The establishment of three new "basketball prep schools" within the CWOSSA boundaries has come at a cost for many local high school programs, with some top talent set to join forces at these new programs, which include:
REDA - Waterloo, ON
SJK (St. John-Kilmarnock) - Breslau, ON
AI Academy - Orangeville, ON
FYI, the SJK program will operate "within the school setting" itself as a "school team", whereas the others are "true" prep schools participating in prep leagues (e.g., NPSAA). That said, for the purposes of this discussion I'll talk about the three interchangeably.
The high school that's the biggest loser in this? How about the St. Mary's Eagles, who are scheduled to lose 4 key returnees overall, including last year's D8 senior (6'7" 5th year Adam Voll) and junior (6'3" 3rd year Mike Blumel) MVP's.
Meanwhile, the Forest Heights Trojans, who were projected to return the top backcourt in CWOSSA, lost Juwan Miller (albeit as an intra-WCSSAA transfer to Huron Heights) and WCSSAA MVP Javon Masters to St. John-Kilmarnock.
Here's a listing of CWOSSA Prep Transfers for the upcoming year; please feel free to advise me (on Twitter or via e-mail) or any more updates to this list:
Adam Voll (6'7" F/5th) - SJK (via St. Mary's/Kit.)
Javon Masters (6'1" G/5th) - SJK (via FHCI/Kitchener)
Henry Bankazo (6'1" G/5th) - REDA Prep (via St. Mary's/Kit)
Mike Blumel (6'3" G/F/3rd) - SJK (via St. Mary's/Kit.)
Saajan Arora (6'0" G/3rd) - SJK (via JHSS/Cambridge)
Christopher Thompson (5'11" G/3rd) - SJK (via GPSS/Cambridge)
Dashaun Lalor (5'10" G/2nd) - SJK (via SDCSS/Waterloo)
Marcus Jones (6'1" G/5th) - AI Academy (via North Park/Brantford)
Two Resurrection players will also be attending HS in Florida this coming year as international transfer students:
Cory Kenning (6'8" C/5th) - Naples HS (via Resurrection)
Adam Schneider (5'11" G/4th) - Naples HS (via Resurrection)
Certainly, this player movement is a monumental (and unprecedented!) shift in CWOSSA-area basketball and high school athletics in general. Many people have tweeted/texted/e-mailed me for my opinion on this situation, so I've decided to do a post on it while hoping that people will understand one significant bias that I bring to the table.....
Obviously, I'm a huge fan of high school sports in their current form. From a personal perspective, I feel that my participation in basketball (and cross-country and track) were an integral part of my high school years. Having followed HS basketball during my university days (on both sides of the border!) and beyond, and being intrigued by some of the great rivalries that had developed during that period (e.g., WCI-KCI in the mid 00's and more recently, St. Mary's-Resurrection), my goal with starting this site was to provide players with exposure (to fans, parents, college/university coaches, etc.).
Now, I'd be contradicting my past if I was to sit here and lecture that "transferring schools for personal reasons" is wrong. Heck, I did that myself back when I was in grade 11, leaving Bluevale for KCI. Of course, my older brother was "super smart" and started high school at Bluevale when he was in grade 6 (!) so I simply followed him there when I was going into grade 9. Most of my friends were at KCI, which certainly prompted my decision that my parents supported.
Back to the topic at hand, and with respect to the above paragraph, I certainly have no issue with players selecting to go "prep" --- provided it is the right decision for them in their individual circumstances. Having interacted with most of the guys above, they're all great kids (from my experiences), and I wish them much success going forward!
The hope with enrolling in these schools is that the exposure gained (as well as focused basketball-specific training) will maximize their potential, especially as it pertains to post-secondary opportunities in Canada and the United States.
Is the grass going to be greener on the other side? It's still too early to tell --- given that this is the first year for these programs, there isn't a track record available. That said, these programs know that ensuring the success and promotion of their players will be vital from a "word of mouth" business perspective and ensuring the medium-to-long term survival of their program.
Research must certainly be done before making a big decision such as this, especially as co-founder (and coach) of CIA Bounce (GTA-area AAU team) Mike George noted on Twitter with regards to the recent rash of kids heading south of the border for prep basketball progams:
"If another kid calls me about going prep I'm going to slap them. Prep is NOT for everyone. If you're mid to low level stay here n develop!! Half these guys that hv gone south hv been sold a dream by some random people they don't even know telling kids they r good enough 4 the NBA! Stop the crap about exposure and development wake the heck up and see what's happening. Just my opinion!!"--- @CoachMikeCIA
Obviously, George's comments were with regards to people heading to the USA, but I certainly can agree that his "prep is not for everyone" comment rings true.
Unfortunately, each action must have an equal "reaction" in this situation, which comes at a cost to (some) local high school teams, and particularly St. Mary's. Considering their dominant junior program this past year, and the rare "junior-senior" CWOSSA sweep, the Eagles were possibly entering into CWOSSA "repeat" territory --- something that looks a little less likely after these defections.
If you had to find a silver lining at the high school level, there will now be some extra roster spots available for kids to participate on a HS team and get that great experience. Those who know me know that I like including not just the top players, but all contributors (e.g., boxscore, full list of scorers) when I do my posts.
All in all, after the "prep phenomenon" started a few years' back, it was a matter of time before CWOSSA players would be targeted. I wish all players making the transition to prep all the best, while assuring my readers that my focus (on "CWOSSA basketball") won't be changed from years previous.
