D8 Announces Inaugural "Academic All-Stars"

In a news release posted to their website today, the D8 Athletic Association released the listing of all student athletes that have been named as "academic all-stars" for the 2011-12 school year.

As per the release, "four hundred and eighty nine student-athletes were acknowledged across the Waterloo Region at Athletic Awards Banquets in June as the District 8 Athletic Association unveiled its new Academic All-Star awards. In addition, 34 students claimed Academic Elite status for earning top grades within their respective secondary school."

To be acknowledged as an Academic All-Star, athletes had to maintain an 85% academic average while participating in inter-school athletics.

I've listed the individual recipients who were listed as playing on their school's basketball team below.  As far as teams are concerned, the Rockway Flames dominated in the junior girls' category, with 9 of their team members receiving academic recognition.  The private school also tied for first in the junior boys' category, with 7 recipients, which tied them alongside another private school, Woodland.

Resurrection CSS captured at least a share of having the most senior girls' and boys' academic all-stars.  The Phoenix had 7 senior girls' on the squad, while their senior boys' team had 4, which equalled the number from Rockway.

Congratulations to all recipients!

Midget Boys Basketball

Patrick Beaulieu, Resurrection
Isaac Weber, St. David

Junior Girls Basketball

Amber Baetsen, St. Benedict

Emma Bender, Rockway

Courtney Brubacher, Rockway

Sarah Brubacher, Rockway

Mackenzie Cormier, Rockway

Kayla DaSilva, St. Benedict 

Allison Flanagan, Monsignor Doyle

Sydney Hayes, Resurrection 

Laura Kay, St. Mary's

Emily Kovac, St. Benedict

Kayla Leusink, St. Benedict 

Michelle Marko, Resurrection

Patricia McCullough, Resurrection

Celia McGlynn, Resurrection

Ellen McGowan, Resurrection

Jenna Menjolian, St. Benedict

Angela Mercurio, St. Mary's

Andrea Philippi, Resurrection

Lily Roth, Rockway 

Ashlee Steffens, Rockway

Mariana Turcotte, Monsignor Doyle

Maria Valencia, St. David

Samantha Veltri, Rockway

Emilie Vos, Rockway

Victoria Watson, Monsignor Doyle

Danielle Weicker, Rockway

Senior Girls Basketball

Danielle Duncan, Resurrection

Jennifer Dunne, Rockway

Allison Gondosch, Rockway

Angelika Jarski, Resurrection

Emma Kscheninski, Rockway 

Jessica Lyda, St. David 

Marley Niescier, Resurrection

Madison Quirke, Resurrection

Janelle Santi, Resurrection

Sara Seiling, St. Mary's

Becca Stephens, Resurrection

Stephanie Veltri, Rockway

Theresa Wylie, Resurrection

Junior Boys Basketball

Harjot Bains, Resurrection

Tyler Beatty, Monsignor Doyle

Isaac Beech, Rockway

Sean Begy, Resurrection

Michael Born, Rockway 

Justin DeWeerd, Woodland

Philip Dreise, Woodland

George Dumitru, St. David

Sebastian Grasso, Monsignor Doyle

Mitchell Hall, St. Benedict

Thomas Hunter, Resurrection

Connor Huxman, Rockway

Nathan Katerburg, Woodland

Spencer Kscheninski, Rockway

Joseph Lanigan, Woodland

Thomas Lim, St. David 

Kirolos Milio, Resurrection

Jack Quirke, Resurrection

Paul Radoccia, St. David

Logan Rangaswamy, Rockway

Liam Robinson, Rockway

Ryan Scarfone, St. David

Tyson Schierholtz, St. David

Caleb Sypkes, Woodland

Nathan Timmerman, Woodland

Tristan VanderHoef, Woodland

Jimmy Voll, St. Mary's

Ryan Vyrostko, Resurrection

Lukas Winter, Rockway

Senior Boys Basketball

Cam Gibbs, Resurrection

Mark Heal, St. David

Isaac Lance, St. Mary's

Patric McGlynn, Resurrection 

Nic Read, Rockway

Jacob Reusser, Rockway

William Russell, Rockway

Adam Schneider, Resurrection

Tyler Schneider, Resurrection

Tyler Schwartzentruber, Rockway

CWOSSA Around The Horn: Friday

Lessard, Polischuk, Wood At All-Canada Classic

On Wednesday afternoon at the ACC in Downtown Toronto, three CWOSSA players participated (all also started for their respective teams!) in the annual "All-Canada Classic" high-school all-star game. 

On the girls' side of things, the "West" squad (Katie Polischuk/St. John's) nipped the "East" team (Lindsay Lessard/WCI) by a 71-70 final.  According to WCI senior girls' coach Craig Nickel, who was in attendance, both Polischuk and Lessard played key roles for their squads in the game --- Polischuk had a key rebound and assist with 0:42 left to help tie the game at 68-68 before her squad would eventually go on to win.

Lessard finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist while Polischuk did not score but contributed 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

In the boys' game, ex-Bishop Mac star Connor Wood contributed 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists as his "North" team blew out the "South" squad by a 114-75 final.

Lessard Confirmed to St. FX

After a coaching change had her reconsidering her initial commitment, graduating WCI G/F Lindsay Lessard stuck with her gut feeling and recently "officially" committed to St. Francis Xavier University (CIS) in Nova Scotia.

As new St. FX coach Augy Jones noted in the school's official press release, “Lindsay is a great recruit to secure in my first season with the X-Women; (she) had several Division I recruiting visits and was coveted by many CIS schools; she is one of the most versatile high school players in Canada.”

Congratulations, Lindsay!

Qahwash's Elite Skills Camp Filling Up Fast

After a successful Tri-City Top 40 camp, former NCAA D-1 guard Imad Qahwash is hosting an open "Elite Skills Camp" from July 3rd through 6th at RIM Park in Waterloo, and spots are filling up quickly.

Campers will get four full days (8:30am to 4:00pm) of instruction and drills --- mornings will be spent on drills and exercises while the afternoons will provide those in attendance with a chance to showcase their talents in game situations.  Qahwash said that each camper will also get a report card to detail their areas of strength and things to work on, while a slew of awards will help recognize players for their achievements and strides during the camp.

The camp is open to those currently in grades 6 through 9.  For more information, please refer to the camp's brochure. 

NPH: Player Evaluations - Tri-City Top 40 Camp

Here is a look at Elias Sbiet (NorthPoleHoops.com)'s Player Evaluations from last weekend's Tri-City Top 40 Camp.  We've cut and paste the information over to make things easier; however, please check NorthPoleHoops.com for their original post as well as some other information/posts from the camp!

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WATERLOO,ON–The breakdown of a player’s game at the junior level is a tricker process than that of a senior level evaluation for the reason that younger players are still growing into their bodies, learning new skills and developing at different speeds. Whereas, senior prospects have likely committed to playing a position and would be expanding upon the skills necessary to excel and becoming a legitimate prospect at their position. The Tri-City Top 40 camp featured a selection of the top juniors from the Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge areas as well as a few surrounding cities. This evaluation will focus on the young prospects that made an impact at camp.

Jamal Murray | 2016 | 6’2 | SG | Grand River CI

Before Jamal had even touched a ball, the NPH team sensed that he would be among the top prospects at the Tri-City Top 40 camp based off of his height, length and body structure. Jamal is coming off an incredible grade 9 year having hit six game winners for Grand River.

Throughout the camp he demonstrated consistency with a mid range jumper and handled the ball quite well. When double teamed, which was often, he was able to find the open man for an easy two. He solidified himself as a top prospect on day two and three by picking up his intensity and attack the hoop more often. Jamal is a good on ball defender and does not back down from bigger and stronger opponents.

As he enters his junior year, he will be looking to become more explosive and become a permanent threat with his perimter shooting. Settling for jumpers instead of attacking in certain situations will be an area of his game that he should revise.

Murtada Khamis | 2015 | 5’10 | PG | Grand River

Murtada (left), Mike (right)

In a camp full of guards, this PG  had the most complete package for his position. Murtada brought a great deal of energy on the defensive end, picking up a minimum of two steals per game, was a distributor for his squad and scored in many ways.

He has a well rounded arsenal of offensive moves to beat his man including; a nifty crossover, hesitation moves and a step back jumper. Physically he is blessed with a wiry yet strong frame that helps him pick up on deflections. While assessing him defensively one could tell how aware he is of certain help side principles and spacing. Murtada can read play clearly and is good at anticipating cuts, screens and rolls. He was by far the most impressive prospect at camp which earned him MVP honours.

Mike Blumel | 2015 | 6’5 | F | St. Mary’s

Luckily for the recipients there would be two MVPs for the Tri-City Top 40 because had their been only one it would have been very difficult to decide between Murtada and Mike. Each of them played different positions yet brought the same intensity to the floor.  Mike came up big for his team in the rebounding category as well as points in the point, whether off the drive or in a post up.

Mike is a very well conditioned and strong athlete with a body fit for this game. He used his strength to power his way into the lanes and establish good scoring positions. Mike made the game easy for his guards by getting in the right spots for the entry pass while protecting the ball by forcing defenders to reach over him. His poise throughout the weekend took his stock up immediately.

A pleasant surprise came on day two wear he extended his game 15 feet away and showed that he can dribble and hit the mid range. On a few occasions he forced a heavier and larger defender to guard him away from the basket and then handled around him for the finish at the rim. We are looking forward to seeing more of an above the rim game from Mike.

Josh McEacheren |  2015 | 6’3 | SG/SF | Centre Wellington
Josh had an advantage on his opponents this past weekend  with his size and strength coming into play. Although we have him listed as a shooting guard he is a player that would be considered a “tweener,” meaning he has yet to decide on position. Considering that he will gain a few inches in height there is the possibility of ending up as a small forward. Regardless, he will need to strengthen his ball handling and be able to break down defenders as well as be able to get off shots without using screens. Josh showed signs of consistency with deep shooting on day two.

Jermaine Lyle | 2015 | 6’0 | PG | St. Mary’s

On day one of the three, Jermaine almost went unnoticed. He caught our attention in some footwork drills where he was going through them fluidly. It seems that once he gained comfort with his feet this translated into the rest of his game. Jermaine displayed very strong dribbling skills and showed aptness in being a play maker.

Jermaine is a shifty PG with a good level of athleticism that allows him to adjust to the defence after freeing himself by crossing over his first defender. His strengths are displayed when he is left to play in isolation situations.

We were thoroughly impressed with one of Jermaine’s intangible traits, which was the will to continue by refusing to sit out after a minor sprained ankle in the first half of the Championship game.

TJ Lall | 2015 | 6’3 | SG | Galt

TJ has a wingspan of approximately 6’6 which he used to relentlessly swat away shots. Defensively he was an absolute beast for his team and if he wasn’t blocking shots he was terribly altering them. We got to see glimpses of his offense where he shot a few from mid range and finished well around the basket. As he continues to adapt to his growing body it would be beneficial for TJ to increase his flexibility and get lower to the floor when the ball is in his hands to make himself more of a threat.

Mitchell Marquis | 2015 | 5’9 | PG | St. James

In a pool of guards you stand out by having the speed of Mitchell in the open court. If his team finds him off of a defensive board they better run the lanes with him because he’s not waiting for no anyone; almost all of this PG’s points came in transition.

Mitchell should work at improving at finishing with the left hand instead of turning his body while attacking the left hand side. When defenders began to notice that it was harder to finish with his left they started to force him that way and made him put up difficult shot attempts. If he can work on this as well as becoming an offensive threat from deep than opponents will have a problem on their hands.

Spot Up Snipers

The following names are of some guards who shot the ball from beyond the arc efficiently, as of right now all three of them are catch and shoot guys. To really set an impression they will need to show more of a dribble drive/penetration game. Furthermore, they will need to gain confidence in their ball handling by drilling all summer. A transition into a true PG (with perhaps the exception of Adi) will be the sign of a successful summer.

Austin Tlustos | 2015 | 5’10 | PG | Assumption

Adi Trtovac | 2015 | 6’1 | PG | Grand River

Matt Minutilo | 2015 | 5’10 | PG | North Park

Honourable Mentions

These young guns below were absolute work horses in every moment of the weekend. They fought for second chance opportunities and contested on every possession when they were on defence. Each of them have different elements of their game to take into account and improve on throughout the summer.

Mo Hussein | 2015 | 6’0 | PG | J. F Ross

Nedim Hodzic | 2015 | 6’3 | SF | Sir John A. Macdonald

Greg Swann | 2015 | 6’5 | PF | J. F Ross

George Demitru | 2015 | 5’9 | PG | St. David’s

Tri-City Elite Skills Camp: July 3-6, RIM Park, Waterloo!

Tri City Top 40 Camp: Wrap-Up

The first-ever "Tri-City Top 40" camp for junior-aged players, put on by former GRCI star Imad Qahwash, wrapped up this past Sunday at RIM Park in Waterloo.

As evidenced by the name, the camp featured 40 of the top junior-aged players in the region.  Having seen almost everyone in attendance at some point or another during this past season, it was a great opportunity for myself to see the (fairly significant) improvement that certain players have made since the completion of the high school season.

NorthPoleHoops.com (click link for article) was also in attendance, and came away impressed in particular with Jamal Murray (6'2" G/Grade 9/Grand River), Mike Blumel (6'5" F/Grade 10/St. Mary's) and Murtada Khamis (5'10" G/Grade 10/Grand River).

In seeing him (again) in person, Khamis has certainly improved on his game since seeing him at the WCSSAA semifinals, finals, and CWOSSA.  He was always a dangerous offensive threat with his quickness and court vision, but it looks as though his outside shooting has improved as well.  Grand River may very well have the most talented backcourt in WCSSAA next season with him and Chuder Teny in their lineup.  The scary thing is that both of those players have at least 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Blumel was a dunking machine over the weekend; during the drills that I saw, he was quite fluid in his drop-step and dunk maneuver.  That being said, Blumel's likely "next level" future will be as a wing-forward, and he displayed a skill-set that matches those requirements as well (shooting ability out to the three-point line, driving past defenders, etc.).

Tajinder (TJ) Lall (6'3" G/Grade 10/Galt CI) also got some heady praise over the weekend.  Lall is known around these parts as a scoring machine, but his length and shot-blocking abilities were also on display over the weekend.  With Lall set to move to a senior squad that returns several key components, including F Jack Simmons, big things could be on the horizon at the "castle" next year.

Austin Tlustos (5'10" G/Grade 10/Assumption) is a player that Qahwash told me "impressed him" during game action on Saturday.  In terms of his ranking within the "top 40", Tlustos may have been one of the players that improved his positioning the most over the course of the weekend.

A couple of other notables included George Dumitru (5'9" G/Grade 9/St. David) who knocked home a game-winner on Friday evening in a wild end to the first day of competition, as well as Mitchell Marquis (5'9" G/Grade 10/St. James).  Marquis impressed me in drills; his vision and fundamentals are solid for the PG spot.  Keep in mind that he played "up" for the Lions' senior squad this past season.

Overall, Qahwash said he was "extremely pleased" with how things turned out at the camp and is already looking forward to a "second annual" event next season.  Pretty much every player that I talked to had nothing but good things to say about their experience at the camp, so it looks as though Qahwash's experiment was a big-time success.

Waterloo Chronicle: Heartbreaking Loss

Article and Photo By:  Bob Vrbanac

The Waterloo Collegiate Vikings senior girls basketball program hasn’t had to deal with a lot of heartbreaking losses on or off the court in the past decade.

Especially a loss this big and this emotional.

But when one of the best players the program has ever produced in Julie Devenny passed away March 19 after a five-year battle with breast cancer, one of her former coaches felt it was time to rally the school community around her fighting spirit one more time. Craig Nickel, the school’s activities director and one of the organizers of the Relay for Life event at WCI on June 1, invoked her memory as he asked staff, students at the community at large to join in the fight against cancer.

“The three previous Relays that I’ve helped organize were a little more generic for me, but in 2012 it’s much more personal for me,” said Nickel. ”She spent five years battling breast cancer — at first we thought successfully — but ultimately, she lost the battle.

“It just seemed something so perverse that somebody so young, so good and so wholesome could be stricken with that disease and die from it. When I do Relay for Life this year it will be for Julie and all the other people who struggle with cancer.”

Devenny, who was only 30 years old, won three straight Waterloo County senior titles for the Vikings to kick off the 2000s, before going on to play for the University of Waterloo Warriors, where she was named the Canadian Interuniversity Rookie of the Year in 2002.

During both stops she played for Nickel, and her former coach says she was more than a great athlete, she was a tremendous person who set a positive example as a student, leader and friend.

“Julie was such a tremendous athlete at WCI that people forget what a great student she was. She was a 90-plus student here who went on to study honours kinesiology at the University of Waterloo,” said Nickel. “She also was a important member of Grand River Sports Medicine as sports physiotherapist.”

It’s not the first time that the WCI community has rallied around Devenny. When she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2007 they held a special basketball game in her honour during the first Family Day on Feb. 18, 2008.

Devenny got a sense of just how wide her circle of support was, as more than 600 people attended the event that raised $17,000 for the fight against breast cancer. The biggest cheer was when she came on the court and played against the current crop of Vikings with an alumni team made up of her old teammates.

“They gave her a standing ovation and there were goose bumps on top of the goose bumps,” said Nickel. “Anyone who was in that gym that Monday afternoon will never forget.”

The only visible sign of her illness was the bandana she wore to cover up the hair she lost during chemotherapy. But Nickel said her always-present smile filled up the gym.

“It was appropriate that it was on the very first Family Day that we supported Julie in that fight against cancer,” said Nickel. “For (Vikings co-coach) Doug Ranton and I it is unquestionably one of the top experiences of our teaching and coaching careers, to see not only the WCI basketball community, but the whole Waterloo community, come out.

“What trumped the money we raised in that one day was the act of coming together and all pulling in one direction.”

The WCI Relay for Life will be hoping to recapture that family again as more than 300 people attend in the hopes of raising more than $50,000.

And while the luminaries ceremony remembering those no longer with us will be particularly poignant, they’ll also be celebrating survivors — including Nickel’s own mom Pauline, who survived a battle with lymphoma in 2010.

“This is for my mom too,” said Nickel, who said his family has learned that once you’ve had cancer it’s always part of your life.

The ways that cancer brings people together is shared by one of the student leaders helping Nickel organize WCI Relay for Life event. Sarah Strban said her life hasn’t been personally touched by cancer but since getting involved in Relay for Life she has met a Grade 9 girl at the school who is a cancer survivor, another student who lost her mom and another student whose mom just won her battle with the disease.

“They’ve always said everyone knows somebody struck by cancer, but it made it so real that that’s actually true,” said Strban. “I’ve met so many people in this WCI community that I never knew have had these horrible things happen to them.

“I don’t have a personal connection to cancer but it was eye opening to see how everyone else does.”

That includes Nickel. Strban’s dad is a doctor and treated Pauline Nickel for complications from her chemotherapy.

“Thankfully she’s beaten cancer, and Sarah’s dad helped her in her treatment,” said Nickel. “It just goes to show how small a world it really is.”

For more information, or to support WCI’s Relay for Life, visit www.cancer.ca/ontario.aspx

Retrieved From:  http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/community/heartbreaking-loss/

CIS: Former SJAM Highlander Helsby Transfers to Waterloo

One thing is for sure - new UW head coach Greg Francis is not wasting any time in gaining new commitments.

A few days after announcing transfers Denham Buchanan (Murray State JUCO) and Tremaine Fraser (Cape Breton), HoopstarsCanada.com's Barry Hayes is reporting that two more have announced their intentions of playing at UW --- Jas Gill (UBC) and former SJAM Highlander Mike Helsby (Memorial).

All four will be eligible immediately; Fraser and Helsby were both double-digit PPG scorers in the AUS, with Helsby posting an impressive stat-line this past season:  14.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 4.3 PPG, despite Memorial's struggles as a team (1-19 overall in conference play).

The Warriors also have high school commitments from Chidi Majok (REDA) and another SJAMer, sharp-shooter Ben Reyhani.

Word is that the Warriors are still actively recruiting 6'4" Resurrection F Mike Pereira, who announced via Twitter that he will shortly be sending in his acceptance to UW.

St. James' big-man, 6'7" Nick Pelizzari, will be invited to walk-on to the team, and could certainly improve his positioning on the squad over the summer.

All in all, with the above players in the mix as well as about 13 possible returnees, tryouts will certainly be fun to watch!

Back to Helsby, here's a quick video look at him from this past season at Memorial (#33 in Red):