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Thursday, July 26, 2012

St. Mary's Eagles / Isaac Lance Video

Came across this nice mix of graduating St. Mary's (Kitchener) PG Isaac Lance and his Eagles, with highlights from many of their key games (including the D8 and CWOSSA championship outings).

Definitely worth a look at one of the best "pure PGs" to play in the area over the past few years:

Monday, July 23, 2012

AAU: Wildhawks Robbed in Kentucky; TCT Go 2-2 in PA

The Waterloo Wildhawks (17U) AAU team had a sour ending to what started as a good weekend of basketball at the annual "Bluegrass Classic" AAU tournament in Louisville, Kentucky.

The 'Hawks started strong by handling Kentucky Elite 64-55, backed by a strong 23-point effort from 6'7" swingman Jacob RantonVedran Dmitrovic added 11 while Javon Masters and Chris Thompson, who is only in grade 10, contributed 9 (keep an eye out for him going forward; he played up for the Senior GPSS Panthers this past season and posted a (league) season-high of 24 points in one game!).

Waterloo would also win their second game, a tight 42-41 win over a SW Illinois Jets Blue team that includes a University of Illinois (NCAA D-1) commit.  Vedran Dmitrovic would score the winning point on a free-throw with :01 on the clock after being intentionally fouled.  Dmitrovic also led the scoring totals on the evening with a 13 point effort, while Ranton and Adam Voll had 6 each.

Unfortunately, the 'Hawks could not get on track offensively in their final outing against MN Select White, and dropped a 45-30 decision in their pool play finale.  This advanced Waterloo through to the "Silver Bracket" (Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper Levels) for the elimination playdowns.

And what an, er, interesting game their opener would turn out to be against the Central Kentucky Storm.

The 'Hawks took an 11-9 lead early, but foul trouble put some of their key players on the bench while also resulting in free opportunities at the line for the Storm.  

Many foul calls did not go the way of the Wildhawks in this one (including guard Josh Johnson being mugged on a half-court buzzer-beater attempt with no call) and, in part, allowed the "home squad" to take a 50-35 lead with 5:00 left in the game.

Coach Scott Reynolds implored his squad to adopt an "in your face" press, which quickly started to turn things around.  Waterloo went on a 10-0 run capped by an "and one" converted by another grade 10 on the 'Hawks roster, Mike Blumel.

With the score 52-48, a deep three by Javon Masters cut the score to 52-51, and just over 1:00 left in the game.  However, the scoreclock operator (ironically, a Storm assistant coach) changed the score to 53-50, which was not supported by the Wildhawk parents, including one who was tracking the score during the second half.

Many people will know my penchant for checking scoreboards and trying my best to (politely) advise when a mistake has been made --- nothing against those around the CWOSSA region who take on this task, as obviously their volunteering is greatly appreciated!  However, it can certainly make a difference in a close game --- as the Wildhawks found out the hard way on Saturday.

Waterloo scored a bucket with 0:19 left that made the score 53-52 Central KY (in actuality, 53-52 Waterloo).  The 'Hawks would go on to lose the game on the scoreboard by that score, meaning they had lost the game while actually scoring more points than their opponent during the game.  Furthermore, being an elimination game, it also marked the end of their tournament.

Despite the bitter pill to swallow, the tournament did have their share of bright spots, including the strong performances by F Jacob Ranton, the solid execution by the backcourt trio of Josh Johnson (starting in place of Juwan Miller, who had Team Ontario obligations), Vedran Dmitrovic and Javon Masters, as well as the strong efforts in key situations by the grade tens on the roster, Chris Thompson and Mike Blumel.

TCT Go 2-2 in PA
Meanwhile, further east, the Tri-County Trojans "16U" squad went 2-2 at the Hoop Group Summer Jam Fest in Pennsylvania.

The Trojans picked up wins against "Global Squad" (in bronze bracket play) and "Underrated", while dropping games to the 6th Man Warriors out of Maryland and Metroball DC.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Kitchener Post: Miller, Simic Joining Team Ontario

Article By:  Kitchener Post Staff

Juwan Miller made the cut.

The Kitchener native and Huron Heights Secondary School student will join defending national champion Team Ontario later this month at the Canada under-17 boys basketball championship in Sherbrooke, Que.

Miller, a WCSSAA all-star last season with the league-champion Forest Heights Trojans and a member of the Waterloo Wildhawks Ontario Basketball Association under-19 boys club team, was informed of the decision earlier this week.

Two other locals — Kitchener’s Sasha Simic and Waterloo’s Savo Krajisnik, who played club ball with the Hamilton Wildcats this spring — are on the under-15 team as well.

The U15 and U17 boys national championship tournament is July 31 to Aug. 5. Team Ontario swept both division titles last year.

Tara DeBoer, a 14-year-old Grand River Collegiate student, was named to the under-15 girls development team, which is taking part in the Classic in the North tournament this weekend in Mount Pleasant, Mich.


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"Miller Chasing Provincial Team Spot" - Article from 7/13/12

Article By:  Jordan Ercit

Finding a lockdown defender, someone who relishes the chance to go head to head with the opposition’s best offensive player, can be a pretty difficult task at the high school basketball level.

Right now, however, that is not much of a concern for under-19 Waterloo Wildhawks head coach Aaron Tomlin.

One of Tomlin’s star pupils, Kitchener’s Juwan Miller, is just as comfortable imposing his will on the sublimely skilled as he is distributing dimes from the point guard position.

“Most kids this age are interested in scoring baskets, because they want the glory,” said Tomlin, who also coaches the senior boys team at Huron Heights Secondary School. “But Juwan wants to be the shutdown defensive player, he wants to have that guy on the other team, the one who takes all the big shots.

“Playing good defence is truly a selfless act and Juwan is a selfless player by accepting those challenges.”

But that isn’t stopping Miller, who Tomlin said is the best defensive player he has ever coached, from wanting more from himself.

He wants to be a leader, wants to drain shots when he has the chance and never wants to be satisfied with the talent his dad Milton, a former NCAA track athlete at Florida State University, handed down to him.
And he wants to be able to do that for the Ontario under-17 team.

The former Forest Heights Collegiate student, who is attending Huron Heights for his Grade 12 year, is one of 18 athletes vying for a spot on the final provincial team roster as Ontario looks to defend its national title in Sherbrooke, Que., at the end of the month.

Kitchener’s Sasha Simic, of Cameron Heights Collegiate, and Waterloo’s Savo Krajisnik, of Bluevale Collegiate, will be trying to do the same with the under-15 provincial team.

“It feels good to know I have another chance at representing the province,” Miller said. “And I feel like I have an edge this year, because I’ve been working hard to get there.”

Last year, Miller was one of the final cuts for the U17 provincial squad, when he was told his shooting touch needed refinement.

So the 17-year-old took the advice to heart. He worked on his form by taking hundreds of practice shots per session over the last year, while also trying to become a leader amongst the older boys on his under-19 Ontario Basketball Association club team.

Because of that, Miller is confident he can contribute to Team Ontario this time around. But he also knows hard work will be needed to crack a lineup that includes several returnees — some of whom are members of the cadet national team — and will be bolstered by under-15 team graduates.

“You have to be constantly thinking and working hard, because there’s no break during tryouts,” said the high school all-star, who won a WCSSAA league championship with the Trojans last season. “The minute you let your guard down and relax, that’s when someone makes you look bad.

“That’s the difference between making the team and not making the team.”

But Miller is up for the challenge, something Tomlin sees on a constant basis at the OBA level.

A solid student in the classroom who plans to study computer engineering after high school, Miller is constantly asking questions about basketball strategy and looking for an edge, Tomlin said.

And when a tough assignment presents itself, Miller attacks it with zeal.

No better example of that came during an OBA tournament in Etobicoke earlier this year when Miller and teammate Javon Masters were handed the task of containing Burlington Skyhawks standout guard Grant Mullins, an NCAA Columbia University recruit.

There were whispers that Mullins would have his way with the Wildhawks. Instead, the Wildhawks won the tournament title and Miller ended up with defensive player-of-the-game honours by holding Mullins to 15 points — an effort that Tomlin said put Miller "on the map".

“Everyone said Grant was going to go off . . . I said, ‘Let’s just wait and see what Juwan does,’” Tomlin said.

The provincial team, which meets next week in Toronto, will be named later this month and until then Miller plans to keep working toward his goals, which include attracting an NCAA scholarship.

Because of that, he’ll be studying for his SATs and working on his game over the summer months instead of ditching his school books and toiling at a part-time summer job.

“By next OBA season, I want to be at the point where college coaches are coming to see me play,” Miller said. “I just have to keep working hard and hopefully that way I’ll get my name out there on the map.”

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

AAU Wildhawks Seek Success In the Bluegrass State

The Waterloo Wildhawks "AAU" team is currently en route to Louisville, KY, for the annual "Bluegrass Classic" which features a whopping 56 teams in their 17-U division.

The tournament gets underway tomorrow, where the Wildhawks will play a 10:15am game (against Kentucky Elite) and a 5:45pm game (against SW Illinois Jets Blue).

Their other pool game is Friday afternoon against Minnesota Select White.

A couple of key players in the Wildhawks' 4-team pool are Carson Shanks (7'0" C) of Minnesota Select who just finished his junior year but has already committed to Utah State (NCAA D-1).  Meanwhile, SW Illinois features 6'5" wingman Malcolm Hill who (has verbally indicated he) will be playing for the University of Illinois after completing his senior season.

After pool play concludes, teams will be sorted into four separate divisions depending upon their place in their pool (1st = Gold, 2nd = Silver, 3rd = Bronze, 4th = Copper) and a "bracketed playoff" will take place Saturday and Sunday.

You can check the full schedule and the list of teams here.

The Wildhawks' roster for this tournament is similar to their U-19 roster, but also includes a couple of U-17 call-ups and a KW Viper import:

* - Year refers to the year that the player recently completed.

Guards
Javon Masters, 6'1" G - Forest Heights CI (4th Year)
Vedran Dmitrovic, 6'1" G - Cameron Heights CI (4th Year)
Josh Johnson, 6'1" G - Holy Trinity/Simcoe (4th Year)
Chris Thompson, 5'11" G - Glenview Park/Cambridge (2nd Year)

Forwards
Adam Voll, 6'7" F - St. Mary's HS (4th Year)
Jacob Ranton, 6'7" F - Waterloo CI (4th Year)
Malcolm Piazza, 6'8" F - Waterloo CI (4th Year)
Dani Elgadi, 6'6" F - Waterloo CI (4th Year)
Mike Blumel, 6'5" F - St. Mary's HS (2nd Year)

Coaches:  Scott Reynolds (GRCI), Aaron Tomlin (HHHS).

Monday, July 16, 2012

WCSSAA MVP Javon Masters - 2011-12 Highlight Mix

Came across this nice highlight mix of 2011-12 WCSSAA MVP (Mike Moser Award Winner) Javon Masters (6'1" G/Forest Heights CI; Class of 2013).  Check it out below:




Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Kotsopoulos, Greece in Action Today

Former WCI star May Kotsopoulos, who went on to star at NCAA D-1 Vermont University, is in action today with the Greece National Team as they take on Italy in women's Eurobasket qualifying.

Greece currently sits 3rd in their 5-team qualifying pool, behind Italy and Latvia but ahead of Finland and Luxembourg.

Kotsopoulos has appeared in 5 of 6 Greek matches, putting home 7 points against Luxembourg and 6 against the Fins.  She's averaging 2.6 PPG, but to put that number in perspective, she's played 3 or fewer minutes in 3 of her 5 appearances (13 points in 24 minutes played).

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Around The Horn: Tuesday, July 10th

Cvrkalj Named to Patriot All-Academic Team
Lehigh Freshman (and Bluevale '11 graduate) Stefan Cvrkalj was one of 6 players from the Lehigh men's basketball team to be named to the Patriot League All-Academic team.
To be considered for the squad, players had to post a GPA of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale.  Cvrkalj registered a 3.79 in his first year as a business student.

You can find more information on Lehigh's site here.

Miller (U17), Krajisnik/Simic (U15) To Team Ontario
As announced by Barry Hayes on Twitter, Juwan Miller has been named as one of the members of the Team Ontario U-17 squad.
Miller's family has recently moved into the Huron area of Kitchener, and I expect to see him suiting up for the Huskies next season.

Meanwhile, down in the U15 ranks, two CWOSSA players made Team Ontario as Savo Krajisnik (Bluevale) and Sasha Simic (Cameron Heights) were on the squad.  Krajisnik may not be a name familiar to CWOSSA high school followers as he played up for the Knights' senior squad this past season as a grade nine.

CWOSSA Classifications Still TBD
Though usually announced towards the end of June, the CWOSSA classifications for the 2012-13 school year have yet to be posted to the CWOSSA website.
On the surface, it would appear as though Huron Heights (1214 FTE students in 2011-12) is poised to make the jump to "AAAA", especially with the amount of development in SW Kitchener.  Waterloo-Oxford and Elmira are traditionally "AAAA" size, but as rural schools have traditionally petitioned to play at the "AAA" level.  North Park, Guelph CVI and Jacob Hespeler were all AAA schools within about 50-60 students of the "AAAA" cutoff.

The importance with all of that is if all current "AAAA" schools remain as such, and two "AAA" schools move up, CWOSSA would likely switch to an 8-team draw for basketball championships.

Achonwa & Aubry Off To Olympics
By virtue of their Canada Day win over Japan (71-63) at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the Canadian Women's Team has qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London later this month.  The squad features two former CWOSSA players, Chelsea Aubry (Grand River/Kitchener) and Natalie Achonwa (REDA via Centennial/Guelph).  Good luck at the games!

Any News, Notes?
Feel free to e-mail mark@cwossabasketball.com with any information that comes up over the summer, such as post-secondary commitments, AAU scores/stats, etc.!