CIS Hoops.ca

It was nice to quickly catch up with Trinity Western Spartans Head Coach Stan Peters, albeit only via email, in between his summer camp sessions. The Spartans lose only one player from last season's roster (6'5" David Bron) and also added transfer Jamie Vaughan from UCFV for '08-'09. Coach Peters is also pleased to announce another recruit: 5'11" Billy Glowacki, a point guard from Freeland High School in Freeland, Michigan. Glowacki was a First Team Tri-Valley conference selection by the Lansing (MI) State Journal after averaging 16.0 points and 3.1 assists per game in leading Freeland to a 12-10 record and the second round of the district playoffs. Glowacki, who averaged 2.3 three-point shots made per game, had 25 points in his final regular season game at home on Senior's Day and was the 33rd rated point guard in Michigan according to Great Lakes Hoops, a publication that chronicles Michigan basketball.

Contrary to what was posted here a couple of weeks ago, it appears that Samuel Dalembert has not yet been fully cleared to play for Canada in the upcoming FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Las Vegas in late August. According to the following article from Philly.com by Marc Narducci Dalembert hopes to join Canada team: He has not received confirmation on a role this summer. His citizenship isn't clear Dalembert's citizenship status is still up in the air, although Canadian Sr. Men's national team coach Leo Rautins is optimistic as is Dalembert's agent, both of who are quoted in the article. Canada went 1-4 in their first five games of the summer at the recent Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, part of the preparation for the FIBA Americas qualifier in Las Vegas.

SR. MEN'S TEAM: Canada (1-4) finished 7th out of 8 nations in the recent Pan-Am Games after winning their first game of the tournament by defeating U.S. Virgin Islands 69-60 in the 7th place game on the final day. Earlier, in the first 5th-8th classification game, Canada built up a 37-18 first half lead before watching the Panamians come back with a late 3 with 10 seconds left to edge Canada 68-67. Andy Rautins led Canada with 24 points in the Panama game while 5 Canadians reached double figures in the win over U.S. Virgin Islands, including Jermaine Bucknor who came off the bench for 10 points. Montreal's Sheray Thomas battled injuries throughout the tournament which limited his action. Of the 3 CIS players on the Pan-Am team roster, 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp contributed the most, starting the final 3 games of the tournament and averaging 33 minutes of play in the final two games. Against Panama, Doornekamp had 6 points and 7 rebounds in 36 minutes and followed that effort up with 1 point and 8 rebounds in 30 minutes in the victory against the U.S. Virgin Islands. Ozvaldo Jeanty had 5 points in 10 minutes against the U.S. Virgin Islands. Next up on the schedule for Canada internationally is the Super 4 Tournament in Rosario, Argentina (August 4th through August 9th) which is scheduled to include the Senior teams of both Brazil and Argentina. Later, Canada is scheduled to participate in the Tuto Marchand Cup in Puerto Rico between August 16th and 18th as a final tuneup for their first game in Las Vegas on August 22nd against Brazil beginning at 8:30 PM Eastern time.

FISU MEN'S TEAM: The FISU men continue to prepare for Thailand and the coaching staff is expected to name their final 12 man roster for the Games by Tuesday. As practices continue, a rotation is emerging but two players in particular: 6'3" Garry Gallimore (St. FX, Ottawa Woodroffe) and 6'3" Jamie McNeilly (New Orleans, Toronto Mother Teresa) appear emerging as team leaders. Gallimore, who always brings a solid work ethic to the floor, has done his usual job locking-up his check and his size, strength and international experience should see him play major minutes with the Student team. McNeilly has shown a great ability to score in several different ways, is very crafty with the basketball and is probably Canada's top overall wing player. McNeilly has been a vocal leader who should see plenty of minutes on the wing and at the point in a pinch. Speaking of the point, Canada has a nice complement with 6'1" Tristan Blackwood's speed and quickness and 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe's size and length. Both should share the vast majority of minutes at the point. Up front, another veteran of international play for Canada, 6'10" Neil MacDonald (St. FX grad) may be Canada's strongest and most consistent big man in camp as he is finishing inside and playing with the confidence of a player set to begin a professional career in Europe. 6'2" Tyler Kepkay has been a pleasant surprise at the workouts however it is unlikely he will accompany the team to Thailand as he is expected back at Utah where he will begin his initial season with the Utes in the fall. According to the FISU men's coaching staff, Kepkay, who was described as extremely coachable, has a bright future as a scoring point guard who can run a team and make shots with a smooth stroke. We hope to have news on Canada's final 12 man roster for Thailand prior to the team leaving for Bangkok on Wednesday.

PAN-AM GAMES WRAP UP: Behind 20 points from former Gonzaga star J.P. Batista, Brazil soundly defeated upstart Puerto Rico 86-65 to capture the Gold medal at the Pan-Am Games. Brazil wins gold at the Pan-Am Games for the third consecutive time. After spotting Argentina a 17 point halftime lead, Uruguay came back to win 99-93 in overtime to win the Bronze medal game, marking possibly the biggest victory in the history of Uruguian basketball. Hosts win Pan-Am Gold

Speaking of Argentina, it appears they will be severely shorthanded in their quest to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing as NBAer's Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto, Walter Herrmann, Pepe Sanchez, Andres Nocioni and Ruben Wolkowisky are not likely to play for their home country Argentina coach looking to future

Here is note from a blog written by a Cornell Big Red basketball fan on the possibilities of landing Saskatchewan native 6'11" Marc Van Burck, who as previously reported is transfering from the University of Colorado Big Colorado Buffalo Available

6'2" former Memorial Seahawk Peter Benoite has signed on with the new ABA franchise in Halifax as Chris Cochrane reports in a recent article in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald Rainmen send a message Also an article in the St. John's Telegram Rain in the forecast for Benoite

A note on 6'6" Kai Williams, one of the stars of Canada's Jr. National team at the FIBA U19 world men's basketball championships Which way to the weight room ?

The Langley Times chimes in on Jamie Vaughan's transfer from Fraser Valley to rival Trinity Western University Spartans Land Rival's Top Scorer

More on Laval's newest recruit Kevin Crevant from France who according to interpretations of CIS by-laws should be classified as a freshman in his first year of eligibility. Here is some information on the system in France:
Basketball like every other sports (soccer-football, rugby, volleyball) is developed under the club system. Each club develops its own players from the younger ages to the higher level the club has a team playing in. The 3 highest levels in France are Pro A, Pro B and N1 (Nationale 1). At these levels they also bring in foreign players (Samuel Audet-Sow who played at Laval from 1999 to 2004 played for Lille in N1 last year). Kevin, who just turned 18 years old in March, played for an N1 team in '05-'06 at the age of 16 and this season he focused on his academics and went back to his Cadet France team playing for the national championship in what they call "le championnat" and "la coupe de France". According to CIS eligibility rules, players under 20 do not lose any eligibility from participation with these teams so Crevant will be classified as a freshman this coming season. Crevant landed in Laval after Kevin's father (a former volleyball player) was informed by a Canadian volleyball coach that the Canadian university sport system provides the opportunity for a young man to achieve excellence in multiple sports and, apparently, the Crevants were sold on the idea almost immediately.

David Larkins article on Brandon's new head coach The Point After Blog on Brandon's new coach

Former Pitt Panther star Carl Krauser was the catalyst in a game-deciding 12-1 run late in the fourth quarter with a steal and assist plus 4 consecutive free throws to lead the U.S. Virgin Islands to a 74-67 victory over Canada on the third day of the Pan-Am Games men's basketball event. Krauser, who played in Europe last season, had 14 of his game-high 20 points after the intermission, while 6'6" Cuthbert Victor (Murray State '03) added 18, including 14 in the second half to lead ISV (country abbreviation for U.S. Virgin Islands). In the second half alone, Krauser went 7-8 from the line while Cuthbert got it going as well with a 5-7 effort from the field as ISV overcame a 4 point halftime deficit, taking the lead after a 19-9 run off the start of the second half. Down 58-52 early in the fourth quarter, Canada had a mini 6-0 run including an Andy Rautins 3 to tie the score. But Krauser stole the ball and fed 6'8" Jameel Haywood (Oklahoma '01) for a fast break layup and later made 4 consecutive 3's to give ISV an insurmountable 11 point lead. 6'2" Jermaine Anderson (Toronto, ON) led Canada with 17 points but only 6 after the break while 6'7" Rans Brempong (Thornhill, ON) had a solid 11 point, 6 rebound effort but did turn the ball over 5 times as Canada turned it over 25 times in all. Heywood, a six-year pro, added 11 points and 4 rebounds off the bench for ISV (1-2). 6'9" Vlad Kuljanin (Toronto, ON) and 6'5" Paul Larmand (Victoria Harbour, ON) added 9 each for Canada in the loss.

The Canadian coaching staff shook things up this afternoon, inserting 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp in the starting lineup replacing 6'5" Jermaine Bucknor who did not play today. Canada also used 6'4" Ryan Bell and 6'2" Osvaldo Jeanty early, as Jeanty, who did not play yesterday against Brazil, played about 6 1/2 minutes in the first half today, going 0-3 from 3 point land and then did not play the remainder of the game. Doornekamp played 24 minutes, scoring 6 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

After falling behind by 7 at 14-7, Canada clawed back into the game and took a 1 point lead at 26-25 on a Kuljanin lay-in. Later, back-to-back 3's by Doornekamp and Anderson gave Canada their largest lead at 34-26 late in the first half. Canada fired it up from downtown, going 10-34 (29%) from beyond the arc and in fact took more 3's than 2's (14-26 from 2 point land). Anderson went 5 for 11 from 3 overall for Canada while Rautins had a 2-9 effort from 3. Rautins, Brempong and 6'8" Jesse Young all fouled out for Canada, which will play in the 5-8 classification round at 7 AM Eastern or 6:15 PM Eastern tomorrow against an as-yet-undetermined opponent.

Here is a sample of recent newspaper articles on Canada's Senior Men's basketball team and their 0-2 start at the Pan-Am Games in Rio beginning with a James Christie piece in the Globe and Mail Rautins duo handed another defeat John MacKinnon from the Edmonton Journal has a piece with an interesting title Something Rautins in state of benchmarks
Basketball player takes father's coaching, reputation in stride and here is Lori Ewing's piece for the Canadian Press as it appears on the CBC web site Canada's men's basketball team 0-2 at Pan Am Games after 98-63 rout by Brazil Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun also has a piece Rautins duo plays it straight up

Canada meets the U.S. Virgin Islands in Rio today and will play again on Saturday for fifth through eighth places.

In other Pan-Am basketball news yesterday, the USA was eliminated from the medal rounds with their second consecutive defeat Loss to Panama eliminates U.S. from medal round contention The USA has lost their first two games of the tournament to Uruguay and Panama.

The latest Thomas Report by long-time Ontario basketball follower Jim Thomas of the All-Ontario Scouting Service is now available Thomas Report July, 2007

An article from the Charlatan, Carleton's campus newspaper, on Carleton athletes participating in the Pan-Am Games Ravens soar at Pan-Am Games

Head Coach Chris O'Rourke (Guelph) and his staff which includes Darrell Glenn (Humber) and Dave DeAveiro (Ottawa) are about 36 hours away from reassembling Canada's Student team with 14 players destined for Burnaby, B.C. and the campus of Simon Fraser University in preparation for the FISU Games in Thailand beginning August 7th. Recall that 14 athletes were originally selected after the main Canada Basketball spring camp at Durham College in Oshawa. Since the camp, 6'4" Casey Archibald, expected to be in the rotation for Thailand, signed a professional contract in Austria and he will be leaving shortly to join his professional team and will unfortunately miss the FISU Games. In addition to the 13 remaining players on the roster, a fourteenth player, Vancouver native Tyler Kepkay, who has signed a letter of intent to join the Utah Utes after a First Team NCJAA season at the College of Eastern Utah this past season, will work out with the Student team. Summer school committments prevented Kepkey from participating in the main camp in Oshawa and Kepkay, who has a reputation as a solid, long-range perimeter scorer, could be an able replacement for Archibald's offense. The coaching staff can only take a roster of 12 to Thailand so 2 cuts will have to be made over 6 practices in 4 days beginning Saturday, when Canada will work out once at Simon Fraser. The team will then will have two-a-days on Sunday and Monday, followed by their final training on Canadian soil Tuesday before departing for Thailand on Wednesday, August 1st. Once in Thailand, Canada will have 3 days to prepare including a scrimmage against Australia before their opening game against the host Thailand squad, scheduled for August 7th at 4:30 PM local (5:30 AM Eastern time). Canada comes right back 14 hours later (August 8th in Thailand and 9:30 PM Eastern time on August 7th) to face New Zealand. The FISU Games men's basketball tournament has 24 teams, evening divided up among 8 groups of 3. The top 2 teams in each of the 8 pools advance to the next round of 16. The 14 players scheduled to centralize at Simon Fraser this Saturday are:

Point Guards: 6'0" Tristan Blackwood (Central Connecticut State/Toronto, ON Eastern Commerce), 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe (Ottawa, Toronto, ON Jarvis), 6'3" Jamie McNeilly (New Orleans, Scarborough, ON, Mother Teresa)
Wings: 6'3" Garry Gallimore (St.FX, Ottawa,ON, Woodroffe), 6'6" Max Gosselin (Davidson, Carignan, PQ, College St.Lambert), 6'6" Jevohn Shepperd (Michigan, Scarborough, ON, West Hill), 6'0" Tyler Kepkay (Utah, Vancouver, BC, Handsworth)
Forwards: 6'7" Ross Bekkering (Calgary, Taber, AL), 6'8" Theo Davis (Gonzaga, Toronto, ON), 6'6" Jacob Doerksen (Victoria, Abbotsford, BC; Rick Hansen H.S.), 6'6" Willie Gallick (Naniamo, BC, Pepperdine last season, transfering to Cal State-Northridge), 6'10" Neil MacDonald (St. FX, Sydney Mines, NS), 6'7" J.P. Morin (Laval, Gatineau, PQ, Montmorency), 6'10" Scott Morrison (Portland State, Vancouver, BC; Argyle S.S.).

In a game in which Canada never led, the Brazilians quickly increased a 16 point halftime lead to 26 by scoring 14 of the first 18 points of the second half and cruised to an easy victory over our Senior Men's team in front of 8,300 fans in Rio de Janiero. With the loss, Canada (0-2) is eliminated from championship round play as Puerto Rico (2-0) defeated the U.S. Virgin Islands (0-2) 62-57. Brazil jumped out to a 13-3 run off the opening tip but Canada fought back and after Vlad Kuljanin's layin, Canada was back to within 2 at 25-23. Brazil then took off on a 18-3 run midway through the second half and for all intents and purposes it was game done. Andy Rautins led Canada with 16 points on 4-9 3's but only 5 in the second half when Canada shot about 30% from the floor, 2-10 3's (after going 8-14 3's in the first half) and was outscored 45-26. Canada was outrebounded 36-18. Murilo Da Rosa led Brazil with 24 points and 7 boards while Marcus Vinicius added 14 and J.P. Batista did his work inside with 12 points on 5-8 shooting. Brazil shot 58% for the game. Aaron Doornekamp had 7 points, all in the second half, for Canada, while Jermaine Bucknor had 9 points, all in the first half before fouling out. Ryan Bell had 4 points while Osvaldo Jeanty did not play. Canada meets U.S. Virgin Islands tomorrow.

Despite leading by one at halftime, the United States couldn't hold off Uruguay in the men's Pan Am Games opener for both countries, eventually losing to the South American nation 81-72 in Rio de Janeiro. Indiana's D.J. White paced the Americans with 14 points and nine rebounds while Oregon's Maarty Leunen chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds. The back-and-forth game saw nine lead changes during the first half. The American squad led by as many seven points after halftime. In Wednesday's other preliminary round games, Puerto Rico (1-0) behind 21 points from Dallas Mavericks guard Jose Barea rolled over Canada (0-1) 82-63; host Brazil (1-0) got double figure scoring from five players and held off the U.S. Virgin Islands (0-1) for an 86-81 win; and Argentina (1-0) rallied back late to down Panama (0-1) 76-71... from ESPN.com

Here is an article from ESPN written by Fran Fraschilla, their international basketball expert, that previews the Pan-Am tournament including comments on all teams. Fraschilla also provides his thoughts on the recently completed FIBA U-19 tournament in Serbia in which the USA was defeated in the gold medal game by the hosts Serbians

"With the USA Basketball's senior men's team competing for an Olympic berth in the upcoming Tournament of the Americas in August, Jay Wright's Pan Am team will operate in relative anonymity this week in Rio de Janeiro. However, the competition down there will be tough; the Americans will be competing against a number of senior national teams that will be using this tournament to get ready for LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and company next month in Las Vegas. The task for Wright and his team of college stars will be just as daunting as it has been for the past two decades. (Team USA has not won a Pan Am gold medal since 1983 when North Carolina sophomore Michael Jordan led the squad in scoring.) Fortunately, two of the best teams in the tournament, Argentina and Brazil, will be saving many of their best players for the NBA stars. But to compete for a medal in Brazil, where the U.S.'s competition starts tonight with a game against Uruguay and continues with the medal rounds this weekend, Wright's club has to answer two major questions in its attempt to pick up a medal. First, can Roy Hibbert be a dominant low-post presence, both offensively and defensively? Secondly, can a team selected for its skill level instead of athleticism shoot well enough from the perimeter to keep opposing defenses honest on Hibbert? It is going to be difficult but doable. This Pan Am Games field not particularly deep because of the focus on the Tournament of Americas. But, Wright's team will be in a back alley brawl every night because of the "USA" on their chest. After watching practice last week in Haverford, Pa., here is my take on the roster that Team USA has put together:

Joey Dorsey, Memphis
I am sure the thought process for selecting him was that this team needed a banger to match up against some of the big men in the tournament, and Dorsey can bang with the best. As long as he channels his energy properly, he can play an effective role for Jay Wright with his defense and rebounding. But his offense is limited at this point.

Wayne Ellington, North Carolina
He can shoot the ball and create his own shot as well. He is the youngest player on this team and must be ready for the intensity and physicality of international play. Ellington is on his way to being an excellent defender.

Shan Foster, Vanderbilt
He has a funky-looking shot, but it is effective from 3-point range. His ability to get open looks will depend on Team USA's point-guard play in this tournament

James Gist, Maryland
I did not see the trials, but I saw him practice last week and was mildly surprised at his selection. He really improved offensively this year for the Terps, but the question is will be able to score against bigger, more physical opponents? He is athletic enough to be an "energy player" for Wright off the bench.

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown
His passing may actually overshadow his scoring because he will command double- and triple-teams from opponents. That will come easy to him because of his effectiveness in passing the ball in John Thompson's Georgetown offense. Ultimately, however, he'll need a couple of monster scoring games for this team to reach its potential.

Maarty Leunen, Oregon
I didn't get a great feel for him at the Team USA practice, but he has the reputation of being a great "blend" player. He has improved his outside shot enough to be a threat and will play hard.

Derrick Low, Washington State
He is a very smart and gritty player with deceptive quickness. He is able to hit Nash-like shots in traffic and sees the court well. If he gets into the lane and can create open looks for his teammates, Low will really help this offense.

Eric Maynor, VCU
He has excellent quickness and vision in the open court and is a just good enough shooter from 17 feet to keep defenses honest. His lack of physical strength could potentially be a problem against more experienced guards but, like his game-winner against Duke in the NCAA Tournament, this is another opportunity to keep himself on the map.

Drew Neitzel, Michigan State
He has morphed from the caretaker freshman point guard into an aggressive scorer. He may very well lead this team in scoring in this tournament and his Izzo-like toughness will rub off on his teammates. Neitzel looks ready for an All-American season.

Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
He is a scoring guard in a point guard's body, and he scores in a variety of ways. Though not afraid to give the ball up, Reynolds needs to be an aggressive scorer for Team USA because he can get a shot whenever he needs to.

Kyle Weaver, Washington State
This guy plays hard and can be a very effective wing defender and runner. His jump shot is spotty, especially from the 3-point line, but he slashes well and will get to the foul line. He could be a valuable player for Wright because of his intangibles.

D.J. White, Indiana
He gave a good effort on the defensive end at practice and needs to be an effective rebounder. The key question is whether he will be able to finish inside because, while he plays hard, he doesn't play with great elevation.

For those who follow college basketball and NBA basketball closely, there will be some familiar names popping up on other Pan Am rosters. Here are a few:

Puerto Rico They usually have a very pesky backcourt, and it's no different this year. Jose Juan Barea -- a former Northeastern guard and current Dallas Maverick -- is excellent as this team's catalyst. And his backcourt mate Ricky Apodaca, who starred at CAA rival Hofstra, can score.

Panama Danilo (J.R.) Pinnock, the former George Washington Colonial is a scoring machine. Jamaal Levy, who played at Wake Forest and Jaime Lloreda of LSU anchor the front line. Michael Hicks starred for Ronnie Arrow at Texas A&M Corpus Christi has had a very productive European career so far.

Argentina This is basically the "B" national team that will be competing in Rio. Gabe Mikulas had a nice career at East Carolina, and most of the rest of this team are playing professionally in Argentina and in Spain. Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni, by the way, will also pass on playing for Argentina's "A" team in Las Vegas.

Brazil Like Argentina, Brazil is leaving big guns like Leandro Barbosa, Anderson Varejao and Nenehome, so the most familiar name is former Gonzaga power forward, J.P. Batista, who played last season in Lithuania.

Canada Leo Rautins, who starred at Syracuse and is one of Canada's all-time greats, will coach this team that includes his son Andy, a current Syracuse Orange. Sheray Thomas (Kentucky) and Olu Famutimi (not playing at the Pan-Am Games)(Arkansas) played in the SEC, and Jermaine Bucknor starred at Richmond.

U.S. Virgin Islands Tim Duncan and Raja Bell would make this team very competitive, but they are not playing. Instead, Drexel big man Frank Elegar will gain valuable experience in the tournament, and former Pittsburgh Panther Carl Krauser will help in the backcourt.

USA Pan Am schedule
Preliminary round:
Uruguay (Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT)
Panama (Thursday, 6:45 p.m.)
Argentina (Fri., July 27, 6:45 p.m.)

The top two teams from each group will advance to the medal round.
Seminfinals (Saturday)
Finals (Sunday)

FIBA Under-19 wrap-up by Fran Fraschilla

Fair or not, this 8-1 U.S. team was judged on whether it won gold at the FIBA World Championship Under-19 tournament in Novi Sad, Serbia. I know it sounds like a broken record but I wasn't surprised that Serbia defeated the United States 74-69 on Sunday. Outside shooting, as it has so many times in the past, proved to be an Achilles heel for the United States. The team made just 33 percent of its deep shots in the nine games. It hurt the team in the last two games when it was 10-of-48 from behind the 3-point line. It nearly cost the team its semifinal win over France. In the gold-medal game loss to Serbia, the poor perimeter shooting -- as well as the 11-for-24 shooting from performance the foul line -- proved to be the difference. This event generated very little press coverage here in the United States. This time of year is for the pure hoops junkies and NBA draftniks. That's the reality of American basketball. Remember that Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Spencer Hawes were all eligible to play in this tournament. Understandably, a world championship at this age group is not the most pressing matter to them. It is a pressing matter, however, for the rest of the basketball world and it shows. The U-19 tournament produced a lot of names that NCAA fans are not yet familiar with, so I thought I would get you acquainted with a few of them:

Solomon Alabi, Nigeria (Florida State) Alabi is every bit of 7-1 and still developing his offensive skills, but Leonard Hamilton will love this young man's athleticism. The Monteverde Academy (Fla.) product averaged a serviceable 8 points and 8 rebounds in Novi Sad.

Andrew Ogilvy, Australia (Vanderbilt) Kevin Stallings should be ecstatic because the 6-11 Ogilvy was one of the best big men in the tournament along with Brazil's Paulo Prestes. Ogilvy is the best Australian NBA prospect since Andrew Bogut and should have an immediate impact in the SEC. While Bogut was an excellent passer, Ogilvy averaged 23 points and is more advanced offensively than Bougut was at the same stage.

Josue Soto, Puerto Rico (Florida International) The Florida State transfer will sit out this season. He is a scoring point guard, and FIU is the same school that produced Orlando Magic point guard Carlos Arroyo, who has had his share of success at the international level. Soto put up 14 points a game for Puerto Rico this week.

Kai Williams, Canada (South Dakota State) Williams is a very effective 6-6 small forward who was a productive scorer and shooter for Canada in this tournament. The Regina, Saskatchewan, native led South Dakota State in scoring as a freshman, averaging almost 13 points a game.

Dogus Balbay, Turkey (Texas) Rick Barnes found a very suitable backup to All-American candidate D.J. Augustin in Balbay. The 6-foot left-hander, who spent last year in prep school in New Hampshire, is a pure point guard and a very crafty player. He averaged 12 points and an impressive 6 rebounds a game in this tournament.

Patrick Mills, Australia (St. Mary's) Mills is the latest Aussie to show up in Moraga, Calif. Daniel Kickert was a quality big man for Randy Bennett's Gaels, but Mills is a 6-foot scoring point guard who averaged 15 points a game in Novi Sad. He will put points up from deep.

Emmanuel Negedu, Nigeria (Arizona) Negedu is committed to Arizona, and Lute Olsen is getting just what the doctor ordered for his Wildcats -- a 6-7 athletic small forward with a lot of toughness. He averaged 17 points and nabbed 8 rebounds a game in the tournament.

In a game that was reasonably close the entire way, 6'8" Mario Da Rosa, named the Brazilian National league's most improved player last season, had 17 points and 11 rebounds including 6 on the offensive glass while 6'9" former Gonzaga center J.P. Batista muscled his way to 17 points and 9 rebounds as the host Brazilians opened the Pan-Am Games men's basketball tournament with an 86-81 win over the U.S. Virgin Islands before 9,500 partisan fans in Rio de Janiero. After trailing by 8 at 51-43 at halftime, U.S. Virgin Islands brought the game back to 4 mid-way through the third quarter and were able to keep the game within single digits the rest of the way but could not overcome Brazil. 6'3" Marcelo Huertas had 16 and veteran Valter Silva added 15 for the Brazilians (1-0). 6'9" Frank Elegar, (pictured) entering his senior year with Drexel (NCAA D1) as one of the favorites as Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player-of-the-year, had 21 points on 9-13 shooting and 7 rebounds for U.S. Virgin Islands. Canada's Vlad Kuljanin competes against Elegar in the CAA. Carl Krauser, the former Pitt star, added 9 points and 5 steals for U.S. Virgin Islands (0-1), who meet Puerto Rico (1-0) tomorrow while the Brazilians tangle with Canada (0-1).

5'11" Jose Juan Barea, who played in 33 games with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks this past season, led all scorers with 21 points while 6'6" Joel Jones (Sacremento State) had 13 and 6'11" Ricky Sanchez (2nd round NBA draft pick in '06) added 11 as Puerto Rico rode to a comfortable 82-63 victory over Canada as the men's basketball preliminary round began this afternoon at the Pan-Am Games in Brazil. Barea was on fire in the first half, scoring 15 points on 4-5 shooting including a perfect 7 for 7 at the free throw line as the Puerto Ricans built up a 42-30 lead at the break. The Puerto Ricans extended their leads to as high as 22 on multiple occasions, having their way in the paint with Canada according to stats. Andy Rautins led Canada with 13 points including 2-11 from 3 point land while Jermaine Anderson added 12 including 9 in the first half. Anderson's 3 with 7:45 remaining in the second quarter got Canada back to within 4 at 22-18 but Barea hit a jumper and Sanchez followed with a 3 to give Puerto Rico a 9 point lead which they rode into halftime. Puerto Rico steadily increased their leads in the second half, leading by 16 at 55-39 with 3:18 remaining in the third after a fast break lay-in by Jones and led 80-58 late. Canada's CIS contingent of Aaron Doornekamp, Osvaldo Jeanty and Ryan Bell saw limited action as Doornekamp hit a late 3 for his only points in 16 minutes, while Jeanty did not score in 7 minutes and Bell had 2 points in 8 minutes. Former Carleton Raven Paul Larmand finished with 5 points including an 0-7 effort from 3 point land. Overall, Canada shot just 32% from the floor including 8-32 (25%) from 3 while Puerto Rico went 45% from the floor and outrebounded the Canadians 49-33. Canada's next action is tomorrow against the host Brazilians, who will play U.S. Virgin Islands in their first game of the tournament later today.

It's official. Brandon has selected Mike Raimbault, 26, as their new Head Coach for next season, replacing CIS Coach-of-the-Year Barnaby Craddock Mike Raimbault to take over as Head Coach for Bobcats' Men's Basketball There is also an article in today's Brandon Sun however it is not accessible without an account. According to the article, among those shortlisted for the position were Camosun College coach Gord Thatcher and Mount Royal College coach Marc Dobell. We hope to have the always-insightful views of David Larkins appear on his Point After blog at some point.

UPEI Head Coach Matthew Davies wrote in earlier today advising that his Panthers have secured another key recruit for next season as 6'6" Manock Lual from Rideau District High School in Ottawa, Ontario has committed. Lual had interest from several schools and should push for time immediately at the big forward spot in the Panthers lineup which has playing time available given their loss of several seniors from last season. Panthers add Blue-Chipper

From Lakehead Sports Information... Yoosrie Salhia Commits to Thunderwolves Basketball: Lakehead Athletics and Thunderwolves Basketball Head Coach Scott Morrison are pleased to announce the recent commitment of Yoosrie Salhia of Toronto to the men’s basketball program. Salhia is a product of the Eastern Commerce Prep team and has also played for Toronto area club teams Urban Knights and Scadding Court. The 6’5” power forward has been ranked as high as #3 in Canada at his position by top high school scout Barry Hayes of HoopStars Canada.
“I am extremely excited to be attending Lakehead and contributing to the team,” said Salhia from his home in Toronto, “I am looking forward to a fun and successful start to the season in September."
Coach Morrison is also fired up about the news as Salhia represents a major piece of the program’s future in the paint. “We couldn’t be happier about adding Yoosrie to our roster this season. He comes highly recommended based on his work ethic, toughness, and all-around team play.” Eastern Prep Head Coach Emil O’Neil also believes that Salhia will be an excellent addition for the Wolves. “Yoosrie’s strong presence in the paint is an asset to any team. He has proven his ability to rebound, defend, and score with his back to the basket on various downtown Toronto teams. He is a rugged warrior who brings his tough style of play to every game.”
Salhia will join 6’6” Aaron Jackson of Bermuda, 6’9” Clinton Belisle of Sioux Lookout, Ontario, and 6’1” shooting guard Kyle McConnell of London, Ontario as announced commitments for the Thunderwolves this September. The quartet of freshmen will join up to seven sophomore players from last season’s recruiting class forming a youthful and deep nucleus for the coaching staff to develop over the next four to five seasons. Coach Morrison expects to add one more player to the mix for 07-08 and is focusing on ‘perimeter size’.

Adding to a second consecutive strong recruiting class, the Laval Rouge et Or have announced another impact recruit in 6'7" Kevin Crevant (pictured), an import from France who played for Olymipique Antibes in the French N1 league (France's third league). Crevant, still just 18 years old, has worked his way through the French junior leagues and adds to an already impressive Rouge et Or recruiting class that includes 6'4" Jerome Turcotte (CEGEP Sainte-Foy), 6'6" Pier-Luc Jacques (Montmorency) and 5'9" Xavier Baribeau (CEGEP Sainte-Foy). "We have added another player for next year who we think is ready physically and mentally to play at the CIS level", commented Laval Head Coach Jacques Paiement. "His skills and knowledge of the game are without a doubt at a very good level."

In one of the numerous CIS vs. NCAA events to be held over the course of the Labour Day weekend, Brock Badgers will host North Florida, Texas A&M Corpus-Christi and Liberty University, bringing in OUA East program RMC Paladins and a team of Southern Ontario All-Stars that is likely to include former CIS All-Canadian Kevin Steinstra and multiple OUA West all-star Ryan Dudley. Games on September 1st and 2nd will all be played at the Bob Davis Gymnasium at Brock University. On Labour Day Monday, a double-header will be played at Notre Dame High School in Welland. Here is the link on the Brock web site to the full schedule Niagara Region CIS vs. NCAA Labour Day weekend schedule and ticket information

We will be posting a comprehensive composite schedule of all CIS vs. NCAA Labour Day weekend games as the end of the summer draws nearer.

The Pan-Am Games men's basketball competition is stuffed into a short, 5-day, 5-game tournament in which 8 teams are divided into 2 groups and, after the first 3 games, the top 2 teams from each group qualify for the championship semi-finals on Day 4 with the Gold medal game going the next day. Canada gets things started in Brazil on Wednesday at 12:15 PM eastern, kicking off Group B action against Puerto Rico. The other two teams in Group B: Brazil and US Virgin Islands collide later on Wednesday. All 3 of Canada's preliminary round opponents have talented rosters dotted with NBA players, NBA draftees, European professionals and/or players with NCAA Division 1 experience. Here is a preview of the 3 teams Canada will face in Group B.

PUERTO RICO: Canada's first game at the Pan-Am Games against Puerto Rico qualifies as a virtual "must-win" right from the start with hosts Brazil and athletic US Virgin Islands looming on Thursday and Friday. Puerto Rico has had several solid results internationally including a 92-73 victory over the star-studded USA at the 2004 Olympics in Greece. Puerto Rico is also preparing for the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifier in Las Vegas in August and their Pan-Am team should have at least 7 players who should push for rosters spots in Vegas including 6'3" Rick Apodaca (Hofstra) who has plenty of international experience, 6'6" wing Joel Jones (Sacremento State), who also has made plenty of international stop since graduating from college, 5'11" Jose Juan Barea (Northeastern), one of the top players to graduate from the Boston school who played in 33 games with the Dallas Mavericks this past season and is said to have a bright NBA future, 6'11" power forward Ricky Sanchez, who was drafted in the second round of the NBA draft in 2005, committing to the draft after forgoing a scholarship to the University of Memphis, 6'8" Angelo Reyes (JUCO/Miami Tropics ABA), 6'10" Manuel Narvaez (Southern Nazarene U.-NAIA/bounced around ABA) and 6'7" Carmelo Lee (Long Beach State) who also has international experience. To our knowledge, Puerto Rico will not have stars Carlos Arroyo, Daniel Santiago and Peter John Ramos at this competition.

BRAZIL: The Brazilians are the two-time defending champions of the Pan-Am Games basketball event and are hosting with the hope of making it three in a row. Their roster is dotted with players who have played and/or have been drafted by NBA teams as well as several familiar names to fans following NCAA basketball. This particular group will not have some of the true stars of Brazilian basketball such as Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns but will nonetheless be very formidable, especially in front of their home country fans. 6'8" wing forward Marcus Vinicius, who played in 13 games for the New Orleans Hornets this past season, is likely to be one of Brazil's feature players. 6'4" veteran Marcelo Machado "Marcelinho" is a deadly three-point shooter while 6'3" Alex Garcia, who has had cups of coffee with both San Antonio and New Orleans of the NBA, is another gunner who can stretch defenses. Another powerful young wing is 6'9" Marcus deSouza, who was drafted #43 overall by New Orleans in the 2006 NBA draft should complement Vinicius on the wing up front. In the post, Brazil offers 6'9" J.P. Batista, who was a stalward inside for Gonzaga during their NCAA tournament run a couple of years ago and 6'10" Guilherme Teichmann, who played two seasons at the University of Tulsa. Unfortunately, Brazil has already suffered a set back as 6'9" Rafael Hettsheimeir, who played in the 2006 Nike Hoop Summit and is regarded as a marginal NBA prospect by some, will be out 4-6 weeks with a bad ankle sprain and will miss the Pan-Am Games. Hettsheimer will be replaced by 6'10" Paulao Prestes in the Brazilian lineup. Prestes was Brazil's leading scorer and rebounder at the recently completed FIBA U19 world championships, averaging 23 points and 14.7 rebounds per game including a 31 point effort against the gold medal winning Serbians in the semi-finals. Prestes was the major reason for Brazil's fourth place finish in the tournament. The squad will be head coached by Aloisio Ferreira.

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: A team with a definite New York City look full of tremendous athletes, all of whom have experience in U.S. college, most at the NCAA Division 1 level, the U.S. Virgin Islands qualified for the Pan-Am Games at a tournament last summer, clinching a spot after arguably the biggest win in U.S. Virgin Islands history, an 85-84 upset of Puerto Rico, who had NBAer Carlos Arroyo in the lineup. The U.S. Virgin Islands has produced 3 NBAers, Speedy Claxton, Raja Bell and, of course, Tim Duncan, none of whom will be in their Pan-Am Games lineup. However, there are several solid players which will make this team very difficult to play against. 6'2" Carl Krauser, who was a three-year starter at Pitt, graduating in 2006, will lead the team from the backcourt. Krauser, who is one of at least 3 US VI players who graduated from the storied St. Raymond's H.S. program in the Bronx, New York, played in Germany last season. Other wing players who should see time in the rotation include 6'5" Jason Edwin, who played at Kent State and has spent the past few seasons also playing in Germany, 6'2" Kevin Sheppard (Jacksonville '03), who is also playing in Europe and 6'3" youngster Kaylen Gregory, who is entering his junior year at Marist University. Up front, the team will look to 6'9" Frank Elegar, who is entering his senior year at Drexel, where he led the team in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage last season after a stellar high school career at Bronx St. Raymond's. As well, center Jameel Heywood, a 6 year pro from Oklahoma (graduated in 2001), averaged 19.1 points per game in the Puerto Rican professional league last season. Another Bronx St. Raymond's product, 6'10" Kitwana Rhymer (UMass '02), is still plying his trade in the NBA Development League. On the wing, look for 6'3" Carl Thomas (College of Charleston '98) is best known for scoring 20 points as C of C upset North Carolina in 1998. Two other forwards with NCAA Division 1 experience, 6'6" Cuthbert Victor (Murray State '04) and 6'8" Akeem Francis (Columbus State, NCAA Division II), add depth up front. The US Virgin Islands should be a team that will look to push the tempo, push up on teams defensively and look to run and get to the rim. The group is coming off a stellar effort in qualifying and this is their big summer event so expect them to be solid.

The eight-team Pan-Am Games men's basketball tournament begins this coming Wednesday, July 25th in Rio de Janiero, Brazil and Canada has games on 3 straight days as part of Group B beginning at 12:15 eastern time on Wednesday against Puerto Rico. Canada finished 7th in the previous Pan-Am games in 2003 and our best finish was in 1983 in Caracus, Venezuela when Canada finished 4th which, incidentially, was the last time the USA captured gold. For historians, that year, the USA, led by future NBA stars 6'6" Michael Jordan, 5'11" Mark Price, 6'9" Wayman Tisdale and 6'9" Sam Perkins, defeated Canada by 14, 111-97 in the championship round en route to the gold medal.

Joining Canada and Puerto Rico in Group B are the host Brazilians and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The top 2 teams from Group B will qualify for Saturday's semi-finals and the gold and bronze medal games go Sunday. So Canada has the possibility of playing 5 games in 5 days with Wednesday's opener against Puerto Rico being a virtual "must-win" given that Brazil, the two-time defending Pan-Am games gold medalist come next in front what should be a partisan crowd in Rio. A win over Puerto Rico and then another victory over US Virgin Islands should put Canada into the semi-final round.

Canada was supposed to scrimmage the USA in Brazil in preparation for the tournament however the scrimmage was apparently cancelled.

Pan-Am Games Men's Basketball Summary 25th-29th July, 2007
Group A: USA, Argentina, Panama, Uruguay
Group B: Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
CANADA'S SCHEDULE
25th July (Wed.) Canada vs. Puerto Rico 12:15 PM Eastern
26th July (Thurs) Canada vs. Brazil 2:30 PM Eastern
27th July (Fri.) Canada vs. US Virgin Islands 11:45 PM Eastern
28th July (Sat.) Semi-Finals 9:15 am & 4:00 PM Eastern
29th July (Sun.) Gold (10 AM Eastern), Bronze (7:45 AM Eastern) Medal Games

No word on whether or not Canada's games will be available live on television or via webcast. However the following link to the Games schedule may provide opportunity to follow the games play-by-play in a LIVE STATS! format. Click on the following link which takes you to a schedule grid. On the grid, click on "BASKETBALL/25 July" square which takes you to that day's basketball schedule, then click on "REPORTS" Pan-Am Games Schedule link

CANADA'S PAN-AM GAMES 2007 ROSTER
Jermaine Anderson Guard 6'2" Polpak (Poland) Toronto, ON 1983
Ryan Bell Guard 6'5" Carleton University (CIS) Orleans, ON 1984
Rans Brempong Forward 6'8" Matrixx Magixx (Holland) Brampton, ON 1981
Jermaine Bucknor Forward 6'7" Polpak (Poland) Edmonton, AB 1983
Sean Denison Forward 6'10" Santa Clara University (NCAA) Nelson, BC 1985
Aaron Doornekamp Forward 6'7" Carleton University (CIS) Odessa, ON 1985
Osvaldo Jeanty Guard 6'0 Carleton University (CIS) Gloucester, ON 1983
Vladimir Kuljanin Centre 6'10" UNC Wilmington (NCAA) Toronto, ON 1985
Paul Larmand Guard 6'6" Quebec City Kebekwa (ABA) Victoria Harbour, ON 1984
Andy Rautins Guard 6'5" Syracuse University (NCAA) Syracuse, NY 1986
Sheray Thomas Forward 6'8" University of Kentucky (NCAA) Montreal, QC 1984
Jesse Young Forward 6'10" Joventut (Spain) Peterborough, ON 1980

Team Staff
Leo Rautins Head Coach
Dave Smart Assistant Coach Carleton University (CIS)
Wayne Yearwood Assistant Coach Dawson College (CCAA)

The Abbotsford News has a detailed piece on the recent hiring of Rick Nickelchok as University College of Fraser Valley Cascades new Athletic Director Brandon Awareness

In a related story, Cascades star forward Jamie Vaughan, who started his post-secondary career in the U.S. and then had 3 tremendous seasons at Fraser Valley, has announced he is transfering to Trinity Western University, effective this coming fall. Vaughan will have to sit out next season redshirting but then will be eligible for his fifth and final season in 2008-09 That's Vaughan, as in gone

Congratulations to former Calgary Dinos and Ottawa Gee-Gees forward Greg Maillet (circa late 80's/early 90's) who has officially been named Head Coach at Atlantic Baptist University in Moncton, New Brunswick, a program that participates in the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association (ACAA). Maillet, who played three seasons under Gary Howard at Calgary and then was one of the main cogs in Ottawa's final four run at the Nationals in 1993, has been a professor of English at the university for the past several years. Maillet replaces Jamie Small, who resigned in early July to become an assistant at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. ABU has only two players returning from last season's 7 man team that finished 7th in the 8 team ACAA conference, so Maillet, who just got the job recently, has some work to do but has plenty of playing time available to prospective players. Maillet appears up to the task: "In the future we could welcome players into our Education program (ABU has a certified teacher's college program), but we also would like some younger players looking to develop. All in all this is going to be a tough program to turn around, but I'm going to give it my best shot." Best of luck to Greg and team next season.

As reported earlier, Windsor Lancers have recruited 6'4" Isaac Kuon from Mississauga Father Goetz via Northeastern (Co.) Junior College, who should be an immediate impact player for Coach Chris Oliver's Lancers. Kuon, cousin of former CIS Rookie-of-the-Year Tut Ruach, was born in the Sudan and is a multi-skilled wing player who can also run the point. The Lancers are the defending OUA West and Wilson Cup champions and are scheduled to return their entire roster from last season. Mary Caton of the Windsor Star reports Lancers Beef Up Backcourt

6'4" Zyg Janavicius stifled a late Canadian comeback with a big 3 and followed it with a driving layup with under 2 minutes to play as Lithuania outlasted Canada 86-75 to capture 9th place at the FIBA U19 world championships in Serbia. Janavicius, one of the stars of the recent Euro league junior final four and already on the radar of several NBA scouts, broke a late 7-0 Canada run that had brought the game back to 3 at 74-71 with over 3 minutes remaining. But the slick wing knocked in a long 3 and then finished a lay-in to give the Lithuanians space and they coasted to the victory from there. Sharpshooter Martynas Gecevicius led Lithuania with 22 points on 5-8 shooting from downtown, including consecutive bombs early in the second half to give Lithuania an 8 point cushion at 56-48. But Canada's Devoe Joseph continued his red-hot shooting and after a long 3 for his 29th point of the game, Canada came to within 3 after the 7-0 run. But Janavicius sealed things for Lithuania. The loss places Canada in 10th place in the tournament with a 4-4 record. Joseph led Canada with 29 pts./6 rebounds while 6'8" Scott Brittain added 12 pts./7 rbs. and Kai Williams also had 12, while Jonathan House added 9. Canada was outrebounded 43-25.

Bill Robinson and Ken Shields were honoured by Canada Basketball last night in Vancouver Robinson, Shields add Island flavour to Hall In a related note, St. FX coach Steve Konchalski, who was an assistant on those tremendous Canadian teams in the mid-70's (Canada finished 4th at the 1976 Olympics and in 1975 ended a 4 year USSR winning streak at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto), surprised each member of the '76 team being honoured by presenting them with a DVD copy of the famous game in 1975, a tremendous momento to take home for those players.

Grant Kerr from the Globe and Mail has an article on Steve Nash on the eve of his celebrity charity classic in Vancouver. No mention of whether or not Nash has any intention of suiting up for Canada Basketball this summer or beyond Nash starts to hear the clock ticking Here's a story about Nash tipping off what some are calling a "fitness empire" Nash tips off fitness empire, Vancouver facility first in high-end chain shooting for Victoria

A detailed article from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin on Team USA's entry at the Pan-Am Games in Brazil. USA's head coach Jay Wright is also the skipper of Villanova Wildcats of the Big East and Wright is excited about ending USA's 24 year gold medal drought at the Pan-Am Games. The United States has been placed in preliminary round Group A along with Argentina, Panama and Uruguay, and Group B consists of Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The US opens preliminary play July 25 facing Uruguay (9 p.m. ET), then meets Panama on July 26 (8:45 p.m. ET) and the US closes out preliminary round action against Argentina on July 27 (6:45 p.m. ET). Semifinals will be held on July 28 and the finals will be played July 29. Assisting Wright are University of Alabama head mentor Mark Gottfried and Yale University head coach James Jones. This article mentions that the Americans will scrimmage against Brazil and Canada prior to the tournament No Fun And Sun For Jay Wright And Co. - The Pan American Basketball Squad Is Down To 12 And Ready To Play

Yet another change at the top of a CIS university Athletic Department administration as Michael Lysko, former commissioner of the CFL, who spent the past 3 years arguably bringing much more profile to Western Mustang sports, officially announced his resignation earlier today in London. Lysko, who came to Western with a reputation as a creative marketer, spearheaded numerous projects at Western including bringing university hockey to London's John Labbatt Center, leaves to pursue other opportunities. We hope to have more on this story in the near future. Here is the press release from Andy Watson, hired by Lysko, who has done a tremendous job with the communication of Western sports information in the short time he's been there.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO
July 20, 2007

Sports Director Michael Lysko Leaving Western

The University of Western Ontario and the Sports and Recreation Director Michael Lysko (pictured) wish to announce that Lysko is leaving Western to pursue other opportunities.

Jim Weese, Dean of Health Sciences said, “Mike has been a talented and creative sports administrator. He led a significant change in Sports and Recreation Services over the past three years.”

“I have enjoyed my time at Western and am proud of the contributions of our team in revitalizing the Western Mustang Athletics brand, and establishing a new benchmark in marketing, sponsorship and broadcasting in CIS sport.”

“Over the past three years, we have seen several on campus facility improvements including upgrades to Alumni Hall and Thames Hall, the addition of the Michael Kirkley Centre, and the new Student Recreation Centre scheduled to open next fall.”

“These facilities are amongst some of the finest in Canada and will serve Western students extremely well over the next several years,” said Lysko.

Media Contacts:

Jim Weese
Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences
519-661-4239

Ann Hutchison
Director of Media Relations
519-661-2111, ext. 85468

6'7" Boris Bakovic's putback with 55 seconds remaining in overtime gave Canada the lead for good and then Canada survived a 4 for 6 effort at the line late that forced them to stop a late to 3 point attempt, giving our Jr. Nats a 94-90 victory over China at the FIBA U19 world championships in Serbia. After controlling the game for the first 35 minutes of regulation, Canada found themselves trailed by 4 with 2:40 remaining in the extra frame, but key players stepped up when it mattered and Canada prevailed. With the victory, Canada (4-3) will face Lithuania tomorrow in the ninth place game. Bakovic (20 points, 8 rebounds including 5 pts./3 rbs. in the overtime) and 6'2" Devoe Joseph (29 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists) keyed Canada's effort late in the fourth quarter and in the overtime as Canada, up comfortably early in the fourth quarter, had to fight their way back by scoring the final 6 points of regulation to force overtime. Joseph's jumper with 22 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game and then his jumper at the buzzer missed, forcing the overtime tied at 78. China then scored the first 5 points of overtime, but Bakovic, Joseph and 6'8" Scott Brittain (11 points, 10 rebounds) each had big hoops to bring Canada back, setting up Bakovic's game-deciding putback. Canada jumped out to an early 8 point lead and maintained it until a late China 3 brought the game back to 38-35 by halftime. Canada led 60-52 late in the third quarter and then 66-61 with 5:33 left before the Chinese took off on a 10-0 run. But Devoe Joseph had 5 straight points; still Canada had to score the last 6 points of regulation just to tie. Canada hurt themselves with a terrible 13-30 performance at the free throw line but shot 43% from the floor and had 22 offensive rebounds to gut out the win. 6'4" Alwayne Bigby had a solid 11 point/2 rebound effort to help Canada's cause.

Following a path blazed by his CIS men's basketball Coach-of-the-Year at Brandon this past season, Rick Nickelchok has left the Wheat City university to take the Athletic Director reigns at University College of Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C., joining newly-hired Head Coach Barnaby Craddock. After 4 years at Brandon, Nickelchok moves on to take the lead role at UCFV which has had its fair share of churn since the end of the school year, finding a new Head Coach for men's basketball and AD. One of Nickelchok's key initial tasks is to replace outgoing Sports Information & Marketing Co-ordinator Mike Tucker, who is moving on to take a similar role at the University of Victoria. As most know, Nickelchok and Craddock spent the past 2 seasons together at Brandon and the Bobcats returned to national prominence this season with a silver medal at the CIS Nationals. Nickelchok's move from Brandon will officially happen in late August and one of his final orders of business is to fill Brandon's Head Coaching position, for which an application process was started in late June. The leading candidate for the Brandon job, which should officially be announced shortly, is last season's assistant, Mike Raimbault. Nickelchok becomes the fourth CIS Athletic Director in the past few months to start at a new institution, joining McGill's Drew Love, Acadia's Brian Heaney and Carleton's Jennifer Brenning. There are at least 2 open Athletic Director positions in the CIS currently with Simon Fraser and now Brandon looking to fill those spots. UCFV Names New Athletic Director
Earlier today, Canada Basketball named their 12 man squad that will represent Canada at the upcoming Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil and the roster is full of names that successfully made it through the Durham College camp in May. The Canadians will be led in the backcourt by 6'2" Jermaine Anderson, who should log the majority of the minutes at the point. Also likely to see time at the point are 6'4" Ryan Bell and 6'2" Ozvaldo Jeanty. All 3 players bring complementary skills as Anderson has NCAA D1 and professional experience running the point, Jeanty has proven over a 5 year career in the CIS that all he does is play winning basketball and Bell is a big guard with length that helps make him an above average defender, enough savvy to stay within himself and usually make the proper decision offensively and the ability to make open jumpers when left alone. This group should prove to be a capable trio. On the wings, Edmonton's 6'6" Jermaine Bucknor, who played his first season of professional basketball in Poland (na zdrowie) after a stellar 4 year career at Richmond, has returned home with a much more polished game and will looked upon to be one of Canada's go-to guys offensively. 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp, still only 21 years old, is rapidly developing the prototypical international game with his ability to face people up offensively, knock shots down from beyond the arc and mix it up inside to create rebounds, loose balls and take charges. As well, as CIS observers know well, Doornekamp plays with an edge that is the normal order of the game at the international level and will not be intimidated, another plus when playing in hostile international environments. 6'5" Andy Rautins provides the raw perimeter shooting skills that are a necessity in international play and with his size he should get good perimeter matchups when playing one of the wing spots, enabling Canada to stretch the "d". 6'5" Paul Larmand came into the Durham camp after playing in Australia and he should provide support as the 11th or 12th man in the rotation. He shoots the ball and understands well the offensive and defensive systems Canada is likely to employ this summer. Up front, 6'10" Sean Denison, coming off a tremendous season at Santa Clara, leads a solid cast of forwards. 6'10" Vlad Kuljanin provides strength and tenacity around the basket, although he is currently battling an ankle injury. Another solid forward, Montreal's 6'8" Sheray Thomas, spent the past 4 seasons at one of the NCAA's most storied programs at Kentucky and playing for Tubby Smith, knows how to defend. Veteran national team player Jesse Young appears to be over his season-long injury troubles and is ready to contribute. Finally, another national team veteran, 6'8" Rans Brempong, returns to provide his usual defensive presence in the paint and rebounding ability. This initial tournament should give the coaches an excellent opportunity to assess which players can compete for time at the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Las Vegas in late August.

Today is an off day for all teams that participated in the "eight-round" over the past 3 days. Canada, who finished 3-3 after the "eight-round" but lost a spot in the quarter-finals after losing a 3 way tie breaker with Turkey and Argentina, will meet China in a classification game at 9:45 ET on Friday and the winner of that game will play for ninth place on Saturday against the winner of the Lithuania/Korea game to be played Friday at 7:30 AM. The championship quarter-finals are set for Friday as follows:

USA vs Argentina 7:30 AM
Brazil vs Australia 9:45 AM
Serbia vs Turkey 12:00 Noon
France vs Spain 2:30 PM

Recruiting in the OUA can be a challenge even at the best of times, so consider the task facing new Laurentian Head Coach Shawn Swords, who just took over the reigns at his alma mater in June. Swords has been working hard from the get-go, trying to fill out a roster that is likely to have considerable turnover from last season's OUA East quarter-finalists. Having spent his university career with the Vees in Sudbury, Swords understands that Laurentian and the City of Sudbury attract a certain type of player, reflecting a mentally-tough, blue collar style that enabled the Voyageurs to historically gut out tough wins and making them an extremely tough out at home(recall that Carleton's long winning streak from 2 years ago began after a loss to the Virgil Hill-coached Voyageurs at Ben Avery Gym). As Swords observes, "At Laurentian we don't recruit every player available, not every player is a fit for Sudbury and Laurentian but I have my eye on a few for this year and next year." In fact, in the 4 to 6 weeks that Swords has been on the job, he has already been able to garner 4 commitments for next season including Mark Ramalho (Brampton St. Augustine), Andrew Kay (Scarborough Mowat), Dave Otterbin (London Beal) and Greg Lakanen (Sudbury Lo Ellen Park). As well, Swords is waiting on at least a couple of more newcomers for this coming season. As far as beyond this season, Swords has been working the summer circuit hard already: "I was down to watch JDP and the All-Canada Prospects Camp this past weekend and saw some good talent there." Thus far, the job has made him very happy and Swords credits the Sudbury community for helping to make him feel at home again. "The Sudbury Community has been great to me here as they always have. I've always been in contact with the Alumni here but it's good to know I'll be here for awhile now and not leaving in August for Europe. There is definitely a buzz about the Voyageurs and an expectation that we'll rise up to the top quickly. Given that the OUA East is one of the strongest, if not the strongest conference in the country, I think it will be a daunting task but one that I am looking forward to." Looking ahead to the coming season, Swords reflected on some of the coaches he would be facing with fond memories. "The coaches in this conference are quite impressive and I look forward to coaching against all of them, especially Dave DeAveiro, Dave Smart and Mike Katz since they all coached me at some point in my career. Also, the Laurentian match up against Laurier should be a good one as I'm sure Coach (Peter) Campbell is looking forward to beating me and shaking my hand at the end with a big smile." Expect to Swords to translate his great work ethic he showed on the court throughout his playing career to the coaching and recruiting circles as he starts his new career at Laurentian.

It is always great to hear from enthusiastic Jacques Paiement, Head Coach of Laval Rouge et Or, who has built such a consistently strong program from scratch about 10 years ago. Laval has had back-to-back stellar recruiting classes that include last season's CIS Rookie-of-the-Year J.F. Beaulieu-Maheux and one of the pre-season candidates for that honour this season in 6'3" Jerome Turcotte. But Laval's success this season will almost certainly depend on the type of season they get out of 6'7" J.P. Morin, who suffered through an injury-plague campaign last season including a lingering wrist injury that limited his continuity. After suffering through an achilles injury during the initial Canada Basketball camp in May in Oshawa, Morin appears to be healthy again and looking forward to representing Canada on our FISU Games team which convenes in Burnaby, B.C. at Simon Fraser University later next week. Morin, who has a fine array of offensive skills including a solid post-up game and range beyond the 3 point line, will be expected to make even more of a contribution offensively with UBC's Casey Archibald unavailable after signing a professional contract in Austria that forces him overseas in early August. According to Paiement, "JP has recovered from the injury (Achilles tendon) that slowed him considerably at the June training camp. He has trained diligently (weights, shooting and ball handling). His wrist is now OK and he is shooting with the kind of range and accuracy that he displayed in last year's preseason when he was 10 for 23 from behind the arc. He has regained his mobility which has always been his main asset. Last but not least he is stronger thanks to weight training." We look forward to Morin's contribution to our FISU games team coming up in the next few weeks.

Neate Sager from "Out of Left Field" provides his thoughts on Canada's young men's team which produced a big win yesterday against Argentina, albeit not enough to advance to the quarter-finals but still a nice win Argie Bargle, but a small victory

In the "Where are they now?" category, here is an article on former St.FX star Jordan Croucher, who played on back-to-back X championship teams earlier this decade. Jordan is now an accomplished blues singer and the Halifax Chronicle-Herald summarizes his new career Croucher dresses for success

Here is a piece on B.C.'s 6'10" Levon Kendall, who graduated from Pitt and is playing in the Utah summer league in Salt Lake City. Kendall will likely be on Canada's roster for the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifier in August Levon Kendall Piece in Salt Lake Tribune

6'6" Kai Williams had 25 points, including 17 after halftime, and added 11 rebounds plus a big block down the stretch to lead Canada (3-3) to a solid 87-82 victory over Argentina (3-3) as the "eight round" concluded at the FIBA World U19 basketball championships in Serbia. With the win, Canada put themselves in a position to advance to tomorrow's championship quarter-finals; however, Korea (2-4) shocked Turkey (3-3) earlier in the day, resulting in a 3 way tie for the two remaining Group F spots in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, Canada lost the tie breaker (margin points for and points against) and will now compete for 9th to 12th place spots beginning tomorrow. Canada did not trail after the first quarter in the game and withstood two late Argentinian runs as Williams again was a monster at both ends, scoring Canada's first 7 points of the second half as Canada grabbed a 52-43 lead and then helping seal the game on the foul line and with a key block with under 3 minutes remaining. Argentina made the game interesting late, getting the game back 2 with 1:53 remaining on back-to-back 3's by 6'0" Nicolas De Los Santos (24 points) but 6'2" Devoe Joseph (14 points on 5-15 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 turnovers) who had turned the ball over on 2 consecutive possessions allowing Argentina back in the game, knocked down a huge three on the next possession and Canada held on from there. 6'7" Boris Bakovic had another solid 17 point/13 rebound effort, energizing Canada early with 13 first-half points when starters D. Joseph, 6'6" Jon House and 6'8" Scott Brittain were all on the bench with 2 early fouls. Brittain added 10 points and 5 rebounds for Canada, who will meet China tomorrow at 9:45 ET and with a victory will vie for 9th place in the tournament on Friday against the winner of the Lithuania/Korea matchup. In the end, Canada's rough start and subsequent poor performance against Turkey in the second game of the tournament which led to a 22 point loss came back to haunt the group which appeared to be peaking at the right time. Hopefully Canada can refocus and come home with 9th place and a 5-3 overall record in the tournament.

As had been widely speculated, Carleton University made the wise move and hired Jennifer Brenning as their newest Director of Athletics. Brenning has a solid track record of building sports programs and the position is well deserved. She replaces outgoing Director Drew Love who accepted a similar post with McGill University. The Ottawa Citizen's Don Campbell reports in this morning's newspaper Brenning No. 1 at Carleton also Carleton's campus newspaper the Charlatan reports Brenning named Carleton's new Athletics Director

FIBA has announced that live webcasts of all four quarter-finals, two championship semi-finals and gold & bronze medal games will be available via the Serbia 2007 web site. The live video stream will be available on Friday 20th July (the four Quarter-Finals will be played at 7:30 a.m., 9:45 p.m., 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., all EDT), on Saturday 21st July (the two Semi-Finals will start at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., both EDT) and on Sunday 22nd July (the Bronze Medal game will begin at 10:00 a.m. EDT and the Final game will take place at 12:30 p.m. EDT) through the following link: Live video stream from the Quarter-Finals onwards of the U19 World Championship The stream can be accessed by clicking here

Finally, as has also been widely speculated, 6'9" Samuel Dalembert has been cleared to play for Canada in the up-coming FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Las Vegas in late August. Dalembert, who grew up in Montreal and registered 10.7 points and a team-best 8.9 boards in 2006-07 for the Philadelphia 76ers, is best known as the catalyst in the middle on the defensive end for the Sixers. Congratulations to Canada Basketball in getting a solid NBA talent in Dalembert as part of the roster and best of luck to the Senior Men's team in their quest to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. We hope to have more news on this and other Senior Men's items eminating from their camp going on in Toronto as they prepare for the Pan-Am Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil beginning next week.

USA Basketball recently announced their 12 man roster for the Pan-Am Games coached by Jay Wright of Villanova who will bring his Wildcats to Ottawa over the Labour Day weekend. Pan-Am Games: US Dozen Announced All 12 players competed in NCAA Division 1 basketball this past season and names likely familiar to readers including 7'2" Georgetown center Roy Hibbert, 6'9" Memphis forward Joey Dorsey, 6'4" North Carolina wing Wayne Ellington, 6'9" Indiana forward D.J. White and 6'2" guard Scottie Reynolds, who will also be visiting Ottawa as part of Villanova's Labour Day visit to the Nation's Capital. Canada should announce their squad toward the end of this week.

By virtue of Australia's one point victory over Argentina, Canada (2-3) retains hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the FIBA U19 World Championships in Serbia but must defeat Argentina (3-2) tomorrow to advance. Australia held on after leading by double digits almost from the opening tip off, leading by as many as 18 and holding a 75-64 lead with only 2:28 remaining before Argentina hit a series of long 3's to make the score look more respectable. Turkey upset Spain 59-56, handing the Spaniards their first loss and clinching a quarter-final berth for Turkey.

The Argentines have a very balanced lineup that usually goes 10 deep but is without one true superstar as most of the top teams in Serbia seem to have. As well, Argentina's biggest rotation players are only 6'7" so Canada could matchup well with Argentina. Argentina leads the tournament in personal fouls committed, averaging about 28 team fouls per game. 5 players average between 9 and 13 ppg led by 6'0" shooting guard Nicolas De Los Santos, who had only 9 today against the Aussies, 6'2" guard Nicholas Aguirre (12.8 ppg/16 today), 5'11" PG Diego Gerbaudo (9 ppg), 6'7" Sebastien Vega (9 ppg) and 6'7" small forward Facundo Pinero (10 ppg going 11-23 from three point land before today's game).

Argentina's results thus far:
Argentina 91, Korea 85 (Canada defeated Korea by 16)
Spain 88, Argentina 68 (Spain defeated Canada by 14, 83-69)
Argentina 112, Puerto Rico 72 (Canada did not play Puerto Rico but defeated them last season in the qualifying tournament)
Argentina 68, Turkey 59 (Turkey defeated Canada 81-58)
Australia 79, Argentina 78 (Australia defeated Canada 81-70).

Canada vs. Argentina gets started tomorrow at 2:30 PM Eastern time.

CANADA UPDATE: The coaching staff inserted 6'6" Kai Williams (Regina, SK) into the starting lineup for the past 2 games and Williams has flourished scoring 48 points and grabbing 17 rebounds including several big baskets down the stretch vs. Korea. 6'2" Devoe Joseph remains among the leading scorers at the tournament with 21.8 ppg, currently sitting second behind Australia's Andrew Ogilvy. 6'7" Boris Bakovic (Ryerson University), the OUA Rookie-of-the-Year this past season, has started all 5 games for Canada and has averaged 9.4 ppg and 6.8 rpg in 25 mpg.