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Quebec Producing Major Talent

Published by Jesse Feith on November 2, 2009

It’s no secret that Canadian basketball has been growing and has been on the come-up for quite some time now. The existence of CROWN is a testimony to the growth of the game in our country. Similarly, basketball in the province of Quebec has been on the rise every step of the way. You could look way back in time to talk about some of the provinces best players, but you could also arguably say that right now, in terms of exposure, talent and excellence, basketball in Quebec is in the best shape it’s been in for years. In recent years Quebec has bred established players like Will Archambault and Max Paulhus-Gosselin, who both played a crucial role in Davidson’s Cinderella like run two years ago all the way to the “Elite 8” in the 2008 NCAA tournament. Then there’s Sam Dalembert and Joel Anthony, both originally from Montreal, QC, now getting paid by the NBA for their work with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat respectively.

It’s when it comes to youth however that Quebec is really flying high right now, coming off two straight gold medals at the U-17 Men’s Nationals. After all there can’t be growth without youth, and Quebec seemingly has no problem in that department right now. Talented prospects such as Kemy Osse (Class of 2011), Jonathan Tshibuy (2011) and Kenny Jean-Louis (2011), have now brought two straight U-17 gold medals to Quebec, and one U-15 gold medal before that. Anybody who witness these guys play for the U-15 gold medal back in 2007, including myself, knew that Quebec basketball was in good hands for the next couple of years, and they sure didn’t disappoint. Quebec’s U-17 men’s team captured the gold this summer in nerve racking fashion as one of Quebec’s greatest talent, Kemy Osse, hit a game winning shot with 0.4 seconds left in regulation in the final game. In a testimony to the team’s depth, Quebec was able to capture the gold even with one of its star players, Kenny Jean-Louis (Class of 2012), being sick the entire tournament. Ask him to comment on his sickness however and the true team spirit comes through “I was sick all week, I still just tried to do my thing and now I’m just glad we got that gold medal” he says. Even though sick, Kenny was still able to manage to put up 23 points to go along with 10 assists in the first game of the tournament, as well as pull down and 8 boards with 12 points in the semi-final. Ask any player on the team and they’ll tell you that winning that gold medal is all that counted, “winning the gold was what we wanted and it came with a lot of mixed emotions, you didn’t know if you wanted to cry or jump for joy” says Nolan Woodward(Class of 2012), team Quebec forward.

Two of Team Quebec’s stand out players will still have the chance to ball together, as Kenny Fred Cherry will be joining Kemy Osse down south in Washington, D.C this season to play for Archbishop Carroll H.S. Archbishop has been getting an influx of great Quebec talent almost yearly now since Syracuse Orangemen and Montreal native Kris Joseph first went there a couple years back. It will definitely be interesting to see how these two elite players’ games will develop over the course of time, as they get to play together in the states for the next two years before moving on to university.

: By: David Joseph

That’s not to say that those two are the only players making noise out of Quebec right now. Super athletic Khem Birch (2012) has been turning American scouts’ heads like it’s his day job for the past year. Playing with the AAU team Expressions Elite, Birch has been showing off his 6’9 frame over the summer, as well showing just how athletic he really is, playing above the rim and finishing on the break as well as anybody. Another standout from Quebec is 6-foot-5 small forward Laurent Rivard (2010), who’s been playing American ball for the last year now at Northfield-Mt. Hermon School in Northfield, MA. Originally from St-Bruno, QC, Laurent also spent this summer being a major contributor to the Men’s Junior National Team, improving by leaps and bounds while using his strong body and frame to overpower smaller players at his position.

Also making the jump to head down south and get some American high school years under their belt are Olivier Betu (2012) and Ludovic N’daye (2010). Betu, a 6’2 combo guard and will be playing for Worcestire Academy in Massachusetts. Ludovic N’daye, a 6’8 forward originally from Montreal where he played for the now defunct CPEQ program before moving on to play for NEDA for two years, will now be suiting up for Westwind Prep International in Phoenix, Arizona. Ludovic spent the summer going from tournament to tournament with another Quebec standout, Junior Fortunat (2011). Junior is 6’8, 210lbs forward from Montreal, QC who has spent the last year playing for Richmond Heights High School in Cleveland, Ohio and is now attending Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, PA). Quick off his feet and ultra athletic, if Junior continues developing at the speed he’s been over the past couple of years, along with adding the bulk to his long frame, it may not be long before his name finds its way into the mix of top Canadian prospects.

The Cegep league also produced some good talent this past year, sending three players to play for a division 1 school this upcoming season. Champlain St-Lambert’s Tristan Renaud-Tremblay and Niko Cochran will be playing for The Citadel in South Carolina and Davidson University in North Carolina respectively. Also from Champlain St-Lambert, 6’5 small forward Yann Charles is considering bringing his deadly shooting touch to either Canisius or Notre Dame next year. Last but not least, Roger Dugas, originally from Georgeville, QC, will be playing for Elon University this upcoming season after spending two years developing his game with the NEDA program in Hamilton, Ontario. As a whole, Quebec basketball is growing by leaps and bounds right now, nicely complementing the growth of the game in our country as well as giving Quebec players the proper exposure they’ve needed and deserved for years now. Quebec basketball’s outlook is looking bright and showing no signs of slowing down as we head into the future.

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