Monday, March 21, 2016

My Experience at the CIS Final 8

The Carleton Ravens have established a mere monopoly of National Titles for Men’s CIS Basketball, as they captured their sixth consecutive title with a 101-79 win over the Calgary Dinos in last Sunday’s final held at the University of British Columbia’s campus in Vancouver.
Carleton is stringing together a run through the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), almost like John Wooden’s old UCLA squads in the 1970’s. The Ravens have now captured 12 out of the last 14 National Titles. In fact, they’ve built their program to be such a powerhouse, that I believe they could compete with several D-II schools in the United States, and also some weak teams in Division I.
I was fortunate enough to attend their quarterfinal game against my alma mater, Thompson Rivers University. From an entertainment point of view it’s really satisfying to experience quality basketball that some Canadians are missing out on.
During the first quarterfinal on Thursday, 415 people were crammed into a 5,000 seat Doug Mitchell Sports Complex (same arena that hosted Women’s Ice Hockey in the 2010 Olympics) to see Thompson Rivers hang tight with the powerhouse Ravens. For three quarters the Wolfpack kept the game within two possessions until the Ravens pulled away in the fourth for a 91-75 win.
I relished the experience, despite the fact that the real March Madness was being shown south of the border on Thursday. A member of the Orlando Magic D-League team, Melvin Ejim, had his younger brother, Ryan Ejim, star for Carleton last weekend, averaging 19.3 PPG during the tournament. 
 One of the disadvantages that CIS possesses is how large in quantity Canada is and finding the right formula for the tournament is a challenge, but also essential to continue to grow the game at the collegiate level. Take the NCAA Tournament for example, they seem to reach its pinnacle annually by planning out a successful event that draws viewership throughout a four-week period. Over half of the Final Fours have been played in Midwestern cities, such as Houston, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis and therefore, there are not many coast to coast trips that fans have to make like the CIS has. 
Unfortunately, this is not a realistic situation for the CIS, as hosting an Elite 8 in Saskatoon or Winnipeg isn’t ethical for those cities. Neither appease the eyes of tourists nor retain itself as a basketball hub. The final rounds are primarily held in eastern Canada and before this year, the last time the tournament was held in British Columbia was in 1982, a long 44 years ago.
More importantly, since the CIS Championships overlap with college basketball’s March Madness. Only a few basketball fans were well-represented in British Columbia. I was hoping to go to the CIS Final but stayed home because March Madness was on TSN and the CIS Final was on Sportsnet 360. I'm sure other sports fans in the Vancouver area stayed home for the same reason. 

A question to ponder is how CIS can explore new ways to innovate its brand and audience.
If they legitimately want to transform themselves into a marquee event on the Canadian sports calendar, then it has to make a splash nationally. One of the reasons why TSN has achieved so much success with the IIHF World Juniors is because it starts the day after Christmas and no one has to go anywhere or has any reason to go anywhere. The CIS needs to plan a blueprint to get more attention to the tournament for it to be more of a success.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

The Rise of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

It’s possible that you haven’t seen them play this year, or in the last few years. That would be totally natural if you were a college basketball fan living on the mainland.
After making the switch from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to the Big West three years ago, it was impossible to get a sense of where the Hawaii basketball program was trending towards. On one side of the spectrum, the Warriors were coming off a 16-16 season. Not great, but things could be much worse when you’re a team that resides outside a power conference. In contrast, moving conferences to an even weaker one was sort of head scratcher to most.
Hawaii is in a very unique situation. From an athletics stand point, they should be excelling. Realistically, what top recruit wouldn’t want to journey over to Hawaii and play basketball, where the weather is always sensational and sight lines breathtaking?
Unfortunately, it’s not all that feasible nowadays, and rarely will prolific college basketball talents be eager to play thousands of miles away from home. It’s difficult for a team like Hawaii to thrive without an appreciable television contract. Despite the current one that Hawaii holds, and the one which the Big West partners with ESPN, it televises very few in-conference games throughout the season. Add this to the low proximity Hawaii is to the American audience and this makes it very challenging for Hawaii to recruit players along the east coast, as it’s about a 12 hour flight from Honolulu to New York.
So how has Hawaii built such a good team this year? There are several reasons actually and most of it revolves around patience. Every year that they’ve been in the Big West, Hawaii’s win total has increased. Last year, Hawaii lost in the Big West Tournament Final by winning 22 games, that of course changed this season by not only winning the Big West tournament, but achieving a 27-5 record all-together.
The Warriors have bonded through veteran leadership; a staple that’s implemented by three seniors and five juniors on its roster, which in this day in age of college basketball is almost unheard of.
The captain that commands the Rainbow Warriors’ ship is senior guard Roderick Bobbitt, who’s averaging 13 points and five assists per game this year. Another reason why the Warriors have gathered success has been the creation of the Diamond Head Classic, an annual tournament that’s held at their home gymnasium in December. It started in 2009 and recently has developed into the life-line of the Warriors’ recruiting.
Lastly, a key to Hawaii's success is having a Canadian on their roster. Senior 6’11” forward Stefan Jankovic, wouldn’t have pressed for a transfer rule as a sophomore at Missouri, if not for the Diamond Head Classic. Jankovic, who was buried on the Tigers’ bench for the first two years of college has now grown into an integral piece of Hawaii two years later. The Canadian averages a team-high 15 points and six rebounds per game.
This year, I have had a pleasure of watching about half of Hawaii's games this year cause of no stressful midterms to study in college. By element of violations, Hawaii is ineligible to participate in the post-season next year, so essentially they’ll be playing with eight seniors when they take on the #4 seed California Golden Bears this Friday.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Bracketology - Selection Sunday FINAL

Midwest                                                                                 South 
1 Kansas 
UNC 
16 Austin Peay / Hampton 
16 Southern / F. Dickinson  
St. Louis 
  Raleigh 
8 Pitt  
USC 
Oregon State   
Wisconsin 
5 Arizona 
 5 Iowa   
12  Arkansas LR 
12 Northern Iowa 
Des Moines  
Brooklyn 
4 Texas A&M 
4 Kentucky 
13 Yale 
13 Iona 
6  St. Joseph's 
6 Duke 
11 Cincinnati/ Michigan 
11 Butler / Vanderbilt 
Denver 
  Des Moines
3  Utah 
3 West Virginia 
14 Hawaii 
14 Stephan F. Austin 
7 Dayton 
Cal 
10 St. Mary's 10 St. Bonaventure 
Oklahoma City Raleigh
2 Oklahoma 
2 Virginia 
15 Holy Cross 
15 Middle Tennessee 
 West 
East 
1 Oregon 
1 Michigan State 
16 CSU Bakersfield 
16 Weber State 
Spokane  
St. Louis  
8 VCU 
8 Colorado 
9 UConn 
9 Texas Tech 
5 Purdue 
5 Texas 
12 Stony Brook 
12 Fresno State 
Denver 
 Spokane 
4 Iowa State 
4 Indiana 
13 Chattanooga 
13 Buffalo 
Seton Hall  
Baylor 
11 Gonzaga 
11 South Dakota State    
 Providence 
 Providence 
3  Miami FL 
3 Maryland 
14 FGCU 
 14 Green Bay 
Notre Dame 
Providence 
10 South Carolina 
10 Wichita State 
Brooklyn 
 Oklahoma City 
2 Villinova  
 2 Xavier 
15 UNC Wilmington 
15 UNC Asheville  
Bubble Watch 
Last 4 IN 
Butler  
Cincinnati 
Michigan 
Vanderbilt 

First 4 Out 
Monmouth  
Alabama 
St. Bonaventure 
LSU  

Next 4 Out 
Syracuse 
Florida State
Florida
Valpo 

Bracketology - March 13th

South                                                                                 Midwest
1 Kansas 
UNC 
16 Austin Peay / Hampton 
16 Southern / F. Dickinson  
St. Louis 
  Raleigh 
8 Pitt  
USC 
9 Oregon State   
Wisconsin 
5 Arizona 
 5 Iowa   
12  Arkansas LR 
12 Northern Iowa 
Des Moines  
Brooklyn 
4 Purdue 
4 Kentucky 
13 Yale 
13 Iona 
6  St. Joseph's 
6 Duke 
11 Cincinnati/ Michigan 
11 Butler / Vanderbilt 
Denver 
  Des Moines
3  Utah 
3 West Virginia 
14 Hawaii 
14 Stephan F. Austin 
7 Dayton 
Cal 
10 St. Mary's 10 St. Bonaventure 
Oklahoma City St. Louis 
2 Oklahoma 
2 Michigan State  
15 Holy Cross 
15 Middle Tennessee 
 West 
East 
1 Oregon 
1 Virginia 
16 CSU Bakersfield 
16 Weber State 
Spokane  
Raleigh 
8 VCU 
8 Colorado 
9 UConn 
9 Texas Tech 
5 Texas  
Texas A&M 
12 Stony Brook 
12 Fresno State 
Denver 
 Spokane 
4 Iowa State 
4 Indiana 
13 Chattanooga 
13 Buffalo 
Seton Hall  
Baylor 
11 Gonzaga 
11 South Dakota State    
 Providence 
 Providence 
3  Miami FL 
3 Maryland 
14 FGCU 
 14 Green Bay 
Notre Dame 
Providence 
10 South Carolina 
10 Wichita State 
Brooklyn 
 Oklahoma City 
2 Villinova  
 2 Xavier 
15 UNC Wilmington 
15 UNC Asheville  
Bubble Watch 
Last 4 IN 
Butler  
Cincinnati 
Michigan 
Vanderbilt 

First 4 Out 
Monmouth  
Alabama 
St. Bonaventure 
LSU  

Next 4 Out 
Syracuse 
Florida State
Florida
Valpo 

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Bracketology - March 12th

South                                                                                 Midwest
1 Kansas 
Villinova 
16 Austin Peay / Hampton 
16 UNC Asheville 
St. Louis 
  Brooklyn 
8 Pitt  
USC 
Wisconsin 
UConn 
5 Arizona 
 5 Iowa   
12  Arkansas LR 
12 South Dakota State 
Des Moines  
Brooklyn 
4 Purdue 
4 Kentucky 
13 Yale 
13 Iona 
6  Dayton 
6 Duke 
11 Cincinnati/ Michigan 
11 Butler / Vanderbilt 
Denver 
  Des Moines
3  Utah 
3 West Virginia 
14 Hawaii 
14 Stephan F. Austin 
7 St. Joseph's 
Cal 
10 St. Mary's 10 Temple 
Oklahoma City St. Louis 
2 Oklahoma 
2 Michigan State  
15 Holy Cross 
15 Middle Tennessee 
 West 
East 
1 UNC
1 Virginia 
16 Jackson State /  F. Dickinson 
16 Weber State 
Raleigh 
Raleigh 
8 South Carolina 
8 Colorado 
9 Oregon State 
9 Texas Tech 
5 Texas  
Texas A&M 
12 Stony Brook 
12 Akron 
Denver 
 Spokane 
4 Iowa State 
4 Indiana 
13 Chattanooga 
13 Northern Iowa 
Seton Hall  
Baylor 
11 Gonzaga 
11 San Diego Stae 
 Providence 
 Providence 
3  Xavier 
3 Maryland 
14 New Mexico State 
 14 Green Bay 
Notre Dame 
Providence 
10 VCU 
10 Wichita State 
Spokane 
 Oklahoma City 
2 Oregon  
 2 Miami FL 
15 UNC Wilmington 
15 FGCU 
Bubble Watch 
Last 4 IN 
Butler  
Cincinnati 
Michigan 
Vanderbilt 

First 4 Out 
Monmouth  
Alabama 
St. Bonaventure 
LSU  

Next 4 Out 
Syracuse 
Florida State
Florida
Valpo