St. Benedict's Tournament Preview - Top Teams & Players To Watch

Play is underway in Cambridge at the SBCSS 32-team tournament.

Here are the 8 teams that I 'predict' will make the "elite 8".....but I won't be surprised to see some other teams in there:

Bluevale CI - Waterloo
St. James - Guelph

Forest Heights
Waterloo CI

Resurrection
St. Basil - SSM

North Park
JF Ross

.....maybe my "CWOSSA bias" shining through with 7 of 8 teams from CWOSSA but, then again, 50% of the teams here are from CWOSSA including some of the top ranked clubs as we've discussed previously.

Here's a list of my top players to watch in the tournament and a quick comment on each:

Stefan Cvrkalj, Bluevale, Gr 12R, 6'4" G
Lights out shooter - heading to Lehigh University (NCAA D1) next season.

Ian Farquharson, Bluevale, Gr 12, 6'3" G
Kentucky transfer fitting in well at BCI.  Can get to the rim or hit the open j.  Good rebounder from the guard spot.

Karsten Beney, Bluevale, Gr 12R, 6'1" G
Dangerous three-point shooter, so if you pay too much attention to Cvrkalj he will hurt you.

Ryan Higgins, St. James, Gr 12R, 6'4" F
Excellent all-around player - can handle the ball on the perimeter (and shoot the 3) or play in the post.  Expect at least 1-2 dunks during the tourney from this high-flyer.

Andrew Mwangi, Resurrection, Gr 12, 6'4" F
If he's OK to play with injury, the 2009-10 D8 MVP can score in a variety of ways. 

Tyler Schneider, Resurrection, Gr 12, 6'1" G
Excellent shooter and one of Rez's top rebounders despite being a guard.

Cam Gibbs, Resurrection, Gr 12, 6'4" G/F
Loves to finish at the rim; has thrown down some nasty dunks during league and tournament play earlier this year.

Cory Kenning, Resurrection, Gr 11, 6'6" F
An interesting CIS prospect that has only been playing organized basketball for a couple of years; can finish inside and consistently hit the 15-footer.

Shamlo Saeed, JF Ross, Gr 12, 6'0" G
Arguably the best penetrating guard in CWOSSA right now.  His speed is a huge key for JF Ross.

Javon Masters, Forest Heights, Gr 11, 6'1" G
Not missing a beat with moving up to senior - can score the ball at will.  Also a solid defender.

Srdjan Stanivuk, Forest Heights, Gr 12R, G/F
Trojans' defensive leader but also a "creative scorer".

Sean Samuel, Huron Heights, Gr 11, 6'1" G
Top junior scorer in 09-10 has hit 25+ a few times in league play this season.

Alex Copp, Waterloo CI, Gr 12R, 6'2" G
Excellent all-around player and receiving CIS attention as a result.

Alex Anagnostopoulos, Waterloo CI, Gr 10, 6'0" G
Just in grade 10 but a solid floor general for the Vikes.

Brian Doran, Southwood, Gr 12, 6'4" F
Southwood will need strong play from Doran inside to be able to advance into the tourney.

Rory Hylton, Brampton Notre Dame, G
One of last year's top three-point shooters

Matt Bertolissi, St. Basil - SSM, PG
Savvy veteran who is one of the top seniors in Ontario.

Andrew Voelker, Collingwood CI, G
Made 15 threes in last year's tourney, where he was an all-star selection.