Because you’re tired of hearing just my opinion and because we’re trying to continue to do some different things on the site here, we welcome you to the Round Table, a hopefully regular feature that enlists the opinions of university sports scribes from around the country on random topics. No need to really explain it more than that. This time around we grabbed the venerable Chad Lucas from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, the ebullient Chris Kallan from the Halifax Daily News and the ubiquitous Greg Layson of the Guelph Mercury.

1) The switch to FIBA rules wasn’t met with great support by CIS coaches. Now that we’re well into the season, what have you seen out of the FIBA switch in the CIS?

Chad Lucas, Halifax Chronicle Herald: The faster pace means scoring is up — four teams in the AUS are averaging more than 80 points per game, while no one averaged more than 78 last season. Turnovers are also up a bit but shooting percentages have kind of evened out, so the argument that a shorter shot clock will lead to more bad shots doesn’t necessarily hold water. I think the biggest thing the FIBA rules does is widen the gap between good teams and bad teams. Good teams have made the adjustments themselves and also used the shorter clocks to their advantage against bad teams. Two AUS teams are having epically awful seasons, and while it has a lot to do with the fact that their rosters are just plain weak, the new rules make it easier to exploit those weaknesses. Overall, though, it’s not like the game has been reinvented or anything. Most of the coaches I’ve talked to admit that the rules themselves aren’t a big deal; it was the way the CIS forced them into existence that had so many people up in arms. The coaches voted overwhelmingly not to change, and the CIS said, “Thanks for your opinion, we’re doing it anyway, now deal with it.”

Greg Layson, Guelph Mercury: I think the pace of the game is great. I think the fans love it. Teams can’t stall. Teams can’t call timeouts willy-nilly all over the court. Personally, I love it — and I played NCAA rules in college. I wish we played FIBA back then. I watched three games (one women’s, two men’s) on the first home weekend of the CIS season here in Guelph. Tuesday, I watched the Duke game on TV and I thought to myself “My God this is slow.” I don’t think people realize how long 30 seconds really is. Nor do I think they realized at the time that six seconds (and two in the back court) would make much difference. As for the coaches and their support: sometimes they need to remember changes are made to better the game, improve and enhance the game among fans — which is something the CIS usually fails at doing. The coaches are worried their power is slipping. They can’t control everything. Case in point: A three-point game in Waterloo Wednesday night. Waterloo grabs a rebound, trailing by three, but can’t call time out because there was no whistle or score. It’s on the kids. You’re going to see what clutch players are made of. And you’re going to see smart — and dumb — players rise or fall down the stretch of some of these games.

Chris Kallan, Halifax Daily News: Once resisted, the switch to FIBA rules is a non-issue in the Atlantic conference, at least to my knowledge. I thought the games might drag on and on, but I don’t remember cursing even once to meet a deadline (any more than normal, that is). Any CIS men’s team that can’t get the ball past midcourt in eight seconds doesn’t deserve the ball in the first place.

David Larkins, Brandon Sun: I really believed the FIBA rules would be readily apparent, but I have to confess I don’t believe they have been. I still don’t agree with how the change was forced through, but it hasn’t had a completely deleterious effect on the game itself. I think the women’s game, even though they’ve been playing with it a year longer, is more affected in the half-court because the ball movement isn’t as quick as in the men’s game. If you’re watching a team that isn’t effective on the offensive end, then you’re definitely seeing more bad shots late in the clock. Other than that, I think the FIBA switch has just come along at a time where the game was naturally gravitating more towards teams that can play up-tempo.

2) Who is one player you’ve seen who you’d campaign for because you don’t think the rest of the country knows enough about him …

Lucas: Mention Acadia and most people talk about Leonel Saintil or Paulo Santana, but fifth-year swingman Shawn Berry has been the Axemen’s most consistent player all season. He’s a solid shooter, he can get to the rim, and he’s scored in double figures in every single conference game for the 11-1 Axemen. With Santana — the reigning conference MVP — missing most of the first semester with an ankle injury and still not going at 100 per cent, Berry’s emergence has been huge for No. 2 Acadia.

Layson: I’d campaign for a rookie point guard in Guelph named Michael Petrella. This kid reminds me of Brad Rootes, or maybe Jimmy Groezelle. I know both were terrific all-Canadians, but this kid is fast, has handles, is gaining confidence by the minute. He’s started about half the games this season. He held his own against Rootes a week ago and they meet again Saturday. I’m looking forward to four years of watching this kid develop. Guelph assistant coach Aaron Bariagabre, who played for the Gryphons last year, compares Petrella to Ryan Steer of Windsor. I just say he’s the flat-out steal of the rookie class. He went un-recruited, other than by Guelph.

Kallan: Acadia power forward Leonel Saintil has been a beast and a burden against most teams. He sat out last season after transferring from Memorial, but is a legit double-double threat (16.9 ppg, 14.8 rpg) every time he hits the court. It’s rumoured there’s no love lost between himself and Memorial head coach Todd Aughey so no doubt he’s circled Feb. 16 and 17 on his calendar; yup, those are the dates Saintil faces his old Sea-Hawks teammates (the winless Sea-Hawks, I might add) on The Rock.

Larkins: I had a discussion not long ago with someone in the community here and they made a comment of how other players come into Brandon with some buzz about them but, they asked rhetorically, “Do you think other cities get excited when Dany Charlery comes to town?” knowing full well what the answer was. Charlery, if it’s possible, is still going under the radar, but not by coaches who have to scheme for him. He’s athletic, he’s versatile and he is the perfect Brandon Bobcat in the sense of how they want to play. He’s a player that everyone in the country should get a look at at some point. I’ve also been trumpeting Calgary PG Jeff Price as a very underrated point in the country and, hopefully, he’ll get seen on a national scale soon. Add in Tyler Fiddler from Calgary too, a 6-foot-9 freshman guard who has a lot of game.

3) When September rolls around, we will look back on the move to Ottawa for the nationals and think what…

Lucas: I’m hesitant to pre-judge, mostly because I’m from Halifax so anything negative I say will probably be perceived as sour grapes. (But for the record, I’m perfectly OK with the tournament moving. As much as I loved having it three blocks from my office, I knew it wasn’t going to stay here forever.) I think the Final 8 will be a success, attendance-wise, because I think Carleton will be in the championship game again and people in Ottawa have proven they’ll come out in droves to watch the Ravens. I’m very curious to see how many show up for a Saturday afternoon consolation game with no local content, though. And I honestly don’t think this year’s event will be able to match the atmosphere of Halifax, where you walk out the Metro Centre doors and you’re a three-minute stroll from three hotels and a few dozen restaurants and bars. I’ve driven past Scotiabank Place on my way to Ottawa, and from the highway Kanata looks like one big dull suburban wasteland.

Layson: I’ll think what I think now: Good idea. I have no problem moving it out of the East. And I have no problem doing so for three years. And, I also have no problem bringing the championship to a big market with big money (you can’t turn down that $1 million guarantee). I think if they sellout and it creates some buzz, it’ll be seen as a great move. I think this coming weekend (Ottawa vs. Carleton) is just as big of an event. 10,000 people for a CIS basketball game? Are you kidding me? If they can get that for a regular season game, imagine the finals.

Kallan: We’ll think the Carleton Ravens should be barred from competing against CIS competition and should play NCAA D-1 instead. It’s the only fair solution after winning what very well might be a sixth straight Canadian title. To stay on topic, we’ll think the move to move this particular tourney around the country was long overdue. No disrespect intended against the AUS, of course, it’s the principle of the thing. However, the momentum of hosting is lost for the time being, as is the intimate setting that perhaps only a loveable city like Halifax can bring and its loyal following no matter which team was in the final. How another region handles the momentum, intimacy and attendance questions can’t be answered before the fact. However, the notion of granting a free pass to a specific host team will still be bogus today, tomorrow and forever.

Larkins: I really believe all the concerns that have been made public — and I’ve been one who has been vocal in the past about them — are going to be forgotten. The distance between downtown Ottawa and Kanata is still an issue, however, and I think that when all is said and done we’ll look back on it and say “learn by the mistakes and fix it up for next year.” So it won’t be an outright admonishment but still an acceptance that there will be improvements needed here and there, which is far from unexpected when considering the Ottawa folks are rookie hosts.

4) The NCAA decision: Legitimate concern or much ado about nothing?

Lucas: It’s a total non-issue on this side of the country. No way a school like St. F.X. or Saint Mary’s is going to travel six to 12 hours every weekend to play some middling Division II school in New England when they’ve got established history and rivalries in close proximity right here at home.

Layson: Much ado about nothing. I’ve said it for months (since November) it’s a smoke screen by schools who want to give kids more money. But I don’t think they (UBC/SFU) want to give kids more money for the right reasons. They want to offer more money to get better kids. The bigger issue in all this is how the CIS and Canada views university sports. I think our system is as close to perfect as can be. My only changes would be A) that the OUA allows its schools to offer more than the $3,500 cap per athlete B) allow athletes who don’t make the 80 per cent average to receive scholarships. These kids, even if they get accepted into school with the minimum average, bring a lot to the school (i.e face time, success, tradition, etc.). They can’t work if they play sports, so reward them. If UBC or SFU, which can both allow significantly more than OUA schools, don’t like, I say good riddance. I don’t see many other schools following suit.

Kallan: My Canada has all existing CIS teams right where they are. That’s all I have to say about that.

Larkins: I think it’s the most overblown story in Canadian university sports history (honestly, has there even been another topic that’s been overblown?). In the end, the number of teams who are willing AND able to make the move is minimal and for those who do want to make the switch, I believe much of the rest of the country will send you off with a very loud “good riddance.”

5) Who you got for the four conference champions and who’s going to be a sleeper when playoff time rolls around?

Lucas: I’ll take Brandon, Carleton, Laval and Acadia. Not exactly going out on a limb, I know. For my sleeper I’ll say St. F.X. They’re younger and not as deep as some past X-Men teams, but they seem to be hitting their stride and they’ve got the talent to hang with anyone. Going into the AUS playoffs as less than the favourites for a change might actually work in their favour.

Layson: I’ll set the whole National Championship bracket for you (and likely be wrong, way wrong) AUS: Acadia, OUA West: Brock, OUA East: Ottawa (because Carleton is in), Canada West: Calgary, The Q: Concordia, Wild Card: Windsor

Kallan: Saint Mary’s (Atlantic), Concordia (Quebec), Carleton (Ontario) and Brandon (Canada West) are solid picks (writer’s note: Saint Mary’s gets the nod over Acadia solely because of guard Mark McLaughlin. He’s a guy who can almost literally carry a team on his back). The sleeper pick comes out of Sydney, where the Cape Breton Capers are slowly building a team nobody wants to play with their season on the line. They have less talent than last year, but perhaps players’ roles are more defined.

Larkins: I’ve been getting killed locally for not picking Brandon to win certain games this season, but I can’t go against a home team in the conference championship, not when that team is Calgary or Alberta and those gyms are tough to win in. I think Brandon makes the national tournament, but Calgary wins the thing in its own gym. (Side note: The Bobcats get fuelled by doubters, so let me had some of that fuel to the fire). From the Atlantic I’m just going on a limb to take Cape Breton, almost entirely because everyone else is taking Acadia. In Ontario, Ottawa gets the East (because of Carleton’s host berth) and Brock gets the West. Laval gets the Q’s bid and the sleeper team (not necessarily a wild card) will be UBC, a team that is still talented yet I get the feeling is being forgotten about after having won a mediocre three of its last five games.