Two seniors signed letters of intent to play college basketball next year.

Michael Flowers signed with Western Michigan University and Deja Church signed with the University of Michigan.

Flowers played three years for Southfield High as a Blue Jay starting point guard all three years.

Basketball Coach Michael Avery said, “Western didn’t just get a good basketball player, they got a great kid.”

Flowers said, “It feels good to be locked into my future and to know what’s next for me.”

Smiling in the audience was retired teacher Gary Teasley, who coached Flowers during his first two years in high school.

Church played for Southfield-Lathrup High School, where she, too, was a starting point guard for three years.

Her coach, Michele Marshall, commended Church, saying she “kept her humility from the eighth grade to now.”

Both Flowers and Church thanked their friends and family for their support over the years.

Flowers, in an emotional speech, said, it was “such a blessing to be a part of this moment.”

Both student athletes are the first signees from any sport in the history of the new Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology (Southfield A & T).

Southfield A & T was formed when Southfield High School merged with Southfield-Lathrup High School this year to form one unified new high school.