Humber Hawks Have the Number One Spot in Canadian College Basketball
The Humber Hawks are the new number one team in the country, based on CCAA’s National Ranking.
The Hawks started off the regular season with a bang by defeating Mohawk by 20 in the team’s home opener, and they have not slowed down since.
The team is now 7-0 after their latest win over Sheridan Saturday night, who was last season’s Provincial Champions. The Hawks started their run from the end of their preseason where they won the Dawson Tournament, after a tough start with a couple loses to CIS teams (Ryerson, Windsor and Laurier) early in the preseason.
The Humber Hawks come at you with a typical well balanced unit that likes to get up and down the floor. When they are in transition they are very tough to stop with players being unselfish and willing to give up the extra pass. The Hawks also have one of the best defenses in the league by pressuring the ball handlers and speeding up the tempo to force the opposition into turnovers and contesting or blocking shots that get near the rim.
Humber added a fresh face to the lineup this season with 6’10 Centre Vule Grujic, who is a transfer player from the University of Regina. Grujic is leading the team in points and rebounds per game with 12PPG and nearly 8RPG. He adds some low post scoring and can also protect the rim on defense.
Grujic is joined in the front court with Tyrone Dickson and Chad Bewley. Dickson is 6’6 PF who is a force on the defensive end and a terror on the offensive glass, if you don’t box him out you know he is getting the rebound. He leads the team in offensive rebounds with 3.5 per game, in blocks with almost 2 a game and is second in steals.
Bewley is also a 6’6 forward but has a much different game than Dixon. Bewley is a very versatile player who can play multiple positions. He is averaging close to 11PPG, 6RPG and 3.5APG (which is second most on the team).
The Hawks are not just good up front either; they have a very talented back court as well. The team has two point guards, which often play together.
RJ Ramirez, who was last season’s Rookie of the Year in the West and Gibson Eduful, a thrird year guard, put pressure on the opposing team on both ends of the floor, whether that is pushing the ball in transition or locking down on the defensive end.
The wing positions are filled out by Junior Davis, Brayden Gohn, Matthew Bukovec and Curwin Elvis who have all made their impact seen on every game this season.
This year’s Humber Hawks team is very deep, talented and play with a well balanced attack which can be very tough to guard for opposing teams.
The Hawks will look to stay unbeaten as they take on Niagara and Fanshawe before the winter break.
Look out for this team come playoff time…gold is the motive.
