CIS Hoops.ca

Although Fraser Valley Cascades secured a pair of historic victories for their program in the NCAA/CIS Border wars by defeating both San Diego Toreros and Idaho State Vandals, the news was not all good for Head Coach Barnaby Craddock and his crew.  The Cascades incurred a serious injury to starting 6'6" forward Kyle Grewal, who tore an ACL in the Idaho State game after just 13 minutes of play and is out for the season.  Grewal, who will be a medical redshirt, was to enter his fourth year and started all 20 games last season for the Cascades, averaging 12.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg in 30 mpg.  He was an inside/out threat, knocking down 40% of his 3's and shooting 47% from the floor overall.  Grewal joins 6'7" sophomore forward Jasper Moedt on the injured list.  Moedt, who made 13 starts last season as a freshman, averaging 8.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg in 20.5 mpg while shooting 53% from the floor, tore an ACL in the spring, has already had surgery and may be healthy enough to try and play at Christmas, but it's more likely he'll sit out the year.  Coach Craddock will look to a combination of several players to replace the 20 points and 10 rebounds from the injured pair, starting with 6'8" fifth-year transfer James Elliot, a native of Australia who was an all-star at Lakeland College (ACAA) two seasons ago and joined the Cascades last season amid much anticipation.  Others who got time in the NCAA games were 6'5" freshman Ryan Fahendeg, 6'6" third-year forward Josh Kufske, who played 32 minutes against Idaho State and 6'5" Connor Oldman, an American who last played at Whatcom College, where he was a teammate of Cascades pg Zeon Gray.   Gray did not participate in the NCAA games in August as 5'10" pg Sheldon Bjorgaard logged 32 minutes in the win against Idaho State, contributing 10 points and 8 assists.  In Grewal's absence, expect 6'3" Sam Freeman, the hero in the Idaho State game, to look to pick up even more of the offensive load for the Cascades... Lethbridge Pronghorns appear to have filled several roster spots with quality talent, especially up front, as six new faces should compete for rotation time.  The Horns have added considerable size and bulk in the paint, led by 6'8" Abner Kamps, a 240 pound forward from Michigan, 6'9" Niko Kovac, a 260 pound center from Toronto and 6'8" Sean Thiedemann (290 lbs.).  6'5" Tim McKinnon from Medicine Hat also joins the Horns while 6'4" local product Julian Spear Chief-Morris becomes eligible after sitting out last season following his transfer from UVic.  But Coach Dave Adams biggest challenge is likely to be who runs the point and makes the key offensive decisions after 6'3" Jeff Price decided not to play this season, a role he hopes 5'11" Zack Humphrey (Spokane, Washington) can work into.  Humphrey impressed with his ability to shoot the long perimeter "j" during the Horns NCAA games in August... Wayne Thomas, who authors the informative and comprehensive blog on the Calgary Dinos usually with added bonus Canada West and CIS news, provides his detailed look at this season's Dinos who began practicing in earnest recently.   Dinos Hoop News:  Dinos begin practice

***With sincere thanks to our still-anonymous Canada West correspondent for much of this information