Are we headed for another JF Ross - Centennial D10 senior boys basketball final?
Well, if you ask basketball fans around Guelph, that seems to be the general consensus heading into the season, but we'll see what a couple of other teams (the Lourdes Crusaders in particular) have to say about that.
The JF Ross Royals are the favourites (or at least my preseason favourites) to capture their 3rd consecutive D10 crown. The Royals return virtually their entire roster from a season ago, led by dynamic PG Shamlo Saeed, PF Evan Karl and SG/SF Mike Friesen. JF Ross is arguably the deepest team in CWOSSA, which can play huge dividends for them at a tournament like CWOSSA "AAAA" where you play 4 games in 30 hours.
Fresh off of a finals appearance at the Cameron Heights tournament, the Centennial Spartans don't have a ton of size, but feature speed and scoring capabilities with Serge Khayipangi, Erik Sterne, Aleks Kaludjerovic, and Edward Gray. They also add guard Jeremy Seed from the junior ranks to bolster the backcourt.
The team that took the Ross Royals to the wire in last year's D10 semifinals, the Lourdes Crusaders, also has a ton of talent returning from their "AA" CWOSSA championship roster. Guard Mike Finoro, one of the best scorers in CWOSSA, will be joined by Sharieff Peru, Jordan Trimble and Chris Watson (returning from injury). Ben King will be a key frontcourt option for Lourdes.
An intriguing squad that may be able to challenge the teams above is the Centre Wellington Falcons, who captured their home tournament this past weekend over a field that included Bishop Mac, Centre Dufferin and D8 school St. Benedict. The Falcons will be led by Reid Goindi, and also bring up a solid group from a CWOSSA-qualifying junior team.
The St. James Lions will lose D10 all-stars Ryan Higgins, Konrad Babol and Alex Campagnolo, but still have some talent --- especially in the frontcourt with 6'6" F Nick Pelizzari. Look for the Lions to drop a bit in the standings, but still remain competitive with a decent amount of returnees.
As for the other D10 teams, this may be the year that the Bishop Mac Celtics can start to make some noise after having very strong junior teams over the past few years (54 consecutive wins!). Granted, a couple of key members of those teams, Mitchell and Connor Wood, have since gone to the REDA program but look for the Celts to certainly improve upon last year's 2-12 mark.
To round out the D10 field, the GCVI Gaels return Bryan Smith (D10 all-star) and are seeking to improve upon last year's 3-11 mark and possibly snag a berth to a CWOSSA "AAA" qualifier. The ODSS Bears, like the Gaels, also have a key all-star returnee (Kyle Holmes) and are seeking to improve upon a 1-win season.
Here's a look at my projected order of finish in the D10 Senior Circuit:
1. JF Ross
2. Centennial
3. Lourdes
4. Centre Wellington
5. St. James
6. Bishop Mac
7. GCVI
8. Orangeville
And now, today's games and picks:
St. James at JF Ross (4:00pm)
My Pick: JFR
The deep Royals will be too much for the Lions to handle in this affair; look for an easy win for JF Ross although they have been recently dealing with some injury issues.
Bishop Mac at Orangeville (5:15pm)
My Pick: BMAC
Having won three game combined last year, this is a big first game for both of these squads. I'll go with the visiting Celtics to get past the Bears here.
Lourdes at Centennial (5:30pm) **Game of the Day**
My Pick: CCVI
Right off the hopper we have what amounts to a heavyweight bout between two of my projected "top three" teams in the D10, Lourdes and CCVI. I'll roll with the homecourt Spartans in a single-digit contest.
Centre Wellington at GCVI (5:30pm)
My Pick: CWDHS
I think the Falcons will be a bit too much for the Gaels to handle, but I think that GCVI might be able to keep this one closer than some might think.
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