Wildcats on the prowl
Sydney Academy boys host annual invitational tournament
Local boys high school basketball teams will get an early season test at the Sydney Academy Cape Breton Credit Union Wildcat Invitational this weekend.
The tournament runs Friday and Saturday at Sydney Academy gym.
“As a coach, it’s good because I get to try some new things,” said Sydney Academy head coach Jonathan Penny. “Get to try some different lineups, some different schemes and stuff, stuff that we worked on in practice you get to pull out a little bit more in tournament play.
“It’s another opportunity too to play some guys who might not get all the minutes through league play, because those games for points are so important when it comes down to it.”
The host Wildcats will be joined in Group ‘A’ along with the Memorial Marauders and the Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals of Antigonish. It will be the first meeting between Sydney Academy and Dr. J.H. Gillis since the teams met for the Division 2 provincial championship two seasons ago, where the Royals came out on top.
Group ‘B’ includes the Breton Education Centre Bears, SAERC Saints and Cabot Trailblazers. Last season’s Wildcat Invitational was scheduled for January, but due to the teachers’
work to rule job action, it wasn’t played.
Penny said this year’s edition of the Wildcats likes to push the ball, thanks to a deep roster.
“We have a new group and we have a really high ceiling,” he said. “They work really hard, they practise really hard and they listen. I’m having a lot of
fun coaching these guys and we’re very athletic and I’m confident in all 13 guys on the roster to go out there and play the way I want them to play.”
Despite having what Penny calls a “win by committee” team, players like Grade 12 guards Jason Callaghan and Jaiden Davis have been standing out
early on.
“(Callaghan) is a special player. He’s one of the best high school kids I’ve ever coached. He’s got to be in the top handful in the province because he just sees the floor so well,” said Penny.
“(Davis) is having a good year for us. He’s an athletic guy who
defends well and shoots the ball really well. We’ve been pleased with our young guys coming in, our Grade 11 and 10s, filling the roles they’ve been asked to fill. When we play as a team, we can play with anybody in the province, but when we get to that individual style of basketball, we’re good enough to win some games, but not good enough to get where we need to be.”
Play opens at 2 p.m. Friday when the host Wildcats play the Marauders. At 4 p.m., BEC will take on Cabot, and Sydney Academy returns to the court at 6 p.m. for their anticipated meeting with Dr. J.H. Gillis. The day concludes with SAERC playing BEC at 8 p.m.
Saturday, following roundrobin play, the top two teams in each group play in the semifinals at 12:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. The championship game is slated for 4:45 p.m.
*For a complete schedule, see page B4.