CWOSSA "AAAA" - Junior Pool A Preview

Participating Teams:
Kitchener St. Mary's Eagles (D8 #1)
Kitchener Forest Heights Trojans (WCSSAA #1)
Fergus Centre Wellington Falcons (D10 #2)

Fergus Centre Wellington Falcons

League Record:  10-4

Playoff Finish:  D10 Semifinalists (lost to eventual champs, Bishop Mac, in SF)
Key Wins Against CWOSSA Teams:  JF Ross (2).

Last CWOSSA Appearance:  2008 - went 0-2 in Pool Play with losses to Forest Heights and St. Mary's.

Last CWOSSA Championship:  None

Final CWOSSABasketball.com "AAAA" Rank:  #10

Key Players:  Braewyn Bird (6'5" C, Grade 10); Marcus Von Massow (6'4" F, Grade 10); Josh McEachern (6'2" F, Grade 9); Sam Giondi (5'7" G, Grade 9).

Season In Review:  The Falcons finished tied for 2nd in a competitive D10 league with St. James and JF Ross, all at 10-4.  The Falcons defeated Ross in both league games this year, but dropped both outings against St. James.  After the tiebreakers were all sorted out, Ross was awarded 2nd, St. James 3rd and the Falcons 4th.

The Falcons have spent most of the season in the middle (6 to 8 range) of my CWOSSA "AAAA" rankings, and despite being (on paper) the third best team in Pool A, they should be competitive with the other 2 teams if they can use their massive size advantage (3 starters over 6'2") to their advantage.

Mark's Pool Projection:  The Falcons are the underdogs here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them eke out a win with all that size --- perhaps against Forest Heights who don't have a single starter over 5'11".  That said, I can't sit on the fence with these picks so I'll tab them at 0-2 in a very competitive "A" pool again this year.

Kitchener Forest Heights Trojans

League Record:  11-1

Playoff Finish:  WCSSAA Champs (defeated CHCI in WCSSAA Final)
Key Wins Against CWOSSA Teams:  Cameron Heights

Last CWOSSA Appearance:  2008 - went 2-0 in pool play; lost to Grand River in semifinal.

Last CWOSSA Championship:  2005 - a Will Bradbury and Darnell Garrick-led Trojans squad defeated North Park CVS in the championship final.

Final CWOSSABasketball.com "AAAA" Rank:  #4

Key Players:  Juwan Miller (5'10" G, Grade 10); Ian Anderson (5'10" G, Grade 10); Fuad Barucija (5'8" G/F, Grade 10); Jack Taylor (5'7" G, Grade 9).

Season In Review:  The Trojans were at (or near) the top of the WCSSAA standings all year, going until the last week of the season before dropping their first league game, a 2-point contest, to Cameron Heights.

The Trojans would get their revenge in last night's WCSSAA championship game with a 55-45 victory over the Gaels.

All season long, the Trojans have been led by Juwan Miller, who scores 25+ a night.  Ian Anderson has been a solid second option, and is usually good for double figures, while Fuad Barucija is a guy that can't be left open --- he made 5 three-pointers off the bench in both the WCSSAA semifinals and championship game. 

Miller is the key, of course, but you can't spend all your attention on him with the shooting capabilities of Anderson, Barucija and even Jack Taylor.

Forest Heights has been in my top 4 CWOSSA "AAAA" teams for, essentially, the entire season and are seeking their 3rd CWOSSA junior "AAAA" medal of all time, which would put them first among all schools in junior championship history. 

Mark's Pool Projection:  The Trojans could go 2-0 in pool play, but I think 1-1 is more accurate --- especially considering they aren't very deep and have a very quick turnaround when they play St. Mary's (2pm and 6pm games) in the evening.  I'll be intrigued to see two things in the CWDHS game ---- #1, how the Trojans handle CW's size and, #2, how CW tries to stop the triple-double threat, Juwan Miller.

Kitchener St. Mary's Eagles

League Record:  8-0

Playoff Finish:  D8 Champs (defeated SBCSS in D8 Final)
Key Wins Against CWOSSA Teams:  Forest Heights, JF Ross.

Last CWOSSA Appearance:  2008 - despite finishing 3rd in a very competitive D8 league that year, the Eagles advanced through to AAAA CWOSSA with a semifinal D8 win over Resurrection.  At CWOSSA, St. Mary's went 1-1 in pool play, and then upset Cameron Heights in the semifinals before taking out Grand River (who had upset FHCI in the other semifinal) in the finals. 

Last CWOSSA Championship:  2008 (see above).

Final CWOSSABasketball.com "AAAA" Rank:  #1

Key Players:  Tyler Hergott (5'10" PG, Grade 10); Avery Sutton (5'8" SG, Grade 10); Chris Clouthier (5'11" SF, Grade 10); Telloy Simon (6'2" G/F, Grade 9); Mike Blumel (6'3" F/C, Grade 9)

Season In Review:  St. Mary's has, to this point, lived up to much of the preseason hype surrounding their junior program.  The Eagles entered the year with 3 returning starters from their 2009-10 team and, despite regular bench boss BJ York taking this season off from coaching the squad, his usual assistant Al Martel has stepped in and led the Eagles to a season where they did not lose a single game to CWOSSA competition.

The Eagles flew through the D8 portion of their schedule, winning all eight games by double digits (their closest encounter was 16 points).  That, however, may be a downside entering this weekend ---- the Eagles have not had too many close games down the stretch of their season so we'll have to see how they are should a "close game" scenario arise.

St. Mary's spent almost the entire season at the top of my "CWOSSA AAAA" rankings and, along with Bishop Mac (Guelph), are thought to be the top 2 teams in the CWOSSA region overall.

Despite it being a very balanced year in junior boys CWOSSA basketball, the Eagles will enter the tournament as (at least a slight) favourite.  They will also be hosting their pool games on their home floor on Friday, a definite advantage there. 

Mark's Pool Projection:  The Eagles will pick up at least 1 win, possibly 2, and should advance to the semifinals on Saturday.