On the hunt
Annapolis West Wolfpack young but hungry in high school hoops action
The Annapolis West Education Centre senior boys basketball team is back in action for the 2017/2018 season, picking up a win and a loss in their first two outings.
The Wolfpack is a relatively young team this season with only two Grade 12 students, said coach Ryan Scranton. The Grade 11 contingent is highlighted by forwards Griffin Batt, Sam Cooper and Kerwyn Currie.
“We are lucky to have some size with our forwards this season” said Scranton. “Being able to send three players out who are all about 6’4” to 6’5” causes some matchup issues for other teams. The three boys are all capable of controlling rebounds and putting pressure on opposing teams.” Averaging over 30 points per game last season, Currie is certainly a player to watch. The Division 3 Annapolis West Education Centre Wolfpack held their own against the Bridgetown Regional Community School Hawks Nov. 23. The Division 2 Hawks took the game 85-70.
The AWEC backcourt consists of Grade 11 shooting guard Erik
Heubach and Grade 10 point guard Cameron Wiles.
“Our guards give us some interesting options for outside shooting as well as ball penetration,” said Scranton. “Cameron is a gym rat who is constantly working on his game. Those efforts really show in how he is developing as a player. Erik has also taken some big strides in the last year and is playing with a lot more confidence.”
Due to the size of the school population, AWEC has been moved from Division 2 to Division 3 this season.
“It is an interesting opportunity for us to play in Division 3,” said Scranton. “In Division 2 we are the plucky underdog as one of the smallest schools. The dynamic is flipped entirely in Division 3 where we are the biggest school. Although we are the biggest, the
boys know that they need to work hard in every game if we are going to accomplish what we have set out as our team goals.”
Indeed the two games they’ve played so far have been against Division 2 schools where they eked out n 81-68 win over Central Kings and trailed Bridgetown 85-70 in away action Nov. 14 and Nov. 23, respectively.
The only Division 3 schools in the southwest are AWEC, St. Mary’s Bay Academy (Weymouth), Clare, and North Queens (Caledonia), making for a short schedule. But the AWEC squad won’t be short on games with numerous tournaments in the mix between now and February. They host their own tournament Jan. 19 and 20.
The Wolfpack is hosting a fundraising dinner on Dec. 7 in the AWEC cafeteria. Funds raised at the dinner will go toward operating costs for the team.
“The dinner is an opportunity to earn some money toward our season,” said Scranton. “We have several tournaments which will bring us from Yarmouth to Pugwash so the dinner helps us to operate.”
Tickets are available for $10 by calling 532-8793.