

“If I had to do it all over again,” Doxie said. “I think I would have dug a little deeper.”

Morgan remembers going out to the bus and crying post-game, wondering how the team lost the regional final.

“We were up in the fourth quarter by nine or eight points,” he said. “What did we do to lose that game? We had it.”

For Harbaugh, he remembers the locker room’s atmosphere following the loss. Bud came around to each player and talked to them individually.

“I remember Bud talking and saying, ‘It wasn’t just a team, it was his son and his best friends,’” Harbaugh recalled. “We lost the game but nothing was lost. It was a lifetime win.”

Between the banter of old friends, who recalled memories and countless stories, Bud said the relationships are what makes the group unique.

“They are in California. They are in Detroit. They are in Milwaukee. They are in Kalamazoo. They are all over but they are still a family,” Bud said.

The secret to the friends staying so close throughout the years all comes down to effort.

“We make an effort on a regular basis to see each other, to travel with each other,” Magrane said. “To come to each other’s important life events. We’ve always taken time to make that priority in our lives — good or bad.”

When the group gets together, Harbaugh is reminded of who he was and where he is from.

“Immediately, the stories start,” he said. “Those fires never go out. They warm my heart every time.”

Despite being divided by many miles, already this year, Magrane has had every one of his teammates visit his home.

“We still have that common bond of being in Niles and going to battle with each other,” Hargreaves said. “That’s what keeps our bond together.” 

The group advises current high school athletes to get to know their fellow teammates off the court.

“Cherish the experience,” Hargreaves said. “Once it’s done, it’s done. Everything you worked for in high school to play sports, after that last game, it’s over.”

The members of the team have gone found their own success and even after all these years still metaphorically are passing positivity to each other. Doxie, of California, is involved in crime scene investigation. Magrane has lived in Stevensville for the past 26 years and followed in the footsteps of Bud as both a teacher and a coach. Hargreaves, of Wisconsin, has been with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a special agent. Rausch, now living in Ohio, works as a chief facilities officer for a national law firm. Morgan, has been teaching for the past 25 years. Currently, he teaches in Detroit Public Schools, and is the junior varsity basketball coach for L’Anse Creuse High School.

Lastly, Harbaugh, who resides in the Kalamazoo area, is an administrator at Paw Paw Public Schools. He has been an educator for more than 25 years. Bud has been in retirement for the last 25 years.

It has been 32 years since the team lost in the regional finals, and while some still recall it, that day, the team said they won so much more.

“What we have as a team and the love I have for these guys. That’s worth more than any other State Championship,” Harbaugh said.