CIS Hoops.ca

There continues to be growth in the area of using the You Tube and other mediums to communicate video highlights from around the country.  Here are some from this past weekend in what is by no means a comprehensive list.  If we get some time, there is also the possibility of a periodic CISHoops.ca podcast thanks to a very thoughtful and competent member of the CIS basketball community; stay tuned - the offer has been made and it's up to me to do it.

Lakehead at Ottawa (Friday night) highlights

Windsor 68, Queen's 54 highlights   Lien Philip post-game comments

Windsor RMC highlights   Tyrone Bramble post game comments

Rookie interim Head Coach Brad Rootes enjoyed a 5-3 start to league play as the Brock Badgers look to return to the post-season.  While 6'2" Mike Cruickshank has had a number of strong offensive performances and 6'6" Mark Gibson had a tremendous 22 point, 11 rebound effort in the recent win against York and also was the hero down the stretch in the road win at Ottawa, the Badgers would likely not be in their current position without 6'1" point guard Andrew Kraus, who has been a mature leader keeping the young Badgers together and has sparked the offense most nights.  Brock has not been shy throwing up threes, throwing up a conference-leading 246 treys in 8 games (~31 threes attempted per game) - they rank 6th in 3FG percentage at 36.2%.  However, this past Friday night's victory over the Lions showed that Kraus can step up to the challenge defensively as the fifth-year veteran held York's high scoring guard 5'10" David Tyndale to just 12 points including a meaningless threes in the final minute of play.  Kraus may be one of the most valuable players to his team in the country.  Speaking of Tyndale, his tremendous first-half efforts included a career-high 33 points in the loss to Windsor, 29 against Laurier, 28 including a key bucket down the stretch in the win against Waterloo and the game-winning shot with under 2 seconds remaining in the home win against Western.  In the friendly confines of Tait MacKenzie Gym, the third-year guard averaged 26 ppg in the first half including 57% shooting (40 for 71 including 11-22 50% from three-point land).  However, on the road, Tyndale has been below average, going only 13-41 from the floor including 3-15 from 3 with 8 assists against 16 turnovers in his first three games away from home before coming alive with a blistering 5 for 5 shooting effort from downtown as York finished the first half with a road win at Guelph this past Saturday.  Tyndale's ability to carry his best offensive games into opposing gyms and improve his assist-to-turnover ratio (23 assists against 32 turnovers) will go a long way in determining if the Lions can push for an upper echelon finish in the OUA East and if Tyndale can vie for all-conference status as far as individual honours go.  Lions 6'10" Dejan Kravic is quickly showing that he is one of the best young big men in the entire country, averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 55% as a sophomore and adding 3 blocks per game.  As Kravic improves his shot selection at key points in games and learns to better take advantage of his size and skills by drawing fouls (only 15 free throw attempts in 8 league games), expect him to vie for All-Canadian status before all is said and done.  The Lions have a chance to improve their road ways as they visit Sudbury this weekend in one of two OUA East regular season games this week (Queen's at RMC goes Thursday night in Kingston).  Ottawa Gee-Gees had a disappointing first half with only 2 league wins in 8 starts which included at least 3 last minute or overtime losses (Brock, at Western, Lakehead) and a solid effort into the final minutes at 7-1 Windsor.  Ottawa had to deal with a hamstring injury to 6'6" Warren Ward that kept him out of two games entirely and another in which he was removed after just 1 minute.  Of more concern is the sudden loss to a mysterious illness of 6'3" starting point guard Luc Minani, who did not play the past 2 weekends after experiencing severe chest pains and shortness of breath on the eve of Ottawa's trip to Windsor and Western.  Minani, a long, big guard who plays with an edge and was starting to gain confidence as a leader and decision-maker, spent time in the hospital and his status for the remainder of the season as of today is uncertain - we hope to have news on Minani's health later this week and please join me in wishing Luc a speedy recovery.  Less important is that his loss hurts the Gee-Gees at the all-important point guard spot where Minani and 6'2" Jacob Gibson-Bascombe made up one of the better one-two lead guard combinations in the conference.  Ottawa's 6'3" shooting guard Johnny Berhane (16 ppg) has emerged as a conference Rookie-of-the-Year candidate as the Gee-Gees most consistent perimeter threat and 6'9" fifth-year post Louis Gauthier (14.5 ppg/8.2 rpg) is proving that last season was no fluke after getting copious amounts of layups courtesy of First Team All-Canadian Josh Gibson-Bascombe; Gauthier is a top flight OUA East post player along with Varsity Blues pair of 6'6" Andrew Wasik and 6'7" Drazen Glizic and York's 6'10" sophomore Dejan Kravic, who is emerging as one of the more gifted offensive big men in the country.  Ottawa will play in the UQAM tournament in Montreal between Christmas and New Year's... Wayne Thomas recently provided his comprehensive view on Calgary Dinos (4-6) who suffered through an injury-riddled first half capped by the loss of 6'9" Tyler Fidler to an ankle injury in practice just prior to their final two games of the first half at Regina.  Recall that 5'10" sophomore point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson also had an ankle injury severe enough to keep him out of all of the Dinos 10 Canada West games in the first half of the season.  Fidler, who leads Canada West in rebounding, tried to go in the Friday game but was obviously limited, as the Dinos lost 88-70. On Saturday, Calgary, dressing only 9 players, went down even harder, with Fidler unable to answer the bell, and Regina poured it on for an 80-58 victory.  In the absence of Ogungbemi-Jackson, the Dinos turned over lead guard duties to the combination of 6'0" fourth-year SAIT transfer Keenan Milburn and 5'10" Andy Rochon, neither of whom played with the team in 2009-10.  However, Rochon may be the latest Dino to miss time as the heady guard from Chicago will likely undergo surgery over the holidays to deal with a recurring shoulder problem and his status for the second half of the season is uncertain.  Milburn had some tremendous shooting efforts from the three point line in the first half of the season.  The Dinos saw a pair of freshman mature into solid rotation ready players beginning with scrappy 6'7" Matt Letkeman (Abbotsford Yale) who has shown a willingness to crash and bang with more experienced post opponents.  His 14 point and 11 rebound effort this past Saturday against Regina's experienced front line of 6'7" Kris Heshka and 6'7" Paul Gareau is likely an indication of big things to come.  6'4" Phil Labongo, the slashing wing man from Winnipeg’s Dakota HS, has not shied away either, and he has the nose for competition, with a scoring touch and the physical ability to compete right away.  Expect Labongo and fellow Winnipeg high school grad Ogungbemi-Jackson to form the basis of an athletic, talented back court for the Dinos for several years to come.  With Alberta, UBC, Trinity Western and Saskatchewan on the slate for the second half, the Dinos will need to be at full strength to continue to battle for a playoff spot.  The Dinos will travel to California just prior to New Year’s in a series of non-league games and hope to have Ogungbemi-Jackson back and have Fidler at his best...  Lethbridge Pronghorns (3-9) finished up a tough, injury-riddled first half with a pair of lopsided losses at #2 UBC, playing without the services of 5'10" Zack Humphrey (knee) and 6'2" Julian Spear Chief-Morris (knee).  Without a true point guard in the lineup, teams that can bring consistent pressure like the T-Birds can wreak havoc and the Horns turned it over 53 times over the two games in Vancouver.  6'1" Quinn Van Gaalen, who has also battled through ankle injuries in the first half, unfortunately suffered a knee injury in the second UBC game and is out indefinitely - Van Gaalen leads the nation in free throw shooting at 94%.  The Horns travel state side for 3 games after Christmas... Much was made on this site of the poor (by his standards) defensive weekend 6'5" Cole Hobin had when the Carleton Ravens visited Waterloo earlier this season for a pair of games against the Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks, as 6'5" Kale Harrison had 39 points against Carleton.  Hobin clearly refocused and this past Saturday led what Ravens Coach Dave Smart deemed his team's best overall defensive effort of the season in holding an explosive Lakehead team to under 50 points.  Hobin returned his lock-down ways defensively, holding Thunderwolves 6'1" sharpshooter Jamie Searle to just 5 points while 6'2" Venzal Russell had only 7 and shot only 3 for 14.

Hope to have more in the coming days.