Weekend Thoughts

It has been quite the final season for one of greatest coaching/playing careers in Canadian basketball history as Saint Mary’s Huskies Head Coach Ross Quackenbush calls it a day this season after 23 seasons on the bench (including two National championships), a five-year playing career which included two National championships as a player and a strong career on Canada’s National team in the late 70′s, early 80′s when Canada’s program was one of the best in the world.  Although his final Huskies team is presently battling for their playoff lives in sixth place in the AUS, Saint Mary’s current position is a bit deceiving.  Consider that Huskies have lost five games this season by 1, 2, 2, 3 and a fifth at UPEI that Panthers sent the game into overtime with a shot at the buzzer at the end of regulation and won in the extra session.  The other four losses were actually closer than the scores indicate and were decided at or near the buzzer.  Still, Saint Mary’s can clinch a playoff spot with a victory at UNB this weekend and Quack’s great career can continue with one (or two) final run(s) at the Halifax Metro Center, the site of so many tremendous games Ross played a part in.  To get to the playoffs and advance far, Huskies will need to have 6’5″ Torey Fassett as healthy as possible after the slick three-man played sparingly on Saturday and then dressed but sat out all of Sunday’s victory over Memorial as his on-going bout with ”jumper’s knee” became increasingly aggravated.  But back to Ross, who many may not know is the only player and coach to win CIS/CIAU National championships at the same school multiple times.  Quackenbush has come a long way since he dominated high school basketball at Etobicoke’s Thistletown Collegiate and his welcoming, laid-back exterior offsets a burning desire to win.  We hope to celebrate Ross’s career with an appropriate tribute on this site.  Also, there is talk of a more formal celebration of Ross’s career during Nationals week in Halifax; stay tuned for details on what promises to be a great event… Cape Breton’s Jimmy Dorsey just completed what could be the single, greatest weekend in CIS history with his triple/double on Saturday against UPEI followed up with his 49 point, 14 assist effort on Sunday afternoon against Acadia, setting the Capers record for points in a single game.  Many of Dorsey’s shots were under considerable duress as observers noted that the Baltimore native simply took it upon himself to carry his team.  Acadia’s 6’3″ wing Anthony Sears, who in the second half of the season arguably has been as valuable offensively to the Axemen as Dorsey has to the Capers, missed yesterday’s game in Sydney after injuring his shoulder running through a screen in the third quarter of Acadia’s loss at St. FX on Saturday.  The injury occured with Acadia up 10 and Sears, who not only has improved his ability to get to the rim this season – opening up the perimeter even more now – but arguably is the top perimeter wing defender in the AUS with his length and more importantly his knowledge of how to take checks out of their comfort zones.  The Axemen have a meeting with UPEI this coming weekend… OUA West observers may have noticed that 6’7″ Ryan Christie has been absent from the Windsor Lancers lineup over the past two games and recently Christie advised Coach Chris Oliver that he didn’t want to play basketball right now and was taking a leave of absence from the Lancers.  Christie had really started to find his way in the Windsor rotation, especially defensively with strong overall improvement.  Christie’s departure means less quality depth for a Lancer lineup that features 6’8″ Lien Phillip, who over the past 2 weeks has played like a 1st team all-star in my opinion, and very underrated 6’7″ lefty Evan Matthews who is a matchup challenge for any opposing coach with his ability to step out and shoot 3′s plus work favorable matchups in the post to the point where teams had to start doubling the sophomore.  There are many who are hoping that the talented Christie can get his career back on the rails after previous stops at McMaster and Saint Mary’s and hopefully we have not heard the last from this potential-impact player… Laurier Golden Hawks have lost 2 of their last 3 and their depth has taken a bit of a hit without 6’7″ Patrick Donnelly who missed Saturday’s loss vs. Windsor with a head injury.  The burly forward is another tough “4 man” matchup and when he returns is uncertain… Another OUA West star who suffered a head injury recently is 6’3″ Victor Raso, who sustained a bang to the head sometime during Mac’s home win last Wednesday night vs. Western and then, as a precaution, sat out the Marauders road win at Guelph on Saturday.  Given the higher level of understanding and profile around head injuries in sports, ensuring athletes are fully recovered before playing again is becoming much more of the norm.  No word on whether Raso or Donnelly will be ready for Wednesday’s game when Mac visits Western and Laurier goes across town to face Waterloo.  Mac and Laurier will meet this coming Saturday in Hamilton in a game that will likely decide second place in the OUA West and a first round playoff bye… Brock Badgers have struggled with injuries all season and the latest ailment suffered by 6’7″ Brian Nahimana is peculiar as his knee swelled up after Brock’s loss at Western last week with doctors saying that there was internal bleeding in the leg.  Let’s hope the third-year center from London is o.k… The Ryerson program took a giant step forward this past weekend with a pair of wins that clinched third place, their strongest finish in several seasons, and also put the Rams in position to finish second in the OUA East if things work out this weekend in Ottawa.  Rams have established a Big 3 group of sophomores led by 6’1″ point guard Jahmal Jones, who was spectacular in stretches on Saturday in Ryerson’s comfortable win over Laurentian.  Jones consistently pushed into the teeth of the paint either in transition or in the half court, getting to the rim or finding teammates for open 3′s.  6’3″ Jordan Gauthier continues his consistency at both ends of the floor and may be Ryerson’s most important overall player because of his versatility and smooth demenour.  6’7″ center Bjorn Michaelsen, who has had an injury-prone start to his career, appears healthy and is now able to fully show off his strong offensive skill set with a combination of face-up, back-to-the-basket and very underrated passing skills.  All three of the Big 3 were able to draw help and kick out to wide open Ram shooters (Rye was 11 for 20 from 3) and both Michaelsen and Gauthier had emphatic dunks with Michaelsen’s being of the highlight-reel variety off a baseline face-up and sweep that ended with a two-handed crown; a big time move and finish.  Ryerson trails Ottawa by one game and must win by more than 6 this Friday night at Montpetit Hall and then either defeat #1 Carleton the following night or have the Gee-Gees lose to the Toronto Varsity Blues.  The Ottawa at Ryerson game earlier this year in Toronto was also extremely exciting and hotly-contested as Rams/Gee-Gees becomes a growing OUA East rivalry between teams with similar styles… Speaking of Laurentian, after a strong string of games that featured the spectacular offensive abilities of 6’1″ Manny Pasquale, the Voyageurs struggled on the road in Toronto this weekend and their inability to guard the ball and subsequently surrender wide open looks was a clear issue all weekend, with back-to-back games surrendering 100 or more points and third in their past 4.  As we move to toward the post-season, possessions become much more contested and the ability to take teams out of their offense is much more valuable, something Laurentian needs to correct if this past weekend is any indication… Canada West playoffs are by far the most wide-open in recent memory with realistically at least six teams having a shot at the conference championship.  We will have more thoughts on how things could evolve in a future post.