By EXPOSITOR STAFF
"There are no bad teams in our league."
That comment, overhead during the weekend Brantford Expositor Ed O'Leary Tip-Off Tournament, is bang on.
Although the St John's College Green Eagles and North Park Collegiate Trojans look as if they are the front-runners for the senior basketball title, there will be no days off for any team this season.
Whether it is depth, great outside shooting or a ton of athleticism, each team brings something different to the league, which should make for an interesting season.
"Any team can beat anyone on any day," Paris District High School Panthers coach Mike Wittchen said.
"Of course, North Park and St. John's will be there but I really think it'll be a great season and I don't think any team will be able to take a night off."
The Trojans captured their second-consecutive city championship in a two-game sweep of the Green Eagles last season. And the defending champs look dangerous in their quest to make it three in a row.
Nearly every local team was in action on the weekend during the tip-off tourney. The real season gets under way Dec. 1, when Pauline Johnson Collegiate visits North Park for an 8 p.m. showdown, while St. John's is at Brantford Collegiate Institute at 8:30 p.m., and Paris hosts Assumption College at 6:30 p.m.
Here's a brief look at the teams:
Assumption College Lions
After finishing fourth last season and losing in the opening round of the playoffs, the Lions are rebuilding.
"We're definitely a young team," head coach Paul Petrella said.
"This year, we're going to be focusing on the basics and getting used to the fundamentals of the game."
The Lions have only four returning players, one of whom is in Grade 10.
"It's obviously a building year but we do have some talent on our team," Petrella said.
Unfortunately, time has not been on the side of the Lions.
With Assumption football teams on another long run, the senior boys basketball team hasn't had a full roster out to practice until this week.
"I'm hoping we get our full team out finally," Petrella said. "We've been doing a lot of conditioning, but now it's time to implement a couple of things."
He said that the Lions must eliminate mistakes to be successful.
"In this league, if you can limit the other teams to one chance to score, you have a chance to win the game," Petrella said.
"Our goal is to make sure the opposition doesn't get second and third chances.
Brantford Collegiate Institute Mustangs
Bob Boos said he hopes youthful exuberance will propel the Mustangs to a competitive season.
Eight of the Mustangs' 12 players are in their first year of senior basketball.
"Everyone on the team is fighting for a position and playing time," Boos said. "Last year, we were competitive and this year will really be a war of attrition."
As for experience, Ben Candy and Brandon Moxley will be the ones Boos hopes will lead by example.
"The offence is run through Ben and we're relying on him to lead the others," Boos said.
MacKenzie Mark is another player the Mustangs will rely on for offence.
"We have some size and I think they discovered they can get some boards," Boos said. "We'll need those boards and solid defence, which we've showed glimpses of to be competitive."
North Park Collegiate Trojans
Despite winning two-consecutive Brant County titles and OFSAA appearances, Trojans head coach Todd Andrews said he may have the most complete group of athletes he's ever had at North Park.
"Its a very athletic, well-rounded group," Andrew said.
"The guys can really run up and down the floor. We also have guys that can take the ball off the bounce, which is always a good thing."
He said that the focus will be finetuning their systems.
"We had some good individual offensive efforts, " Andrew said after the final of the tip-off tourney.
"Now we just have to work on the team concept. Although a lot of these guys have played together, it's another year and their skills have all developed more. Now it's a matter of putting it all together."
The backbone of the Trojans attack will be led by fifth-year players Marcus Hamilton and Logan Varga, who will be helped by a strong mix of youth and experience.
"Having the mix is great for practices," Andrew said.
"The young guys compete hard to try and prove themselves. It pushes the older guys, which makes for very intense practices."
Paris District High School Panthers
Last season the Panthers season ended with a loss to the Brantford Collegiate Mustangs in the playoffs to see who would play in the CWOSSA 'AAA' qualifier.
This season, head coach Mike Wittchen said he sees lots of potential in his team -and quiet confidence among his players.
"This year, we have the experience," Wittchen said. "Seven of our 13 players are returning and I think that'll be a big thing for us this season."
Size also is a factor for the Panthers.
"We're not huge, but we have some good size." Wittchen said. "As long as we can take advantage of that at both ends of the court we should be all right."
And Taylor Shipp is one of the big players the Panthers are hoping will lead the way. His combination of size, good footwork and scoring touch is something Wittchen hopes to lean on.
At the guard position is the one position the Panthers lost players and Wittchen is hoping one of the returners will step up. During the tip-off tourney, Jake Kelley was a standout, showing great ball handling skills and an eye for the clutch three-point shot.
Wittchen said he realizes it will be tough for the Panthers to contend for top spot.
"It's always hard to say where we'll end up," Wittchen said.
"We're going in with the attitude that we can finish first. But the main thing is that we compete hard every game because we know every game is a tough one."
Pauline Johnson Collegiate Vocational School Thunderbirds
With only one win last season, the Thunderbirds are heading into the season with a clean slate, including new head coach Rob Innes.
For the last 2 1/2 weeks, Innes has been assessing his talent.
"The one thing we don't have that a lot of the other teams have is experience," Innes said.
But Thunderbirds do have depth.
"I took 14 guys," Innes said. "We have plenty of athleticism and height, which is something we can really build on."
Innes said he feels his top dozen or so players can run with any team in the league.
"I think it's something we can do because the guys we have are athletes," Innes said. "They may not have that basketball experience but if they stay committed to it, they'll get the experience and learn the fundamentals in practice."
Innes said the team's goal is to be competitive.
"They only won one game last year, so there's only one way to go, and that's up. I've come in with a clean slate and that's the attitude we're going into the season with."
St. John's College Green Eagles
As always, there are great expectations at St. John's College.
After dropping the last two city finals to the Trojans, Green Eagles head coach Nick Esposito said that this season's goal is to win the county title, compete at CWOSSA and qualify for OFSAA.
"I think we're a better team than we were last year," Esposito said. "We've got some height, which we really haven't had and we really have a nice mix of players."
With the likes of Tyler Van Leeuwen and J.P. Yurcich returning, Esposito is most impressed with the mix of first-and second-year players he has, two things he didn't have last season.
And, as a result, leadership and offence will be spread around the court and just not on one person.
"Last year, we were young and we leaned on Tyler (VanLeeuwen) heavily," Esposito said. "If he was having a hard time scoring, we'd be in trouble. That won't be the case this year. We have guys all over the court that can do the job."
One of those players Esposito is looking to for leadership is Yurcich.
"If J.P. puts his mind to it, he could be the best player on our team," Esposito said.
Among the first-year players Esposito said will be a factor is Tim Dawson.
"He's a very athletic, well-conditioned kid," Esposito said. "He compliments what we already had very well."
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Key players
Assumption
Andre Toic -Point guard will be the floor general.
Justin Robinson -Athletic and quick, he plays small forward, or power forward.
Mike Thomlison -Fifth-year point guard provides experience and defence.
SJC
Tim Dawson -Athletic.
Tyler VanLeeuwen -Expected to have a great year.
Arthur Kogat -Defensive leadership.
Eric Drescher -Big guy in the middle.
J.P. Yurcich -Expected to be a leader.
BCI
MacKenzie Mark -Scoring and athleticism.
Brandon Moxley -Leadership.
Ben Candy -Size and leadership.
Liam MacNeil and Chris Gorski also will be key.
NPC
Marcus Hamilton -Fifth-year players brings experience.
Logan Varga -Also brings experience.
Marcus Jones -A point guard that has improved over the summer
Nick Minutillo -Hard worker who brings lots of intensity to the court
PJC
Tyler Campbell -Scoring and leadership.
Dakota Brush -Big, athletic. Jordan Lewis - Physical Tyler Power -Point guard with good ball-handling skills Dakotta Robinson also will be key.
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