(Article Courtesy of Barry Hayes)
After a tough year in 2005 that saw him struggling with injuries, Jonathan House bounced back in a big way in 2006, becoming the latest Canadian to secure a scholarship down south in verbally committing to Belmont University, an NCAA Division I school in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I was looking at a lot of Ivy League schools such as Cornell and Yale,” said House when asked about his recruiting process.
“There were other schools such as NJIT, Canisius, Davidson, Colgate, and even Canadian schools like UBC that were interested, and all respectably appealing, but when it came down to it, I knew Belmont was the right fit.”
Frequently found in the starting lineup for the Junior National Team that competed internationally this past summer, the 6’6” guard from Guelph got the experience and improvement that he needed to prove to post-secondary programs that he’s one of Canada’s elite players in the Class of 2007.
“Playing with the Junior National Team has been a great experience that has helped develop me into a D1 player,” said House.
“Having the opportunity to play for such knowledgeable coaches like [Junior National Team head coach] Greg Francis and [assistant coach] Roy Rana has only helped my understanding of the game. Playing on the Junior National Team has let me compete against the best players in Canada for my age group as well as around the world. Playing against such high level athletes has helped my confidence tremendously, as well as constantly improving my overall game.”
A small school with approximately 4,300 students, the Belmont Bruins are currently the Atlantic Sun Conference’s powerhouse, projected to finish on top of the division again this year after winning the conference tournament in 2005-06 - automatically qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Entering his 21st year for Belmont as head coach is Rick Byrd.
“Belmont is very exciting to me because it is a school on the move,” said House.
“They have been improving each year with last year being their first time playing in the [NCAA] tournament. They have a very good coaching staff that has been with the program for a very long time and they are committed to winning. I feel they play more of my style of game which tends to be more European than American. Their academic situation is also exceptional which is very important to me.”
An honour roll student, House will be looking to participate in his own first taste of ‘March Madness’ this year with hopes of leading Centennial C.V.I. to the OFSAA provincial championship tournament. They enter the year as one of the favourites.
There are currently two Canadians playing for Atlantic Sun Conference teams this season: Montreal’s Olivier Dupiton (Stetson) and Windsor’s Ljubisa Vrcelj (Jacksonville).
After a tough year in 2005 that saw him struggling with injuries, Jonathan House bounced back in a big way in 2006, becoming the latest Canadian to secure a scholarship down south in verbally committing to Belmont University, an NCAA Division I school in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I was looking at a lot of Ivy League schools such as Cornell and Yale,” said House when asked about his recruiting process.
“There were other schools such as NJIT, Canisius, Davidson, Colgate, and even Canadian schools like UBC that were interested, and all respectably appealing, but when it came down to it, I knew Belmont was the right fit.”
Frequently found in the starting lineup for the Junior National Team that competed internationally this past summer, the 6’6” guard from Guelph got the experience and improvement that he needed to prove to post-secondary programs that he’s one of Canada’s elite players in the Class of 2007.
“Playing with the Junior National Team has been a great experience that has helped develop me into a D1 player,” said House.
“Having the opportunity to play for such knowledgeable coaches like [Junior National Team head coach] Greg Francis and [assistant coach] Roy Rana has only helped my understanding of the game. Playing on the Junior National Team has let me compete against the best players in Canada for my age group as well as around the world. Playing against such high level athletes has helped my confidence tremendously, as well as constantly improving my overall game.”
A small school with approximately 4,300 students, the Belmont Bruins are currently the Atlantic Sun Conference’s powerhouse, projected to finish on top of the division again this year after winning the conference tournament in 2005-06 - automatically qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Entering his 21st year for Belmont as head coach is Rick Byrd.
“Belmont is very exciting to me because it is a school on the move,” said House.
“They have been improving each year with last year being their first time playing in the [NCAA] tournament. They have a very good coaching staff that has been with the program for a very long time and they are committed to winning. I feel they play more of my style of game which tends to be more European than American. Their academic situation is also exceptional which is very important to me.”
An honour roll student, House will be looking to participate in his own first taste of ‘March Madness’ this year with hopes of leading Centennial C.V.I. to the OFSAA provincial championship tournament. They enter the year as one of the favourites.
There are currently two Canadians playing for Atlantic Sun Conference teams this season: Montreal’s Olivier Dupiton (Stetson) and Windsor’s Ljubisa Vrcelj (Jacksonville).
