(Update, Friday 1:30-pm: BU has made the hiring official.)

Mike Raimbault’s one-season term as head coach of the Brandon Bobcats men’s basketball team has come to an end and Keith Vassell is your new head man. That’s five coaches in six seasons. Thank God for Barnaby Craddock and his two-year term, otherwise BU would be batting 1.000.

To address a couple of the comments that have been posted on this site in recent days, I hate to be this way but I have to agree with both the logic that this was a gong show and a refreshing change, as well.

In the end, however, I felt dirty about the whole thing.

While I agree that transparency, given BU’s track record of numerous coaches and almost as many faculty grievances, is not a bad thought in theory, I didn’t get the sense that BU’s intentions were totally altruistic. I didn’t feel like they were really showing the public the inner-workings of the hiring process, but rather covering their tracks for whomever they hired. This way they can always say “hey, you all saw it,” and not have to be concerned over any potential fallout with their selection.

That’s not to suggest that there will be, or was going to be, fallout over their decision, but by making it public they’ve cleared themselves of any thoughts or theories from outside the school that the operation wasn’t on the up-and-up.

But it also was a gong show. Having sat through each of the three presentations, I never got a sense that any of the presentations truly mattered. I didn’t think Thom Gillespie had a hope of getting the job — and that’s not a commentary on him at all, just the way the situation felt — and I thought Raimbault had to blow people away with his presentation. And, as it was, his presentation was far and away the best (a feeling backed up by a number of people), but in the end that didn’t matter either.

Add in the fact that one of the hiring committee members was not making their incredibly positive feelings for Vassell any secret, and you got the sense that the presentations were merely formality. You simply can’t have someone on a hiring committee outwardly and overtly talking up one of the candidates. It’s wholly unprofessional and a mind-boggling move from people supposedly in positions of prominence and esteem.

Once again, university administrations continue to blow my mind.

The Brandon Sun broke the story in Thursday’s editions and an announcement has yet to be made officially, nor has any sort of indication come from the university as to when they will announce it or how they plan to do so. BU has made a habit out of not doing press conferences after a media outlet has pulled the rug out from under them, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they just shrug their shoulders and put out a press release.

I would love to say that the presentation process was a success, but I can’t say that whole-heartedly. And I’d love so say we can all feel better about Brandon University’s open and honest approach to hiring, but I can’t say that either.

I can’t say that when only one of those two words is actually accurate.

The final decision very well might have been made as I type this, but that shouldn’t preclude me from bringing you folks up to date on the final public presentation for the Brandon University men’s basketball position.

Mike Raimbault, who was handed the job as an interim coach last summer, provided far and away the top presentation of the three candidates.

That, however, doesn’t mean he’s keeping his job.

Raimbault dealt well with his shortcomings, namely recruiting, and forced those in attendance to take him seriously as a coach who could bring the best talent into Brandon. He presented a slide that had his depth chart of players who are either returning, have verballed or have been approached during the year and they ranged from JUCO/NAIA-level players in Alabama, Oklahoma and California, to high school and mature students around Canada. He also outlined his recruiting contacts in North America, a list of 20-some names that — at the very least — showed that he’s not just out there on his own.

Believe what he put on the projector or not, what that tactic did was brought the attention (if momentarily) away from Vassell’s ability as a recruiter and showed that Raimbault can potentially get it done too. All of this isn’t to say that suddenly Raimbault is the next great recruiter at BU, but you can’t say he didn’t make his case in that category.

Raimbault was nervous and it showed at times, but he eventually settled in and opened with discussion about his view on academics and community involvement, while relaying stories about Bobcats being out and about in Brandon this past season.

Raimbault’s effort was, perhaps expectedly, the most impassioned of the three as well. A Brandonite who knows that CIS jobs don’t come along often, never mind in your hometown with your alma mater, which happens to be a national contender.

Raimbault absolutely had to have a knock-you-off-your feet presentation on Wednesday and if what he came up with didn’t do that, he sure as hell came close.

Rightly or wrongly, I’m still not entirely convinced it was enough to keep him at BU.

• • •

Another message board that has discussion about Canadian basketball, has had a post lingering there about the BU search and it has been polluted by some misguided posts. The most recent of which came on Wednesday. I NEVER respond to such things and am almost ashamed of myself for going forward with this next bit, but for some reason feel it necessary. You can read the post here. (The one that mentions the Brandon Sun).

My columns in this week’s Brandon Sun have been opinion pieces but they have been analysis of what was observed at the presentations. They have not been commentaries on resumes, they have not been commentaries on the interviews afterwards. I have, in my best efforts, attempted to give those who weren’t in attendance a glimpse into what happened in that lecture theatre on each of the three days. As such, here was what was written in Wednesday’s Sun:

“And so Vassell still has to convince the hiring committee that, in addition to his shiny resume of playing and coaching exploits overseas, he can also handle the other aspects of the job, which include teaching.

That’s perhaps where Vassell’s presentation fell short — if, that is, you care about such things. Twenty minutes is not a lot of time to sum up a career plus discuss all your philosophies and positions, but Vassell did not dip deeply into much discourse about the education portion of the job, which is a large chunk of the pie at Brandon University.”

This, it should be noted, also came after a number of paragraphs of praise for Vassell and what he managed to do in his 20-minute time frame. In no way did I take a shot at Vassell’s lack of a Masters and put that on him as if the same issue didn’t exist for the other two candidates. I specifically say that’s where Vassell’s presentation fell short, not he as a candidate. In fact, the column was more pro-Vassell than I had wanted it to be. I felt I could have been more down the middle, but c’est la vie.

Again, I hate that I even addressed this because I don’t get into wars of words nor see any point to doing so. But I’m sure, the basketball community being tight-knit as it is in this country, the person who posted that incorrect and ill-considered message will stop by our page at some point and read what I’ve posted here. I felt compelled to point them in the right direction and do something I rarely do and actually defend myself as a journalist.

Don’t publicly call out my paper — and by virtue me, as well — for facts not discussed in the article itself.

We knew that the three short-listed candidates for the Brandon University men’s basketball head coaching position made up a varied group, but Tuesday afternoon we got a glimpse into just how different they are.

Former Brandon Bobcat Keith Vassell took his hour in the public forum on Tuesday, one day after former UNB coach Thom Gillespie took the floor, and the two-time all-Canadian certainly succeeded in ingratiating himself to the crowd of some 50 interested spectators.

Vassell, who admitted to not being overly comfortable when talking about himself, was outgoing and made jokes that had the room laughing. He spent a chunk of time going over his vast list of experience as a player and as a coach. What struck so abruptly about Vassell’s presentation was how sport-heavy it was, a sharp contrast to Gillespie, who really stressed education and community involvement and even played the “holistic approach” card, a term Brandonites got to hear a lot of when Rick Nickelchok was the athletic director. It’s not that Vassell ignored or dodged the education angle, it’s just that he really spent much of his time on the basketball topics and, in the end, ran out of time before he could get to the final slides on his Power Point presentation.

Vassell also didn’t distance himself from Jerry Hemmings, the man the university dismissed in 2004. If there’s any thoughts that aligning yourself with Hemmings is a bad thing given the fact the school wished to go in another direction, Vassell wasn’t buying it. He said he considered himself a combination of Hemmings and former national team coach Jay Triano, and talked at length about Hemmings’ influence on him as a player, coach and human being.

The eight-person hiring committee is a diverse group with different interests. One prevailing thought is that the outside coaches somehow have to convince the other three BU coaches on the committee (volleyball coaches Lee Carter and Russ Paddock, and women’s basketball coach Jaime Hickson) and swing them their way because the logic goes that they have built up ties with incumbent Mike Raimbault.

So now we have seen two presentations that felt like binary opposites: Gillespie and the strength of his academics, and Vassell and his unquestioned history as a player and coach overseas.

Raimbault presents on Wednesday and might be well-advised to split it right down the middle. After two days of presentations, this job is by no means out of his reach.

On Monday, Brandon University held its first of three public presentations that will aid in the selection of its fifth head men’s basketball coach of the past six years. Former UNB coach Thom Gillespie was first up with Keith Vassell to follow on Tuesday and Mike Raimbault set for Wednesday. Here’s a glimpse into what Gillespie’s presentation held:

After a 20-minute presentation of his views and philosophies — as well as educational and coaching background — Gillespie was well-spoken and deliberate in answering questions from the public, including questions on the downturn that UNB had in the past four seasons and what his recruiting ability would be in a town like Brandon.

The question marks for Gillespie will undoubtedly be more on the court, than off. After all, here’s a guy who is close to obtaining his Masters, has his Level IV coaching certification and has 16 years of CIS coaching under his belt. No one is going to doubt his resume in that regard.

Still, the 22-58 record over the past four seasons isn’t going away and fans of the Bobcats aren’t particularly interested in watching teams that could be described with any of the following terms, listed in descending order: Decent, average, middling, adequate, passable, struggling, wretched, abysmal, RMC.

So that’s a hump to get over for the Fredericton-raised coach, who also spoke about his recruiting connections across the country. Yet the UNB teams of this century have all had heavy Maritime influences with most players coming out of New Brunswick. It’s also fair to note that UNB is the only CIS team in that province.

Now while fans of the Bobcats might just want to hear about wins and losses, it’s also not to be forgotten that education and commitment to academics is of chief concern to a number of people on the hiring panel. So Gillespie’s approach just may ring true with a handful of people who will be entrusted with the final decision.

The more people I talk to — and let’s be clear this is observers, other coaches, fans, etc., so don’t think this is coming from someone in a position of power in this decision — the more I get the feeling that Gillespie is third on the totem pole. But his educational background could prove to be a big trump card.

We’ll get to Vassell later on Tuesday. The decision will come down late Wednesday night.

An interview with All-Canadian point guard Brad Rootes of the CIS national champion Brock Badgers; Swatter and Larkins fill out their March Madness brackets; an episode of Blindside featuring thoughts on mastadons, fried chicken, Elliot Spitzer, Girls Gone Wild, and more. Plus, who will be coaching the Brandon Bobcats next season?

 

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The voice on the other end of the phone was slightly strained, a rasp to it that quietly screamed of weariness.

It was a long few days — a long week; a long 10 days really — for Les Berry and, when I picked up my office phone to hear him on the other line, his voice told me that.

It was late on the east coast and Berry had returned to Wolfville, N.S., after a close loss for him and his Acadia Axemen in the national final a day earlier and a classic double-overtime victory over Carleton a day before that. One could understand if Berry, whose never been reserved on the sideline, was a bit rundown from the frenetic events of the weekend.

Acadia survived the wild-card process, survived the multi-hyphenated athletes of Laval and, now famously, survived what will go down as one of the greatest CIS games ever in that semifinal dethroning of the five-time champs. In the end, the turnaround — not so much a letdown — was at least partially to blame for the Axemen’s loss in the final. This is not to take one iota away from the Brock Badgers, who caught a three-game hot streak and then out-rebounded the bigger Axemen and won a game despite going just seven-deep.

Having played the emotionally-draining marathon semifinal, the turnaround to be prepared for Sunday’s final was a pretty small window. Considering the 8 p.m. ET tip off, the transit back to the host hotel in Ottawa, the emotional decompression needed after such a stirring victory and you have a mixture that can lead to a weary team the next day.

And you saw a bit of that Sunday. Brock had more energy in the late stages and just managed to make one or two more plays, namely Dusty Bianchin and his big shots late.

Yet if the Axemen were physically beat afterwards, one Carleton Raven came off as absolutely catatonic.

Aaron Doornekamp, who was 4-for-23 from the field in the final, was harassed defensively by AUS defensive player of the year Ash Lual and, after the game, told the Ottawa Sun this:

“You’re not going to win the game when your best players don’t make a shot. (Lual) didn’t do anything. I got every shot I wanted. I just didn’t make any shots.”

Wait, Aaron. You sure about that? Seriously, this is your chance to backtrack and give at least an ounce of credit to your opponent in a hard-fought battle that both teams easily could have won. Honestly… I mean … you sure?

“I’ve seen every matchup,” he said. “I’ve played four years. I’ve seen every matchup. He didn’t do anything. I just missed shots.”

Oooookay then.

The Sun’s columnist called that “accountability.” That’s certainly a glass-half-full way of looking at it. I call it self-indulgent and misguided.

Does this Doornekamp’s quote read with familiarity? Let me take you back to March, 2007. The Ravens have just won their fifth straight national championship in a game that was as emotionally debilitating to the Brandon Bobcats as Carleton’s semifinal loss was to the Ravens. MVP Osvaldo Jeanty, who went 5-for-19 from the field (one an absolute circus shot in the lane late in the game), in a defensive struggle with Brandon’s Yul Michel (incidentally also a conference defensive player of the year), told the Brandon Sun this:

“They didn’t make my life difficult, I thought I made my own life difficult.”

There’s more of that “accountability” I’ve been hearing so much about.

All that’s necessary here is a “they played us tough and credit to them, but I didn’t live up to my end of the bargain.” Just tip your hat and you can avoid the ego-tripping and not come off as the pouter who doesn’t think the other team is worthy of credit.

After Acadia’s loss, Berry talked about his team not having the same kind of intensity that Brock brought. Even if it was hard to admit, that was the reality.

After Carleton’s 2007 win over Brandon, here was Dave Smart:

“Everybody’s going to talk about how both teams didn’t shoot it well, but both teams defended and made everything tough. Brandon did an unbelievable job defensively. They had one day to prepare and what they did to make everything tough on our guys was unbelievable.”

That’s a lot closer to accountability than whatever it was Doornekamp was doing.

Well for whatever question marks preceded the national men’s basketball tournament in Ottawa, the final product ended up — from a strictly basketball standpoint — to be a pretty good one.

People can squabble and beef about the location, about the bloated attendance figures and their accuracy, and what the quality of the field was (and yes, we at The Scrum have done all that), but the bottom line is what gets served up on the court and it’s hard to argue with the last couple of days of action.

And maybe that’s a misguided way of looking at it, to allow the final two games of the tournament (Acadia-Carleton and Brock-Acadia) to shape your overall impression of three days of games. Surely there were games that lacked artistic merit, but no one will say they weren’t totally compelled by the double-overtime thriller that — if it were played in the NCAA — would already have ESPN “Instant Classic” status stamped on it.

And Sunday’s championship maybe didn’t live up to that semifinal, but it wasn’t far off. Acadia makes a big surge in the second quarter, Brock makes a run of its own in the third and they’re neck and neck down the stretch. Ideally, that’s how you want your national final to go: Each team trading shots and both teams with a chance to win the game late on their own merits.

I thought Brock was deserving of credit on how it defended Acadia’s play coming out of the timeout and the Axemen needing a three. Brad Rootes hedged on a high handoff-rub, took away the dribble and forced a turnover with two seconds left.

And in the end, the Badgers really didn’t waver from what they were as a team: A squad that bombs threes like they’re running out of stock. They didn’t shoot it particularly well on Sunday (9-for-32), but there’s something to be said for sticking to what you do.

In the end, I’m happy for Brock. I always feel a bit more for the players than for the coaches, because the coaches will have more chances to get back there. The players have a shelf-life and when five years is up, it’s up. So for guys like Rootes, Rohan Steen and Scott Murray — who have been playing basketball together seemingly since the womb — it somehow seems right that their playing days, which have been so inextricably linked together for many years, ends in this way.

Conversely for Acadia, it was tough to see fifth-year senior Achuil Lual fighting back tears after what was his last game.

Which brings us to this: The CIS must stop the needless act of making the second-place team stay on the floor while the champion celebrates. Yes, they are to get their silver medals and yes I get the fact that they want to still recognize the other team on the floor, but that’s a gut-wrenching moment and one that I would argue most coaches and players would just as soon avoid. The NCAA did away with it, and the CIS should too.

There will surely be more to the post-mortem of this 2008 championship, but in the meantime there’s a whole slew of folks back in St. Catharines who are reveling in Brock’s biggest athletic moment in 16 years and I, as a proud alum, admit to a couple of goosebumps of my own when seeing the players, and coach Ken Murray savouring that moment. And for any controversy and debate that led up to the tournament, the Badgers helped make those the pictures the final lasting images that basketball fans really want to see.

Well, if your last name is Larkins and your first name is a derivative of David, you’re pretty much feeling like you designed this national final.

Now, if you have the ego that is generally only held by people who come from Altona, Man., and find bigger things in Brandon, Man., then you might blow this up bigger than it is. But here’s the thing…

This is a David Larkins national final.

Alright I’m a clown, but can we all join together and celebrate the fact that we will have a new champion? Woah, is that silence I hear from the capital region? I care about two licks who wins the national title, but I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t mind seeing Carleton out of the dance. That has nothing to do with the Ravens’ players, the coaching staff, any of that. I’m just rejoicing in a new title-holder.

So I’m driving from Winnipeg (covering high school provincial final) to Brandon and basically had roughly 30 people phoning me and texting me updates from the game that might go down as one of the top 5 CIS tournament games ever. So, yeah, I’m a big fan of the fact I wasn’t anywhere near a TV at the time. Ugh.

Now, I’m taking full credit for the success of Les Berry and Steve Baur and, by that, the Acadia Axemen too. And, I went to Brock and covered the likes of Brad Rootes, Dusty Bianchin, Mike Kemp, Scott Murray in high school and Ken Murray as well. So I’m taking credit for their progress as well.

I’m obviously utterly joking.

Here’s my breakdown:

Berry went into Acadia and pretty much annihilated what was there, cleaning house to fill the place with his type of guys. Three years in, you can’t argue with his results. This is a guy who got the Brandon women’s job in 2003-04 and, without even accepting the fate a Brandon women’s team had become accustomed to, he brought them to a four-win season and gave thoughts that perhaps BU was ready to make its name known once and for all.

Now he’s gone in and made Acadia his team. This is a Les Berry-coached and recruited team. And say what you want about the man — and most of you will — the fact is he’s got his team in a national final in three years and that’s something to take note of (especially if your fans of teams like Manitoba, PEI, McGill, etc.).

But Brock and Acadia are night and day in their roads here. Berry did an exceptional job finding kids who can play right now and make an impact. Leo Saintil is perhaps Teen Wolf in human form, while Paulo Santana has battled injuries all year and yet still remained as one of those guys that the Axemen know they need to have healthy. This is a recruited team, if ever there was one.

Now, my alma mater, the Brock University. Total opposite of AU. This is one of the most home-grown teams we’ve ever seen in the national final. Rootes, Kemp, Murray, Bianchin, Rohan Steen. These are all guys who have grown up together and balled together basically since they were in day care.

And, y’know what? I think they deserve this.

Everyone can talk about Ontario getting three teams in the tournament and all three into the second round, and how much it sucks that that happened. People hate on Ontario and that’s just how it goes.

But if you’re looking for a team to cheer for today — maybe your school didn’t get in, maybe you just want to see a ball game — I’m going to suggest that you cheer for the mighty Brock Badgers. Why? Because this is a team that loaded up with local kids, a team that has always just been pretty darn good and good enough to beat you on any night, but never a juggernaut. And cheer for them because they’ve got a pretty class group of kids there, led by Rootes, the fifth-year point guard who is one of the best Canada has, but will never be the guy to tell you that.

Cheer for the fact that this group has one last run left in it. And cheer for the fact that building a program off people almost entirely from your region still matters. And, if you need more, cheer for the fact that there’s a whole slew of kids who have been working their entire university lives just to (hopefully) get this one chance.

I like Les Berry, I like Steve Baur. I wish them the best, with all sincerity. But I’m pulling for my school. Today, I’m once again a Brock Badger.

• • •

Following up a few high school notes from the province. First, the girls’ final was not entirely epic but boy it felt that way.

Brandon’s Crocus Plains beat Winnipeg’s Sisler 91-80 for the first title in the school’s history and a pretty remarkable feat for a team that, just three years ago, struggled to even win games in its own city league.

In regards to Thursday night’s post, if you thought I was lying about Debbie Yeboah and Danielle DeGagne, then you need to have seen Saturday’s final.

Yeboah, the Grade 12 5-foot-6 guard, scored 23 points after halftime, finished with 38 for the night and almost single-handedly willed her team back from a 20-point deficit that still stood in the third. Crocus went box-and-one on her — and did it well for most of the game — but any time Yeboah touched the ball there was a sense that she needed to win this game for her team, and she probably did need to. While she was willing to set up her teammates for shots (usually perimeter ones) early on, late in the game there was a sense that wasn’t going to be denied the hoop. She is an exceptional talent and you will certainly see her making plays in the CIS next season.

DeGagne, meanwhile, is not even particularly human. When Yeboah would make a play, DeGagne would step up with a spin move, a dish to a teammate, a tough shot in traffic, whatever was necessary at the time. And there was never a sense on her face that she was making that moment any bigger than any of the other ones that had preceded in the past four months.

Oh ya, she went for 41 points and 16 rebounds.

The hallmark moment for her? She crossed up Yeboah — a far from suspect defender — with a couple of through-the-legs crossovers and hesitations that earned her a free lane to the hoop. Her finger roll rimmed out but the image of Yeboah completely out of position because of DeGagne’s steps, was one that couldn’t be forgotten.

It was a completely memorable basketball game for all the right reasons.

WINNIPEG — In the River City covering the Manitoba provincial high school championship but still keeping track of the men’s nationals in Ottawa.

So a few quick notes: First, Larks picked the “upset” of the first round with Western knocking off Saint Mary’s to advance to Saturday’s semifinal.

Friday’s second semifinal — with Larks’ alma mater Brock taking on the “can we just please win one” UBC Thunderbirds — is currently underway. There’s a few different ways of following the action from Scotiabank Place, so I’m likely not telling you anything that you don’t already know.

I like this as a first-round game, by the way. And it, along with the Western win, goes to show that this year’s top seeds (save for Carleton) are far from untouchable. Not like they ever are, really, but I don’t think you’re looking at any of the first-round games and thinking you’d be shocked to see the quote-unquote underdog coming out with a win.

But that certainly holds true for Brock. The Badgers, on one hand, are told they’re going to be playing the No. 2 team in the tournament but also that that team is one that hasn’t won a game at nationals this century. No way Brock comes into this feeling like its up against the world.

And same for Western. The Mustangs caught a hot streak after the Christmas break but have really hit a stride in the post-season and obviously are playing confident ball. Western spread out its offence on Friday with five players scoring in double figures and shook off a poor shooting performance (27-for-71/38 per cent) to advance to tomorrow’s semifinal.

I wasn’t a fan of Saint Mary’s being in the No. 3 spot and I’m not the least bit stunned that the Huskies are gone. I fully understand the balance the selection committee attempts to maintain, but no one mistook the Huskies for a top-three team. SMU got hot, won a few nailbiter games and vaulted into the top of the seedings. It’s not their fault they didn’t belong there. (Again, I’m going to have to put an embargo on any “they won the games that mattered” talk right now. I’m aware. Because they won their tournament didn’t suddenly make them one of the nation’s elite.)

Currently in the Brock-UBC semifinal, the Badgers have slipped into a 2-3 zone, which I’d think would be the right call. UBC has never played in this arena, and the spacious confines (much more spacious than the Halifax Metro Centre) obviously is going to play with team’s depth perception. I wouldn’t stay locked in that zone — that may lead to complacency on defence — but giving UBC the perimeter isn’t a bad idea. The T-Birds don’t have a ton of guys who are going to kill you from back there anyway, but especially when adapting to this big, new environment it’s wise to say “OK, prove you can hit it first.”

* * *

Just a quick note from the provincials in Winnipeg. Anyone that follows women’s basketball in the CIS should be keeping a few names in their heads for next season and beyond.

Sisler’s Debbie Yeboah will graduate this year and become an immediate impact player at the next level. Her brother Kevin played briefly with the Winnipeg Wesmen. Debbie, meanwhile, has what many call — fairly or not — “a guy’s game.” I’m not usually one to make that kind of comment, but it’s fun to watch her play. She’s got a tremendous hesitation, her first-step quickness is beyond anyone else in this province and she can pull up and knock down shots too.

Everyone in Brandon who follows basketball is familiar with the name DeGagne and more and more people should be starting to hear Crocus Plains’ Danielle DeGagne’s name in the next year-plus. A Grade 11 point guard with good size, DeGagne is the daughter of longtime CIS referee Rick DeGagne but don’t hold that against her (that’s a joke, relax). Anyway, Danielle is eye-popping and more than one coach at Thursday’s semifinal had an ooh-ahh reaction to some of the things she does. Her vision is exceptional and that’s maybe the last thing you notice on her. I commented to someone at Thursday’s game that it really said a lot about her that, when the team needed steadying, you would look to a Grade 11 to get the ball to just because you know it’s safe there. DeGagne has tremendous athletic ability — she could probably go post-secondary in three sports — and her numbers are gross: She averaged a triple-double over the course of three games at a tournament earlier this season and averaged 17.8 points, 10 rebounds and six assists per game for the year. The one knock is her outside game but, still with a year of high school left, she’s got time to add that. She’ll have to be able to shoot the ball at the next level, but no one is doubting her ability to become a force in university. Now, if we can just figure out where she’s going to go.

And finally, also from Brandon Crocus Plains, is Grade 9 forward Tia Coulter — also the daughter of a ref (Grant Coulter) — who is getting a ton of attention mostly because of her youth and the fact she’s in the starting lineup of the province’s No. 1-ranked team. I’m not going to knock a 14-year-old, and there’s very little not to like here. She’s got size, athleticism and three years left of high school after this. She went for 18 points and 15 rebounds in the semifinal and, while not every game is that gaudy for her, everyone is taking notice. You have to remind yourself frequently that she’s only in Grade 9. Pops has been said to be one of the best, if not the best, all-around athletes ever in Brandon and you can see the pedigree in Tia.

One brief note on the boys’ side because a couple of months ago I already dealt with some of the best players in the province the only name I’ll add in the mix is Justin Roper, the Oak Park point guard. Justin is joining his brother Ryan in heading to the Cape Breton Capers next season. Justin has a pretty solid all-around game and, at this level, can get to the hoop regularly. He won’t dominate at the next level, at least right away, but he’s got the style of game that could make him one of those “watch him in his third year” kind of guys. Ryan, who took a year off after his three years at Winnipeg, verballed to Cape and Justin soon followed. It will be interesting to see how they fit in with Jim Charters‘ crew on the coast.

An interview with Arash Madani of The Score television network; a preview of this weekend’s CIS men’s national championship; a preview of the first ever National Eff You CIS Invitational Tournament powered by TheScrumBrandon.com; and an episode of Blindside featuring thoughts on TMZ, autobiographies, man laws, and the best/worst athlete cameos of all-time. Plus, Swatter and Larks offer you - the listener - a chance to have your voice heard (literally)!

 

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