In a 16-team tournament that was almost (13) exclusively CWOSSA teams --- including many ranked clubs, we got a good look this weekend at teams that will be battling for league crowns, as well as CWOSSA (and OFSAA) berths. Here are my thoughts on a couple of the notable clubs, all of whom entered the tournament with a "top 10" CWOSSA ranking:SJAM - Certainly the #1 team at this point in the CWOSSA region, the 'Landers are not "unbeatable" but you would certainly have to figure they would be favoured in any game against CWOSSA opposition. Given that my current #2 CWOSSA team, Bishop Mac, is "AA", the top "AAA" threat to SJAM might come from St. Benedict.
We all know about the "big three", but the 'Landers got some great contributions from their bench over the weekend, which is important for SJAM's long-term success, particularly in games outside of the CWOSSA region.
Eastwood - Probably the most "eye opening" win of the weekend was the Rebels' win over St. Mary's, a game in which the Eagles had their full roster back in action. Eastwood's length -- led by Cham Ujullu & Hanani Ujullu -- creates issues and deflections. Grade 10 guard Layee Jabateh displayed strong poise in that semifinal game and was also impressive. His continued development over the season could help the Rebs make an extended playoff run.
St. Mary's - The Eagles seemed a bit "out of sorts" in the semifinal game, and I'm sure there are some adjustments coming into the new season with players figuring out their (new) roles and others reintegrating themselves into the early-season rotation after injury; keep in mind the Eagles graduated all 5 starters from last year's D8 championship team. St. Mary's may be vulnerable now, but I expect this team to gel and improve as the season goes on, given that the talent level is there. Keep an eye on them as we progress.
Grand River - Extremely efficient on the offensive end, the Rens can certainly pile up some points -- they did score 67 in a losing effort to SJAM. Of course, they also gave up 70 (Resurrection), 67 (KCI) and 81 (SJAM) so they aren't quite where they want to be on the defensive side of the ball. That said, their strong guards, led by Miro Iliev, certainly make GRCI look to be among the group of WCSSAA teams that will challenge for a WCSSAA finals berth & CWOSSA spot --- depending on how things shake out with the seeding.
WCI - Aside from say, Eastwood, the Vikes might have been the most pleasant surprise of the weekend. They demonstrated their depth in the consolation finals win over Resurrection, a game where -- get this -- Sam Sutherland, Aaron Grubb and Adam Piazza did not play. Along with this depth, they have length at all positions and some rapidly improving forwards (Antoney Bell & Mal Chol among them). Despite their early season losses to KCI, which might be chalked up to a less than favourable match-up, WCI seems poised for long-term success this season.
KCI - A bit of a disappointing weekend, the Raiders went 1-2 with losses to both Grand River and St. James, although the latter was in a "friendly" game.
Probably just a "blip" in the road for the Raiders, who have several wins over top 10 teams already this season including WCI (x2) and North Park. With one of the better backcourts in CWOSSA (Stefan Simic & David Ben-Lemotey) and a most favourable schedule -- the Raiders avoid both SJAM & ECI in league play -- I expect the Raiders to have a very high seed entering the WCSSAA playoffs.
Resurrection - The Phoenix certainly missed 6'7" starter Jordan Kenning this weekend, as he's out past Christmas with a minor injury. Rez could have used him on the glass as they were out-rebounded dramatically in single-digit losses to Grand River & WCI. On the flip side, the Phoenix have a lot of offensive talent -- led by a backcourt of Korbil Gany and Ali Rashid -- and when they're at full health and firing on all cylinders, they should at least be competitive with teams in the CWOSSA "top 5".
St. David - After a big win over St. Mary's, the Celtics have rapidly come down to earth. A strong shooting contingent that can get hot in a hurry shouldn't discount the Celts from putting teams on "upset alert" throughout the season.
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