A-Game game summary against the Waterloo Warriors September 29th, 2010

Guelph Phoenix squad

Waterloo Warriors 73 Guelph Phoenix 71

After a tough 2 point loss to the University of Waterloo in which the Phoenix only had 7 guys and missing 3 starters they bounced back and competed hard vs Mohawk college on Sunday.

Coach Mauro DiVito giving his son Vince some tips at practice.

"Even though we suffered our first loss to CIS competition in 15 games we still followed through with our plan of playing high school kids at this level. We had two high school players play major minutes and contribute in a close game vs CIS competition. There aren't to many high school players that get such an exciting opportunity". -Stu Julius
Henry Tan and Troy Knight were outstanding, turning the Waterloo guards over and playing tough against guys 3 to 5 years older. They both played over 20 minutes.

Agunwa Okolie of Archbishop Dennis O'Connor and Henry Tan of Vaughan S.S.

Game Summary Courtesy-Matt Hayes


The Waterloo Warriors website also produced their own game summary...read below...

September 29, 2010: Putting the Jerseys On


The Waterloo Warriors put on the game jerseys on Wednesday evening for a scrimmage against the visiting senior men's team, Guelph Phoenix. Matt Hayes and Graham Jarman are two former Warriors playing for the Phoenix. Eleven Warriors hit the court, with 10 figuring in the scoring. It was a pretty veteran team that started with Luke Kieswetter, Wayne Bridge, Cam McIntyre, Alan Goodhoofd and Brendan Smith getting the starting assignments. Rookies Andrew Melbourne, Mike Wright and Troy Stevenson saw some time coming off the bench. Cam McIntyre led the Warriors in scoring with 21 points. For the visiting Phoenix, Guelph Gryphon alumni Kyle Julius and Radhi Knapp led the scoring with 26 and 22 points.
The Warriors also used the scrimmage to work on their end game. Down by three points with 2:36 remaining, the Warriors outscored the visitors 6-1 to close out the game and secure a 2 point margin of victory. The final score was Waterloo 71, Guelph Phoenix 69.

For more info on the Waterloo Warriors Men's basketball team check them out HERE.

Human Pogo Stick Khem Birch verbally commits to the Big East's PITT!

Khem Birch at the Lebron James Skills Academy.
Photo Courtesy of http://www.crownmagonline.com/

CROWN has the scoop on Khem Birch...one of the most sought after players in the class of 2012 who has verbally committed to the University of Pittsburgh. The Panthers who play in the vaunted Big East Conference will be adding a player that not only hustles on every single play but has a condor-like wingspan of 86 inches and can gobble up balls that seem to be miles away from the basket. He first impressed many scouts this past summer while playing for the Canadian Junior Men's National Team(JMNT) as they collected a well-deserved bronze medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men tourney in San Antonio, Texas. Brazil won silver and the U.S. took the gold as all three teams plus 4th place Argentina qualified for the 2011 FIBA U18 World Championship in Latvia. Then Birch, a Montreal native was extremely dominant at the Nike Global Challenge in Hillsboro, Oregon averaging 22.6ppg and 13rpg on an incredible 70% fg percentage. The guy simply couldn't miss inside. His best game was a monstrous 25 point 20 rebound showing against a U.S.A. East team that featured Rakeem Christmas(committed to Syracuse) and James McAdoo(UNC bound)! Those two are no slouches and Birch handled himself astoundingly against competition that tough! For his Herculean efforts the ridiculously athletic and wiry Birch was named the International MVP of the tournament as Canada took the Bronze Medal finishing up with a 2-1 record. After these impressive showings his ranking sky-rocketed to the top 5 in his graduating class. While many high schoolers take their time before choosing a college it looks from the outside that Birch knew where he wanted to go and tweeted that he was going to PITT for a visit on September 11th. It is now the September 30th and Birch has verbally committed to the Panthers with a couple years of high school to go still.
Coach Jamie Dixon is going in to his eighth year at the school and has compiled an impressive resume while amassing a 188-54 win-loss record and three sweet-16 appearances. Between 2001-2004 Dixon's squad won 3 straight Big East regular season titles and captured their first Big East tournament championship in 2003. This guy can flat out coach and he gets results out of his players while giving them an opportunity to get the most exposure while at the same time usually advancing pretty far in the NCAA tournament. Birch will leave PITT a very very good basketball player and more importantly a better person after playing for Dixon, I'm sure of that.
Cudos to the PITT Panthers and the Big East for snatching up this rising star as Birch enters the realm of the BIG EAST Conference in 2012...
See the CROWN article on his verbal commitment HERE!

Canadian Russell Hicks snags a training camp roster spot with the Lake Show!

Russell Hicks at Pepperdine(#33) going for the block.
Photo courtesy of http://www.edmonton-energy.com/news/13/

7-foot Canadian big man Russell Hicks has garnered a training camp roster spot with the 2-time NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. Hicks has impressed the Lakers brass and is one of 18 players that will be ballin' alongside Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher and the rest of the Lakeshow. The Niagara Falls, Ontario native played his college ball at Pepperdine from 2004-2006 then transferred to Florida International to finish out his collegiate career. Earlier this summer Hicks, who played a short stint for the NBDL's Iowa Energy, impressed the Lakers brass enough that they decided to offer an invite to training camp to get another look at the athletic pivot.
Check out the writeup HERE from NBA.COM/LAKERS.

By the way...Isiah Thomas(aka Zeke) is the coach of the FIU Panthers...returning for his 2nd year at the helm after some tumultuous years as a GM in New York with the Knickerbockers.
Check out his bio HERE.
But Thomas is also doing his part to combat youth violence in America taking part in the "Rescuing of our Youth from Chaos and Carnage:Effective Strategies to Address Youth Violence" Forum in Washington, D.C.
HERE's the info on that worthy cause.

Dylan Ennis decides to go with Rice University to take his game higher!

Dylan in action at the B-Game Prospect Camp.
Photo Courtesy of Crownmagonline.com



Recently star PG Dylan Ennis announced that he will attend Rice University as his college choice. He had originally chosen Akron but re-thought that decision citing a rush to commit to the first school that showed interest...

CROWN has the scoop here on Ennis and his decision to go to RICE right HERE.

Scarborough native Xavier Rathan-Mayes making his mark south of the 48th!

Photo Courtesy of http://www.crownmagonline.com/

New Kids On The Block (Article courtesy of ESPN Rise High School Basketball)

The consensus among spectators of Xavier Rathan-Mayes and James Demery Jr., both freshman, was denial at the ScoutsFocus Elite 80. “There’s no way those kids are freshman,” one man shouted while watching from the sideline. “They’re way too good.” But when his friend pointed to the “2014” beside both of their names on the roster, the man’s eyes widened. He said, “Wow.” The shock is understandable, Rathan-Mayes, a combo guard at Christian Faith Center Academy (Creedmoor, N.C.), and Demery, a shooting guard at Oakwood (Greenville, N.C.), had exceptional showings at the showcase and were both picked to play in the all-star game. “I’m just trying to get better every time I step on the floor,” Rathan-Mayes said. “My mindset is to try and be the best in my class. I feel like I have a chance to achieve that if I continue to work hard.” Added Demery: “I’m just having fun. I love to compete. I’m young and it’s all new and exciting to me, but I definitely feel like I can be one of the best. I’ve got a long way to go, but I know getting there will be fun.”

Several months ago CROWN did this piece on Xavier that foreshadowed the success he's having right now at Christian Faith Center Academy...Click HERE to read CROWN's take on this rising star!

A few weeks ago at the 2010 Flight Games at Ryerson, Rathan-Mayes excelled dropping 17 points as well...
CROWN had the details back in August...right HERE.

The recruit scoop also had this interesting take on Rathan-Mayes right HERE.