Ho hum! Another Carleton Ravens win at the nationals in Halifax. Their seventh title in the past nine years. While I think every CIS fan in the country admires the excellence of the Ravens program, I think many fans are tired of their dominance year after year. They are like the New York Yankees of CIS basketball either lauded by their supporters in the Capital Region or barely tolerated by fans in the rest of the country. The question for the other forty-four CIS programs in the country is what does it take to compete on a level playing field with the Raven program? Better minds than mine will need to come up with that answer.

The final four in Hamilton was a resounding success. The ticket prices were right, the competition was excellent and the fans in the Hamilton area came out and supported the excellent product on the floor. I've been attending OUA playoff games for many years and the atmosphere at the Burridge Gym brought back memories of the great competition we used to see at the Copps Coliseum back in the 1980's when the event drew five or six thousand people. With the right marketing and moving the event to the right area, this golden era of OUA basketball could easily be resurrected.

Congratulations to head coach Scott Morrison and his Lakehead Thunderwolves squad who won the Wilson Cup with a convincing win over the eventual national champions, the Carleton Ravens. After struggling at the bottom of the OUA standings for many years coach Morrison has established his program as one of the best in the CIS for many years to come.

CCAA

The wandering career of DJ Wright came full circle this past winter when he played a semester of basketball for Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie. Even though Wright was not in great shape, he was still arguably the best player in the league at twenty-five years of age. We have drawn the ire of some readers of this column before for chronicling his odyssey through a number of high school prep programs and junior colleges. Wright has always been long on basketball skills but has always come up short in the classroom. By slowly easing himself in the OCAA he may be able to parlay this into a pro career in Europe. Time is definitely running out for this young man. Hopefully he can use his basketball ability to make a living over the next few years.

Point guard Adrian Tomlinson, who garnered quite a reputation for his selfish and immature attitude at West Hill HS in Scarborough and St. Lawrence College in Kingston last year, is now enrolled at Humber College and will suit up for the Hawks next Fall. There is no doubt about Tomlinson's ability on the basketball court but it will be fascinating to see how he fits in at Humber where "team" comes before any individual accolades. Adrian could make the always excellent Hawk program better or be a cancer on the team for the whole season.

Out West, Bol Kong, who spent a year at D1 Gonzaga and who a CCAA title playing college ball in the Vancouver area is now enrolled at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. From all reports, the talented Kong has really impacted the college scene with his fine play and is making progress in the classroom. In retrospect, the CCAA really is the last line of defense for basketball players who have wandered through the system. In the end, there is no place like home.

THE RECRUITING TRAIL

New McMaster coach Amos Connelly has garnered the best recruiting class in the country by signing three impact guards Aaron Redpath 6'4", Joe Rocca 6'3", Adam Ressuti 6'2" and two skilled forwards in Brett Sanders 6'5" and Nathan McCarthy 6'7". Connolly had all of these commitments by the end of February.

UBC coach Kevin Hanson has commitments from two of BC's best high school guards Nakai Lukyen 6'1", Malcolm Williams 6'2" and 6'8" forward Mitchell Jacobsen. If UBC can sign Kamloops South HS centre David Wagner 6'8", who is the best big in Canada, they could surpass the Marauders for the top recruiting class in the country. Wagner is looking for a Division I scholarship but if this does not materialize he will sign with UBC.

The Victoria Vikings have shifted their recruiting focus from BC to Ontario and have commitments from Guelph's Ryan Higgins 6'4", London's Sean Patrick 6'5" and first team OCAA guard Mike Acheampong 6'2" from Humber College in Toronto.

The Western Mustangs have local blue chip swingman Greg Morrow 6'3" and Next Level Prep forward Charles Drovin 6'5", signed to letters of intent. They are also heavily involved with Oakville lead guard Mike L'Africain and Barrie Central HS swingman Nick Berardi 6'3".

REDA power forward Nick Yantzi 6'10" is down to Quebec schools McGill and Bishop's.

REDA centre Meshak Lufile 6'6" is down to Cape Breton, York and Brandon in the CIS.

The University of Toronto is heavily involved with Toronto guards Ryan Bennett 6'1" from Bishop Allen, Seth Evershed 6'4" from Michael Power, Aaron Shadrach 6'1" from Jarvis HS and Milo Pajcic , a 6'0" point guard from Glen Forrest HS in Mississauga. They also have interest in Toronto Martingrove combo-guard Sukhpreet Singh 6'2".

Over at Toronto's Metro Prep PG Sebastien Michineau has interest from St. Louis University and Cal State Irvine. SF Te Jour Riley is deciding between Windsor, U of T, McGill and Bishop's. SF Jahvin Bridge is joining the York University program next season. SG Trevor Mann is deciding between Mount Allison, the University of Guelph and Western. SG Nathan Palmer is deciding between Ryerson and Guelph and PF Jahmar Thompson is gaining interest from Augusta State, Florida A & M, Niagara, McGill and U of T.

Athletic swingman Aaron Best from Toronto Eastern Commerce has drawn major interest from Ryerson and Windsor.

Tyrell Scott, the 6'2" off-guard from Next Level Prep in Oakville has a firm scholarship offer from Holy Cross University in Boston, Massachusetts.

6'5" athletic swingman Rotimi Osuntola from Holy Names H.S. in Windsor is leaning heavily to the hometown Windsor Lancers. With some physical maturity and more skill development Osuntola could be Windsor's next star player.

Ontario's biggest sleeper Brampton Fletcher's Meadow off guard Richard Iheadindo has drawn interest from McMaster, York, Waterloo and Toronto. As well, Fletcher's Meadow's Shaquille Keith 6'4" SF has committed to Sheridan College although he will be returning for a fifth year of H.S.

And finally best wishes to Windsor coach Chris Oliver and his wife for the safe and healthy birth of their first child who is a girl around the end of April.

Look for our All-Canada and All-Ontario high school teams which will be out very soon!

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