CIS Hoops.ca

Here are a pair of links to Neate Sager's excellent "Out of Left Field" blog with solid stories about the weekend Doornekamp Leads Way, Little Plays Maintain Ravens Winning Ways and his most recent post from earlier today Doornekamp's MVP performance was also for the birds of a different feather

Also, a link to a blog by Globe & Mail columnist James Mirtle with a nice feature on Sunday's game Carleton wins fifth CIS title


Congratulations to Osvaldo Jeanty for delivering on his bold promise of 5 rings in 5 seasons - it is the way he got it done which should be a great lesson for all... competitiveness & hard work combined with humility. His acceptance speech after being named Moser award winner focused on the important support resources in his career including teammates, coaches and administration - very little if at all about himself, his genuine interest in stopping to have consoling words and embraces with his main combatants over his 5 years on Carleton's bitter rivals Ottawa Gee-Gees after Saturday night's semi-final and his generally relaxed, non-threatening and classy way he has carried himself for five years is what makes him such a great ambassador for CIS basketball. Congratulations again - you deserve everything you get.

The Ravens again did it with defense and rebounding plus a pair of late, clutch three-point shots off Carleton's staple pick-and-pop from Aaron Doornekamp. They kept things interesting to the very end however as the Ravens were able to withstand a couple of late free-throw misses, a potential turnover of their own up 2 just before Stu Turnbull went 1 for 2 to ice the game and then benefit from a late Brandon turnover with a chance to tie the game. But great teams usually find ways around adversity and this is a great team.

Once again my experience in Halifax was a great one and there are many people to thank, starting with the fine hospitality provided by folks like Phil Currie, John Keefe and the rest of the organizing committee that made the experience smooth at the Metro Center. Let's hope that we all get to return to Halifax for this event at some point in our lives because they do it right. Getting a chance to watch the majority of the games with Dale Stevens was a treat given how often he's been on press row and the fine work he does with the Canadian University Basketball discussion list and with Mac in general. It is always a treat to run into Ottawa Citizen reporter Wayne Kondro scurrying around putting his detailed stories together, usually just before the deadline. Howard Bloom from sportsbusinessnews.com did the CIS a tremendous service putting together the web casts that allowed fans from across the country to tune in and view the games live. Thanks to Howard for allowing me the priviledge to call two of the games. News-cast.com president Doug Sutherland and team did a fine job with the logistics including handling technical support and user comments and suggestions. Watching the games beside Bob Adams, who compiles the CIS scores and standings on his site - a tremendous resource - was great. Seeing both Marg McGregor and Peter Metuzals from the CIS and getting a chance to chat was great. It was also tremendous to be able to catch up to the various coaches and officials from across the CIS who have supported this site over the past season, many of who I have known for many years and consider good friends including Mike Katz, Ken Murray, Joe Raso, Chris O'Rourke, Peter Campbell, John Campbell, Craig Norman, Virgil Hill, Dave Smart, Taffe Charles, Jacques Paiement, Ross Quackenbush, Steve Konchalski, Jim Charters, Eddie Pomykala, John Dore, Nathan Schellenberg, John Scobie, Clarence Porter, Jim Kent, James Derouin, Glenn Taylor, Richard Dean, Bill Arden, Bob Bain, Kevin McGuire, Mike Connolly, Craig Beaucamp, Scott Morrison, Andrew Sommerville, Jama Mahlalela, Rick Dilena, David Larkins, Brandon AD Rick Nickelchok, Don Horwood, Rick Suffield, Greg Jockims, Barnaby Craddock, Brad Campbell, James Hillis, Dave Vanhooren, Les Berry, Chris Oliver and of course David DeAveiro who I have watched grow as a coach and person over the last few years.

It has been a pleasure working on this site during the season. From humble beginnings and a focus strictly on the content, we were able to achieve a one day high of 900 visitors on the site this past Friday with an average of about 500 visitors per day during late February and through March. As the Nationals move to Ottawa for the next 3 seasons, we plan to continue our coverage and hope that this site can help provide another channel of information to help our game grow to the level of profile it deserves. Please keep the ideas and comments coming. We plan to continue adding entries when possible throughout the off season.

Wayne Kondro has a couple of strong accounts of yesterday's Carleton win including an article focusing on Osvaldo Jeanty Absolutely the greatest feeling and a detailed account of the game Simply the best Also, an article from this morning's Globe & Mail with files from James Mirtle and quotes from many of Carleton's opponents Ravens make it five in a row

Chad Lucas reports on the Ravens victory Ravens run continues Halifax Chronicle-Herald's article on Carleton's win Ravens win fifth CIS basketball crown Ottawa Sun article with a CP detailed account of the game Ottawa Sun article Toronto Sun article on CIS championship game Ravens Fly to fifth CIS crown Toronto Star also has an article on the game Ravens stifle Bobcats for 5th straight win Carleton's campus newspaper, the Charlatan, has another account of yesterday's game Ravens capture fifth straight national title Kirk Penton from the Winnipeg Sun provides the Brandon perspective on yesterday's game Brandon Heartache

Chris Cochrane from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald provides his take on the fans at this weekend's Nationals Fans made Final 8 a great ride Adam Richardson from the Halifax Daily News on the fans impact on the Nationals CIS has fans to thank for success also Chris Kallan's article highlighting tournament MVP Aaron Doornekamp Doornekamp makes up for lost time Chris Kallan also comments on the last event to be held in Halifax for the foreseeable future Relocation leaves a Metro hoops void

Mary Caton from the Windsor Star provides an account of the championship game Ravens capture 5th straight crown Also, an article summarizing the Lancers experience in Halifax Lancers humble in defeat