6'9" Former Rez Forward Kenning Signs With Palm Beach Atlantic

Former Resurrection CSS F/C Cory Kenning (6'9") announced yesterday that he has accepted a full athletic scholarship from Palm Beach Atlantic University, an NCAA D-2 school in Palm Beach, Florida.

Kenning was actively recruited by several D-1 and D-2 schools, particularly in Florida, where he briefly attended Golden Gate High School (Naples, FL) this past season before being ruled ineligible by the Florida High School Athletic Commission.  However, he participated in several exposure camps during his time down there and his unique skillset (size plus ability to hit the mid-range jumper) piqued the interest of coaches.

Kenning said yesterday after making the commitment that there were several factors that played into the decision, but PBA's location sure didn't hurt.

"It's in the heart of a beautiful city and right beside the beach," he said, before adding that one of his former Golden Gate teammates heading there also played a role in the decision.

"My former teammate, Troy Thomas, will be going there as well starting in the fall; we're actually going to be roommates too," said Kenning of the familiar face he'll know on campus.

Kenning's future coach, Dave Balza, has a solid pedigree, having coached the school that was this year's NCAA cinderella (Florida Gulf Coast University) from 2001-2011.  He's credited with recruiting star guard Sherwood Brown, among others who were on the roster this past season.

Good luck, Cory!

AAAA: CWOSSA's New Look in 2013-14

Despite several submitted proposals and a push to switch the AAAA CWOSSA format to an 8-team draw or even a modified 6-team draw, a drop in the number of AAAA teams has forced the hand of CWOSSA executives, who will switch the AAAA basketball (and other sport tournaments) to four-team events.

The official classifications for 2013-14 haven't yet been posted on the CWOSSA website, but we've all heard about the declining enrollment at Waterloo Region high schools.  AAAA schools aren't the only ones seeing a drop, as a high school in my neighbourhood, Southwood SS, is expected to drop down to "AA" from "AAA" next year as well. 

Anyways, I've been told from my sources that the number of AAAA schools will drop from 18 to 15; likely schools that could drop below the threshold (to AAA) could include St. John's, Bluevale, Centre Wellington, Waterloo-Oxford and Huron Heights, as all five of those schools were within approximately 100 students of the cut-off this year.

According to CWOSSA regulations, if a division has 15 or fewer teams, a "4 team championship" is contested.

AAAA should have around 6-7 WCSSAA teams, 3 D8 teams, 3 D10 teams, and 1-2 D5 teams next season.

So, how will it look?
Early returns show that WCSSAA will receive 2 of 4 qualifiers, given that they have nearly half the teams in the division.  After that, it's a bit of a mess.

D8 and D10 will alternate years receiving an automatic entry to the CWOSSA tournament.  The district that does not get an automatic entry would play D5 for the 4th berth.

Therefore:
2 - WCSSAA
1 - D8 or D10 (alternating years)
1 - D8/D10 vs. D5 (D5 plays district that does not auto-qualify)

The interesting thing is that CWOSSA qualifies two teams to the OFSAA championships.  As such, assuming they go the "usual" four-team route (semifinals/finals instead of pool play), both semifinals would be "OFSAA qualifiers".

What I Think
I grew up in the era of an 8-team, ranked CWOSSA tournament, so you know my preferences....as a huge high school basketball fan, I like the finality of an "elimination tournament" but I also like to see the Cinderella stories or the upsets that can happen in those situations.

The 2003 St. Benedict Saints, who went into the tournament seeded #6 but earned an OFSAA berth as silver medalists, are one that immediately come to mind.

Or how about the 2011 KCI Raiders, seeded #5 in that version of the "AAA" junior tournament, but who went on to capture an unlikely title?

Since the switch to the 6-team "pool play" (2006-07 season), we've seen some blatant problems with that set-up that have certainly affected the way the tournament played out.

None may have been bigger than in 2012, where Pool "A" in Senior Boys' CWOSSA featured (arguably) the top-3 teams in the entire tournament --- JF Ross, Forest Heights, and St. Mary's.  An upset in the D10 playoffs meant that JF Ross was "D10 #2" while Centre Wellington took the "D10 #1" spot in the other pool.

Not surprisingly, the two teams that made the final that year were both from "Pool A" --- St. Mary's and JF Ross.

In fact, there was a streak of three straight junior finals that featured teams from the same pool, most commonly "D8 #1" vs. "WCSSAA #1":

2009 - Resurrection vs. Grand River
2010 - Resurrection vs. WCI
2011 - St. Mary's vs. Forest Heights

(It probably should have been four, as Grand River was favoured to defeat JF Ross in the 2012 semifinals and play St. Mary's in the final, but the Royals pulled the upset on their home floor).

Hopefully, with the new four-team format, CWOSSA officials will allow the organizers to seed the participants, if the format is "2 Semifinals ----> Finals".  If they don't, we could certainly see some situations like the above where (arguably) the top two teams meet in a semifinal.  Again, the last thing we would want is for CWOSSA's two best teams to meet in the semifinals in a given year.

The other option that could be explored would be pool play.  Basically, have all teams play each other, with the top two "pool teams" advancing to the finals.  This would certainly avoid the issue noted above, but I can already see the day where you have three teams tied at 2-1, and one at 0-3, meaning a spot in the finals (and therefore OFSAA) would be determined based upon plus-minus.  Yikes.

Of course, the new format still doesn't reflect cyclical imbalances that can happen in CWOSSA Basketball.  In 2004-05, the top four senior teams in CWOSSA were WCSSAA schools.  In 2010-11, St. Mary's and Resurrection were the top two senior teams, yet there was only one D8 CWOSSA spot.  Back when I played, Guelph and Brantford were traditionally strong (my junior WCSSAA championship team was seeded #5 one year at CWOSSA).  Again, this rigid qualification structure may mean that the "best teams" don't necessarily go to CWOSSA when there are league imbalances.

And In Conclusion...
Obviously, there's still a lot to be determined with regards to the format, etc., but my main concern is two-fold --- firstly, that the "best teams" (regardless of district) get to advance to CWOSSA, especially during periods of cyclical imbalance.  Secondly, that the tournament is set up in a fair and equitable manner; if possible, teams should be seeded to avoid situations like the 2012 "Pool of Death".

Hopefully, CWOSSA will take the above into consideration and provide us with a format that ensures that the CWOSSA tournaments are remembered for the great basketball that takes place on the floor, and not a discussion of "what ifs" as a result of the tournament format.

FIBA Americas U16: Murray Leads Canada to Win Over Puerto Rico

Grade 10 Grand River standout Jamal Murray's star continues to shine on the international stage.

This time, Murray pumped home 24 points and added 7 rebounds (along with 3 assists and 2 steals) as the Canadian U16 (Cadet) National Team defeated Puerto Rico 76-63 in the first game at the FIBA Americas U16 tournament in Uruguay.

Murray knocked home 6-of-12 from the floor, which included a solid 4-of-7 effort from beyond the three-point arc.  He keyed a 12-0 Canada run in the second quarter that helped establish a lead that the Canadians would not relinquish. 

Canada is in a pool with hosts Uruguay, Chile, and Puerto Rico.  They'll play Chile today, who defeated Uruguay 64-62 yesterday.

The other pool features the United States, Mexico, Argentina and the Bahamas.  The first day in that pool saw the US demolish Mexico 130-31, while Argentina took care of the Bahamas 74-53.

2-Time D10 MVP Sterne Commits to University of Guelph

Chalk another one up for Chris O'Rourke.

The University of Guelph men's basketball coach has made a trend lately of being able to keep some of the top D10 prospects close to home, and he landed the latest one last week when Centennial CVI's Erik Sterne announced his commitment to his hometown school.

Proud to say I have officially comitted to the University of Guelph Gryphons mens basketball

— Erik Sterne (@eriksterne5) May 24, 2013

Sterne was a scoring machine for the Spartans this past season, including some timely performances in big games.

He knocked in 34 points in a semifinal win over rival John F. Ross, and keyed a fourth-quarter comeback against heavily favoured St. Mary's in the CWOSSA "AAAA" semifinal game.  Sterne would knock in 20 of his 25 points in the second half as the Spartans fell by 2 points in overtime in arguably one of the best games in memory. 

Congratulations, Erik!

Contest: Design a New CWOSSABasketball.com Logo!

It's time for a new look.

I'm looking for someone to design a new CWOSSABasketball.com logo, which will be used for all social media avatars (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), as well on (obviously) this website and possibly future promotional/sponsorship items.

What's in it for the winner?  A new "maple smelling" $100 bill......not to mention something cool that you can put on your resumé.

Here's how it works:

1.  Design your ORIGINAL (ahem!) logo, and submit your entry via e-mail (mark @ cwossabasketball.com).  The file should be in image format (e.g., .gif, .jpeg).  Make sure you include your contact details, including full name, contact phone number and e-mail.

2.  Contest will close on June 30th, 2013.  At that time, I will select my five favourite entries received, and will post these on the website.

3.  The winner will be determined by a combination of public voting (poll on CWOSSABasketball.com) - 40% of final "grade", and the opinion of a panel of my friends and colleagues (60%). 

Any questions?  Let me know via e-mail or on Twitter @CWOSSABball.

Former WCSSAA MVP Masters Commits to New Brunswick

(Release below from UNB Basketball)

FREDERICTON, NB - Head coach Brent Baker is pleased to announce that Javon Masters will join the men's basketball program for the upcoming 2013-14 season.

Masters, a native of Kitchener, Ontario, is a 6'1” guard who received the prestigious 2011-12 WCSSAA MVP (Mike Moser Award winner) while playing at Forest Heights Collegiate Institute.

He currently plays AAU basketball as a member of the Waterloo Wildhawks and trains with Kyle Julius and A-Game Hoops.

Coach Baker is definitely excited that Masters will be joining the Varsity Reds. “Javon will allow us to play a more up-tempo type game. He has the necessary quickness and three- point shooting range to compete with best guards in the AUS.”

“His on the ball defense and court vision will be welcome additions to our line-up,” continued Baker.

Masters will graduate this spring from St. John's Kilmarnock School, a private school located in Breslau, Ontario. He has been accepted into UNB's Bachelor of Arts program.
the men's basketball program for the upcoming 2013-14 season.

Retrieved From:  http://varsityreds.ca/news/2013/5/17/GEN_0517134240.aspx

E-Book: Solving Math Problems

Looks like I'm not the only one who can write in my family. 

Congratulations go out to my brother James, who recently published his first E-book.

Some of you readers of the blog may find it of use, so I thought I would give him a shout-out.

"Solving Math Problems" discusses problem-solving strategies applicable to all branches of mathematics, as well as other fields. Topics covered in the book include George Polya's four stages of problem solving, blocks to problem solving, good thinking habits and heuristics. For mathematics students, the book also includes tips for preparing for and taking exams. Also included in the book are sample problems with solutions.

You can click here to see the listing on Amazon.

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OBA 17U & 19U: CWOSSA Teams Capture Medals

Photo Cred:  NorthPoleHoops.com

Several CWOSSA-based rep programs came away with medals over the weekend at the 17U and 19U OBA championships, hosted by St. Catharines and Kitchener-Waterloo, respectively.

Starting with the 19U division, the Division I game between the #2 Waterloo Wolverines and the #3 Waterloo Wildhawks certainly lived up to its billing on Saturday night.

The Wildhawks trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but got some momentum going into the second-half thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer (and-one) by Javon Masters.

The 'Hawks would go on to clip the Wolverines in an 82-79 final, before bowing out in the semifinals to Oakville Vytis.  They rebounded to take the bronze medal over the London Ramblers, 76-71.

The only other "CWOSSA based" program to medal at the U19 championships were the Centre Wellington Celtics, who finished with a silver medal in Division 8 after a 63-58 defeat to BC Troyka.

U17
Over in the Niagara Region, the #6 ranked Waterloo Wolverines received a 32-point performance from Jermaine Lyle in the bronze medal game (Nedim Hodzic added 18 and Jamal Murray had 17) as they defeated #2 Toronto Triple Threat 79-49.

In Division 3, the #1-ranked Guelph Phoenix lived up to their billing by going undefeated including a 63-61 win over #2 St. Catharines CYO in the championship finale.  The Phoenix had a very strong showing, having won all four of their earlier games by double-figures.

In D5, the Waterloo Wildhawks defeated the Centre Wellington Celtics in an "all-CWOSSA" bronze medal game by a 58-42 final.

The KW Vipers provided the CWOSSA-area's other medal of the weekend, as the #8-seeded Vipers breezed through Division 6 undefeated, including a 60-55 win in the championship final against the #7 Mississauga Wolverines.  Interestingly enough, none of the top-4 seeds made the semifinals in that division.

U15 Lightning Girls Take Ontario Cup; Will Play in Florida This Summer

Recently, the KW Lightning Girls Midget (U15 team) travelled to Sault Ste. Marie to compete in Division I of the 2013 version of the OBA Ontario Cup.

The Lightning, ranked 4th at the outset of the tournament, breezed through pool play with a 3-0 record, including a 48-45 victory over #1-ranked Scarborough.

This advanced the Lightning through to the semifinals, where they comfortably defeated North Toronto (31-point margin).  The championship final was a back-and-forth affair, but the Lightning pulled out a 56-46 win over the Advantage Titans.

To nobody's surprise, six members of the Lightning are from the KCI Raiders and the Grand River Renegades, the top two teams in the WCSSAA junior circuit last fall.

Members of the team include:
Nina Farkic, Cameron Heights
Andjela Stankovic, Cameron Heights
Milica Koprivica, SJAM
Julianna Thomson, Woodland Christian
Olivia Mickie, KCI
Michaela Schlumberger, KCI
Thea Taylor, KCI
Maya Day, Grand River
Nyamuoch Teny, Grand River
Nyasha Mombeshora, Grand River
Megan Reid, Bluevale
Rachael Hamm, Bluevale

Coach:  Kerri Jilesen (Asst - Laurier)

With the victory, the team will now represent Ontario at the AAU National Championship in Orlando, Florida (ESPN Wide World of Sports Facility) this coming July 8th-13th.  Day, Thomson and Teny have also been selected to attend the Team Ontario Top 80 tryout, which takes place this coming weekend (May 18th & 19th).

Congratulations!

Several Local Teams Medal at U15, U16 Ontario Cup Tournaments

The U16 and U15 Ontario Cup (OBA) tournaments took place this weekend in Ottawa and Windsor respectively, and several CWOSSA-area teams came away with some hardware.

Here's a look at the medal winners, starting with U15:

U15
Guelph CYO Knights (D3) - Gold
KW Vipers #1 (D3) - Bronze
Wildhawk Basketball (D4) - Silver
KW Vipers #2 (D7) - Gold
Brantford Rep (D11) - Bronze

U16
Guelph Phoenix - Pankerichan (D3) - Bronze
Brantford Rep (D4) - Silver
Wildhawk Basketball (D6) - Silver
Cambridge Centaurs (D10) - Silver

The KW Vipers #1 team, meanwhile, turned in a stellar performance in U16 Division 1 play, losing out in the championship game to a stacked Burlington Skyhawks team 76-47.  The Skyhawks, who have seven players between 6'4"-6'9", won all five of their games by an average of 32.4 PPG.

That being said, the interesting storyline is that the Skyhawks actually had a MAJORITY of CWOSSA-based players on their roster, including:

Ivan Bilandzic (SJK via WCI)
Ivan Cucak (Cameron Heights)
Korbil Gany (Cameron Heights)
Savo Krajisnik (Bluevale)
Simon Petrov (SJAM)
Sasha Simic (Cameron Hts.)
Stefan Simic (KCI)

As for the The Vipers defeated the Brampton Warriors (48-43) and Ottawa Next Level (64-62) while losing to Burlington in pool play; they then snuck past Motion West 66-65 in their semifinal game.

Players from the U16 Vipers are:
Heanok Abara (St. Mary's)
Keith Hummel (Forest Heights)
Ayana Kawe (Eastwood)
Mohammed Kawe (Eastwood)
Ousmane Kromah (Eastwood)
Griffin Large (Bluevale)
Amir Meftuh (Forest Heights)
Patrick Odouk (Grand River)
Matt Quiring (Jacob Hespeler)
Jan Willem Scheele (SJAM)
Mack Smith (Resurrection)
Sam Sutherland (WCI)

NorthPoleHoops.com: Video Recap of "Top 40" Camp

The folks over at NorthPoleHoops.com were in Kitchener last weekend, taking in the events at the 2nd annual Junior Boys' "Adidas Top 40 Camp".  They did a nice video recap of things, which I've attached below.

Leading the way during the three-day event were Sasha Simic (Gr. 10 / G / 6'4" - Cameron Heights) and Nedim Hodzic (Gr. 10 / F / 6'4" - SJAM) who were named co-MVP's of the event.

Other "all-stars" that were recognized included Shamar Decoteau (Gr. 10 / F / 6'5" - WCI); Craig Valeriote (Gr. 10 / G / 6'0" - Lourdes); Miro Iliev (Gr. 10 / G / 5'7" - Grand River); Heanok Abara (Gr. 10 / G / 6'0" - St. Mary's) and Adham Eleeda (Gr. 9 / G / 6'1" - St. Mary's).

Junior: Adidas Top 40 Camp Rosters Released

Camp director Imad Qahwash has released rosters for the four teams that will compete at his 2nd annual "Tri City Top 40 Camp" this weekend in Kitchener at the CORE Sports facility.

The camp goes Friday evening, Saturday (with games 4pm-8pm) and Sunday.  For those interested in watching, admission is free.

Qahwash, who played professionally in China this past season, has secured a sponsorship from Adidas for the event, meaning that each player "will receive an Adidas Drill Packet, Dri-Fit Jersey (Number and Last name on back), Customized Adidas Shoes (matching each team's colour) as well as an Adidas Gym Bag," he said.

Along with an upgrade in gear from last year's event, the calibre of the coaching staff has improved as well.  Joining Qahwash will be former pro basketballer (and one of the all-time area HS greats) Shane Nicely, former Galt standout Nick Yule, Ro Russell (Owner & Founder of Grassroots AAU) and Anthony "Huggy" Otto (VP Grassroots AAU).

Four players will be making their second appearance at the invite-only camp, led by Craig Valeriote (Lourdes), George Dumitru (St. David), Nedim Hodzic (SJAM), and Adrian Mendoza (St. John's).

"I am depending on all these young men to be leaders at camp and veterans for the new guys. I am sure with them going through it once, it will definitely help all of them play well and have a good showing hopefully," noted Qahwash.

NorthPoleHoops.com will be in attendance as well, and will again be posting a recap on their site --- as well as adding any deserving players to their national rankings (such as Grand River's Jamal Murray last year).

The team rosters are:

TEAM PROVIDENCE: Coach Shane Nicely (Former International Professional)
4 Chris Poloniato (Bishop Mac) 5'10" Guard
10 Harman Goyal (Centennial) 5'5" Guard
12 Adrian Mendoza (St. John's) 5'6" Guard
13 Ryan Stafford (Monsignor Doyle) 5'10" Guard
16 James Gerstenkorn (Lourdes) 6'5" Forward
23 Tyson Dusselier (Jacob Hespeler) 5'6" Guard
35 Alan MacIntosh (St. Benedict) 6'0" Guard
36 Korbil Gany (Cameron Heights) 6'1" Guard
38 Evan Hosker (Bishop MacDonnell) 6'2" Guard
39 Minas Abara (St. Mary's) 5'10" Guard

TEAM DUKE: Coach - Nicholas Yule (Cambridge Centaurs-Juvenile)
1 Craig Valeriote (Lourdes) 6'0" Guard
3 Chris Jin (Centennial) 6'1" Guard
15 Ty Uhrig (CWDHS) 6'6" Forward
19 Ayana Kawe (Eastwood) 6'1" Guard
20 Heanok Abara (St. Mary's) 6'0" Guard
22 David Nguyen (St. Mary's) 5'10" Guard
27 Ali Rashid (Resurrection) 5'9" Guard
32 Mike Heron (Assumption) 6'1" Guard
33 Sasha Simic (Cameron Heights) 6'4" Guard
37 Alex Arcega (Lourdes) 5'6" Guard

TEAM ARKANSAS:  Coach - Ro Russell (Founder - Grassroots AAU)
2 George Dumitru (St. David) 5'10" Guard
5 Alex Mackeigan (St. James) 6'1" Guard
6 Adham Eleeda (St. Mary's) 6'1" Guard
7 Matt Minitullo (North Park) 5'8" Guard
14 Jake Rush (Resurrection) 6'1" Guard
24 Chris Phomsouvanh (Cameron Heights) 5'10" Guard
28 Shamar Bailey (WCI) 6'5" Forward
29 Andrew Allison (Galt) 6'4" Guard
31 Matt Woeller (Galt) 5'10" Guard
34 Barnaba Neil (St. Mary's) 6'4" Forward

TEAM NOTRE DAME: Coach Anthony “Huggy” Otto (VP GrassRoots AAU)
8 Eddie Omari (St. Mary's) 5'7" Guard
9 Nedim Hodzic (SJAM) 6'5" Forward
11 Alex Donnachie (Galt) 6'0" Guard
17 Mike King (Assumption) 6'4" Forward
18 Jake Chaput (Bishop Mac) 5'9" Guard
21 Jasmer Brar (Centennial) 5'10" Guard
25 Romy Simpson (Eastwood) 5'7" Guard
26 Mohamed Kawe (Eastwood) 5'11" Guard
30 Andy Ly (Centennial) 5'9" Guard
40 Miro Iliev (Grand River) 5'7" Guard

Galt's Simmons Stays Close To Home; Commits to Laurier

Photo Rights:  Jordan Paolucci / Etobicoke Elite

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks have picked up their second "CWOSSA commitment" of the season, signing 6'7" SF Jack Simmons from Galt Collegiate (Cambridge) last week.

Simmons was instrumental in helping turn around some lean years on the GCI basketball court; he led the Ghosts to a #1 CWOSSA "AAA" ranking last season.

This year, the Ghosts were among the "AAA" favourites again before their season was cut short with the absence of extracurricular activities at many public schools.  Despite that, Simmons made a mark at the Heinbuch tournament by pouring in 30 points in a 71-65 Galt loss to Mother Teresa (Scarborough).

The 6'7" Simmons has a nice mid-range game and can also step out and hit the three-pointer.  Certainly a nice CIS prospect, and he will team with another 6'6"+ forward, Cameron Heights' Vlad Matovic, as two CWOSSA recruits that we can keep an eye on locally over the coming years.

Congratulations, Jack!


Two of WCSSAA's Top Senior Girls Find CIS Homes

Two of the top offensive threats this past season in WCSSAA Senior Girls' Basketball have made their respective commitments to CIS postsecondary institutions.

It goes without saying that Forest Heights' Blair McNaughton, WCSSAA's top scorer this past season at just under 20 PPG, and Cameron Heights' Liz McLellan, WCSSAA's second leading scorer at a shade under 19 PPG, won't be sorely missed by opposing coaches that had a tough time trying to stop them this past season.

McLellan, a F from Cameron Heights, will be attending McGill University in Montreal.  She is the second CWOSSA player to announce a commitment to the Quebec school this season, after JF Ross' Mike Friesen earlier announced his intention to play for McGill's men's program.

The Martlets are coming off a very successful season, going 13-3 in the RSEQ and advancing to the CIS "Final 8".

McLellan had been a key member of the Golden Gaels for the past few seasons, but she took on a leadership role the past two years after the graduation of a couple notable Cameron players to CIS programs (Siki Jez & Erin Robbins).  A first-team WCSSAA all-star, she went off for 24, 29, and 21 points in three consecutive league games last October.

McNaughton will join a Lakehead team that is seeking to improve upon it's 7-14 record in the OUA West this past season.  The Thunderwolves also have another CWOSSA grad, former OSCVI centre Erika French, on their roster.

Blair was certainly one of WCSSAA's elite scorers this past season; in FHCI's final two league games she knocked in a remarkable 52 points (72% of the Trojans' total) --- single-handedly keeping the Trojans in those games.  Again, pretty remarkable considering coaches knew she was the one to stop!

Congratulations and good luck in your University careers!

Former NPC Star Jones Accepts NCAA D2 Scholarship

Brantford Expositor Photo

Former North Park Trojan Marcus Jones (6'0" PG), who spent his 5th year of high school eligibility playing for the Athlete Institute Academy (Orangeville, ON), has accepted a full scholarship to NCAA Division 2 school Gannon University in Erie, PA.

The Knights have a history of recruiting Canadians and have one other Canadian (senior to be 6'2" G Jabs Newby from Toronto) on their roster.

Gannon went 22-7 this past season, including a 16-6 conference mark before being upset in their conference quarterfinals by Slippery Rock University 62-58 in overtime.

Congratulations, Marcus!