You have to wonder why a long time coach like Scott Clark, who has been the head coach at Simon Fraser University for the past fifteen years, would suddenly jump to the Thompson River job which is the Death Valley of Canadian university coaching careers. Clark is the third head coach at the school in three years. With Simon Fraser abandoning the CIS for an uncertain future in American Division II sports, this is a cautious move for Clark. Because of its geographical remoteness and losing reputation, few urban kids want to relocate there from places like greater Vancouver or Victoria, where most of the best BC high school talent resides. Clark will quickly find that developing a winning program and attracting quality basketball recruits to Kamloops is easier said than done.

Word out of St. Catherines is that long time Brock coach Ken Murray will be allowed to retire this spring to help heal the rift that has been boiling along this spring between the Brock players and him. Assistant coach Brad Rootes is rumoured to take over the reigns for next year on an interim basis at the age of twenty-six. Rootes recently threw his hat in the ring for the vacant McMaster job. It's really sad to see one of the best coaches in the CIS go out with a cloud hanging over what has been a sterling CIS career. Best wishes to coach Murray who had great success and helped build the Brock program into one of the best in the CIS over the past twenty some odd years.

The big catch for any CIS school this year on the transfer list would be Scott Brittain, a 6'9" forward who sat out his senior year at Boston University while completing his undergrad business degree. Scott is interested in doing an MBA and would have two years of eligibility in the CIS. Brittain could have the same impact on a CIS contender as Keenan Jeppesen had on the McMaster program last year after transferring from Western. Scott has a long history of head injuries that curtailed a very promising career at Boston University. If he is healthy and can avoid the injuries that have plagued his career, he could be a game changer for the right CIS school. Scott has applied to several MBA programs in the OUA and the AUS.

The top four recruiting classes in the OUA as of the end of May belong to, in no particular order, the Carleton Ravens, the Western Mustangs and the McMaster Marauders. After coming up snake eyes in the recruiting lottery last year, Western coach Brad Campbell has hit the mother lode this year with an excellent crop of freshmen and transfers coming in. This should set up the 'Stangs for a run at the OUA title next year. New Ryerson head coach Roy Rana proved his recruiting chops quickly with an athletic crop of new comers. Rana has shown an ability to reach outside the GTA for talent and lure them to the downtown campus. Ryerson is a team on the rise in the OUA East and may eventually challenge league Goliath Carleton given time and more talent coming in the next few years. Carleton coach Dave Smart continues to dominate the fertile Ottawa high school system and has also shown he can reach out to other parts of Canada to lure top flight talent to the nations capital. Despite the turmoil at McMaster, the McMaster Marauders managed to keep their stellar recruiting class together and added top flight local point guard Kyle Gedrietis to the mix. They are also in the hunt for the previously mentioned Scott Brittain and if they can add him to next year's roster, that would be the icing on the cake. Former OUA All-Star Mouctar Diaby is expected back on campus in the fall as well.

Long time Humber College coach Darryl Glenn is taking a one year sabbatical from coaching the Hawks. Glenn has been prominently mentioned for several vacant CIS jobs over the past year including Manitoba and Windsor. With his excellent resume coach Glenn is ready to jump to the CIS and run a successful program.

Many basketball observers in the GTA are telling me that the young York Lions squad is ready to make a big leap up the OUA standings next year and perhaps challenge the mighty Carleton Ravens for the conference title. Optimism abounds with the promotion of long time assistant Tom Oliveri and the afterglow of late season charge into the playoffs which included an upset victory over the Ryerson Rams. There are two caveats here that need to be addressed before the Lions get to the throne room in the OUA East. Firstly, the Lions have always been one of the worst defensive teams in the CIS over the past few years preferring to outscore their opponents rather than lock them down. If you want to succeed on a regular basis and be a top ten team in the CIS, you have to keep your opponents under 70ppg's a game. This past season, the Lions gave up almost 79 points per game. Can they suddenly become defensive stoppers as a unit? Defence is a mindset and a commitment. The Lions have always had lots of offensive fire power and their love of offence is no secret but if they are not there defensively, than it's all for nothing. Secondly, I don't recall coach Oliveri having a particularly big impact on the team's win/loss record while he filled in for Bob Bain several years ago. I think coach Oliveri is a capable coach don't get me wrong but certainly not in the same conversation in terms of excellence as a Dave Smart, Joe Raso, Chris Oliver or Dave D'Aviero who are all proven winners with great track records.

And finally, welcome to new McMaster coach Amos Connolly. There are huge shoes to fill with the departure of former coach Joe Raso and McMaster fans hope you are up to the task of keeping the Marauders amongst the nation's elite programs. With the current talent on the roster, we obviously expect the team to challenge for the OUA West title next season and be a potential Top Ten team in the CIS. Best wishes for the upcoming season.

Yours in basketball,

Jim Thomas

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