Tuesday Tidbits: CWOSSA Edition

Well, an exciting week of CWOSSA (and league - D8 & WCSSAA) championships wrapped up yesterday, with a lot of excitement along the way.  Some of my thoughts... 

Second Place?  No Problem
For the first time that I can recall in a 6-team CWOSSA event, both second place teams (during the pool portion of play) advanced through to the CWOSSA finals in the AAA junior event.  Of course, both St. John's and Bluevale were no slouches, having spent the majority of the season ranked among my "top 5" junior teams.  Still, certainly an interesting note to make.

Full Circle
Bluevale coach Doros Theodosiou was a member of the last Bluevale junior team to taste CWOSSA victory (1989), and yesterday, he was on the sidelines as the Knights made an appearance in the CWOSSA final.  It was actually BCI's first final as a junior squad since that '89 title run as well.

Their senior program has had a bit more success, having won "AAAA" CWOSSA back in 2010. 

Highlander Hoopla Again Proves Its Worth
I've mentioned previously how SJAM's Junior Tournament (16-team event in December) always seems to be a precursor to later success in the season.

This year, again, was no different, with the winner of that tournament (SJAM) taking the AAAA CWOSSA title.

Meanwhile, all four semifinalists at the tournament made at least the CWOSSA AAA/AAAA semifinals:  St. John's (AAA Gold); Bluevale (AAA Silver); St. David (AAA Semifinalist); and, of course SJAM.

Anthem - Nice Touch
Nice to see the national anthem being played before many of the championship finals --- including the D8, WCSSAA, and AAAA CWOSSA title games.  That said, a couple of the gyms (Cameron & St. Mary's) had those in the stands looking around for a flag to face.  Perhaps a temporary "loaner" could be brought in for those situations.

Packed Gyms & Spirit on Display
For the D8, WCSSAA and even the CWOSSA finals -- games were played in front of packed gyms.  The latter was the most impressive, with two K-W schools playing in the AAAA finals in Brantford.  

Certainly goes to show the commitment of the SJAM/SMHS parents & fans, as well as the basketball culture in Brantford as many locals came out to support the tournament.

Meanwhile, props to Eastwood CI who had their cheerleading team out at the WCSSAA Junior finals.  It added to the atmosphere and was nice to see the support.

Hodzic Dominant 
4th year SJAM forward Nedim Hodzic was my unofficial "CWOSSA MVP" with his ridiculous stat line of 23 PPG and 14 RPG during the AAAA CWOSSA tournament --- against 3 teams that have generally been ranked in CWOSSA's top five all season (Assumption, Cameron Heights, St. Mary's).

I mentioned on Twitter how one observer said that he could probably start right now for some CIS programs.  I'd agree with that statement.  

He's applied to several post-secondary programs for next year, but has not yet ruled out a 5th year at SJAM.

Lall Channels "Ian Harriette" in Loss
I'd be remiss not to mention one of the better scorers in recent CWOSSA history, TJ Lall, as his high school career ended last night with Galt's loss to St. James.

Lall put up 40+ points on numerous occasions, and even hit the 50-mark during tournament play this year.  

After Record reporter Mark Bryson noted that Lall scored 18 consecutive Galt points during yesterday's game, including a three-ball 10 feet off the line, I made the comment yesterday that he was trying his best to "Ian Harriette" the Ghosts to OFSAA.

In 2003, Harriette put on a couple of ridiculous scoring performances in helping the St. Benedict Saints to the CWOSSA AAAA final (and OFSAA berth) as a #6 seed (upsetting the #3 and #2 seeds, respectively).

Seeding Questions
With the qualifiers (mostly) known, it will certainly be interesting to see where CWOSSA teams end up.  

At the AAA level, the St. James Lions were an 8-seed last year, and could certainly see that improve this time around.

The AAAA field is one of the deeper fields in recent memory, and it will certainly be interesting to see where SJAM & St. Mary's end up.  SJAM has a few more losses than the Eagles, but, by the same token, a couple of them were without Brett Parrott in the lineup.  I'd find it hard to make the case for a Silver Fox Champion (St. Mary's) to be seeded in the double-digit range -- although they were probably looking at a 6-8 seed in the 18-team tournament before the weekend started, so it's not unfathomable.

Stay tuned on that, as I'll try and break down my thoughts in a separate post.