Niagara hoops on the rebound
Brock, River Lions are on the upswing; will high school hoops follow suit?
Niagara’s best high school basketball, both male and female, spent a couple hours on the same court Monday as part of the Niagara Region Basketball Showcase.
Mike Hurley, the men’s basketball coach at Niagara college, said the event is a way for the college to invest in the Niagara’s proud basketball tradition, that has taken a bit of hit in recent years when it comes to producing elite players.
“This a way to grow the game in the Niagara region,” Hurley said of the showcase. “Our woman’s coach Mike Beccaria talks about the same things. We are all Niagara basketball players in some way, shape or form whether we are coaches, administrators, referees.
“We are all trying to give back and improve the basketball we have had in this region for so long.
“This is the next generation of basketball players. Something like this helps grow the game. These high school players get a chance to play on the college court and get the feel of a college game. It’s nice to see so many schools represented. I think there are more than 20 and over 30 players in each game.”
Competing in the boys game were Asim Serri from Sir Winston Churchill, Tyrell Riddlell, Juan Guerrero and Sam Braithwaite from St. Francis, Noah Honsberger from Denis Morris, Ryan Gilbert from Eden, Robert Smith from St. Catharines Collegiate, Jacob Stirtzinger from Thorold, Adam Waszak and Matt Ferron of Holy Cross, Isaac D’Amico and Nick Qua of Lakeshore Catholic, Evan Craig and Kiefer Sonnenberg of Laura Secord, Ezechiel Garcon of Great Lakes Christian and Zinan Ahmed of Blessed Trinity, Braidon Moore of Notre Dame, Richard Warner, Victor Kariuki, and Wil Schmahl of St. Paul, Connor Joliffe and Tyler Dilts of Centennial, Adam Lamb and Nick Murdaca of A.N. Myer, Dustin Krkljus and Steven Cabrara of St. Mike’s Jacob Labonte and Phillippe Angervil of Jean Vanier, Baxter Pearson and Stephen Kapellas of Port Colborne and Victor Hayes of Stamford.
The girl’s featured Lyssa Stewart of Stamford, Victoria Fraser and Allyce Andrews of Port Colborne, Morgan McAvoy and Andrea Herbert of Jean Vanier, Kirstyn Atkins, Catharine Matlais and Destiny Haven of Centennial, Victoria Cubelic, Sophia Al-Kayed, Abbey Ruetz and Erin Groulx of St. Francis, Julia Colavecchia, Tori Rigas DiDomenico, Rosie Tait and Molly Taylor of A.N. Myer, Amanda Hemphill and Mack Brown of Holy Cross, Hana Parkin of Governor Simcoe, Kate Raso, Olivia Turko, Jess Ciolfi of Notre Dame, Paige Epp, Rachel Frena, Jeniah Weins, Mackenzie Schroeder and Beth DeBoers of Eden and Logan Tworyczuck, Maddie Wilcox and Isabella Favero of Lakeshore Catholic, Mia DiPasquale of Blessed Trinity, Chioma Nwebube of Great Lakes Christian and Terin Hultink of Smithville Christian.
“We didn’t turn anybody away,” Hurley said. “This isn’t an elite thing. For the girls, it caps off a successful season. For the boys, they are in the middle of the year.
“I think people have always thought of Niagara as a hockey area. Hockey is big. It’s Canada. Everything takes a back seat to hockey. But there have been so many good basketball players and coaches from Niagara over the years.”
How many of the above mentioned high school players will dominate at the next level remains to be seen.
“The game is different now,” Hurley said. “When I played, we have the OAC year and some kids came back for a sixth year of high school. I played on the senior team in Grade 10 and I was going up against 19-year-olds. They had beards and were driving to the games. They could go out for a beer afterwards.
“These players all seem so young. It’s really good, but the players are all younger and we have more schools, so the talent is spread around. There is still a lot of talent.”
Basketball’s profile in Niagara has never been higher. Brock’s men’s basketball team is one of the best in the country again this year, and the team is led by dynamic young coach Charles Kissi. The Badgers head into the holidays ranked third in country and will contend for a national championship in the spring.
Brock recently dropped a heartbreaker to the No. 1 Carleton Ravens with a score of 80–75 in overtime in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,296 at the Meridian Centre.
Former Brock coach Ken Murray, who won two national championships with the Badgers, would have loved to have his teams play some home games at a facility like Meridian Centre, which opened in 2014 and holds 4,000 fans for basketball.
It was pointed out that only one player on Brock’s current roster, Pat Pilato, is from Niagara.
“I coached 21 years at Brock and one of things I noticed about Niagara basketball is that it goes in cycles,” Murray said. “Our 2008 team won the national championship with local players. With our team that won in 1992, nine of the 12 players were local.
“The club system is as strong as ever, but we are seeing more players go the prep school route. That’s going on across the country. They feel the competition is better, the coaching is better, and the game is taken more seriously. You could say high school basketball is in a bit of a down cycle, but if all goes true to form, in a couple years, there will be a new group of kids that can play at the next level. That is what has happened in the past.
“Brock’s program and Niagara College’s program are really growing, but they aren’t relying on the local kids as much as they used to.”
The Niagara River Lions are firmly established on the sports scene with a growing base of loyal fans. Last season, they drew 35,055 fans over the season and averaged 1,753 a game, which put them right in the middle of the pack. A total of 2,636 fans attended the River Lions’ season opener this year, and the team is off to a good start at 6-4 and in second place in their division.
You can’t look at the showcase at Niagara College as a traditional all-star game, Hurley said. Coaches nominated athletes from their respective teams to participate.
In the boys game, the Blue Team defeated the White Team 95-93. Rigas-DiDomenico of Myer led the Blue team with 13 points. Moore of Notre Dame added 12 points and was selected as the game’s most valuable player. Honsberger of Denis Morris had 14 points for the White Team in the loss. Braithwaite and McLennan of St. Francis had 12 each. Stats weren’t available from the girls game due to technical difficulties.
“With the Raptors success, basketball is at a level in this country we have never seen before,” Murray said. “They have been great ambassadors for the sport. There are more and more Canadian kids that are dreaming about the NBA and playing the game. It’s contagious. You didn’t have that 25 years ago. The River Lions are doing a great job spreading the word about basketball. Brock is at the top of the national rankings. Niagara might be in a bit of a down cycle, but things will get better.”