St Joseph Making Noise, Marcellinus Lead by Young Guns
After a full day of hoops at Mount Carmel at the Xavier Rimrocker, here are my tidbits
St Joseph Making Noise – Contender to win Peel
Mississauga’s St Joseph hasn’t been a relevant basketball team for as long as I can remember, but started gaining attention last year after notable victories, including against Father Goetz (Freddy Ibrahim, Jaelin Llewellyn, Matthew Carating) and St Marcellinus, featuring Rowan Barrett Jr.
This season, they have already beaten two teams with a strong basketball tradition and reputation in D’Youville and Campion.
Lead by the guard combination of Clythus Griffith and Dimitri Lim, this St Joseph squad finds themselves in the Xavier Rim Rocker semi-finals against one of the host teams, St Francis Xavier.
“We made some noise last season, so we have bigger expectations for ourselves this year,” lead guard Dimitri Lim told NPH.
There will be only one OFSAA berth coming out of Peel…it could be St Joseph’s.
St Marcellinus Lead by Young Guns
The loss of Rowan Barrett Jr, (who is beasting in Florida at Montverde) make Marcy by no means a team to overlook.
This squad coached by Amir Morgan and David Tyndale possess the size, point guard play and scoring options to beat the best in the region. And oh by the way…they are a majority core of 10th graders.
“We are trying to play tough defense whether in a zone or man, and look to push the ball and score in transition,” said Coach Morgan.
2019 PG Noah Wharton has been launching the three-ball with great confidence, while providing the Spirit with balance and direction on the floor. National team member 6’9 Jaden Bediako has been a force in the paint defensively and on both ends of the glass, while Jaden Campbell and Joshua Noton fill the lanes turning defense into offense. Lots of fire power, but will they have enough depth to pick up their first tourny title of the season?
The Xavier Rimrocker semi-finals will have D’Youville VS St Marcellinus and St Francis Xavier VS St Joseph.
Canada Basketball Mike Meeks Invested at Youth Level
Mike Meeks is a name that some may not be familiar with, however those in the basketball community definitely are. Meeks is the manager of youth player development for Canada Basketball and has been working with the country’s elite basketball talent year round, while tracking their progress throughout the season.
Flying a little under the radar despite hovering around 6’8, I’d like to recognize his efforts, as he is making a major difference in development at the youth level from his on court work, valuable insight to youth and overall investment into the game.