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RimRocker Championship Day Standouts

Published by Gilbert Muako on December 18, 2010

The Annual RimRocker tournament, hosted by St. Francis Xavier, has always been one of the better tournaments in the GTA hoop scene. We were on hand for championship day and came away pretty impressed with some of the prospects that we saw.

In the bronze medal game, Mount Carmel matched up against Edmund Campion, Cassidy Ryan a 2014 standout led Carmel with 19 points in a 59-52 victory for his team. An exciting championship final saw another 2014 forward taking his team all the way as Martingrove’s Connor Gilmore’s 19 points significantly contributed to his team’s 58-57 overtime win over West Hill.

Below are five players who really caught our eye on the championship day.

STANDOUTS

Sukhpreet Singh 6’2” SG Martingrove 2012 – With Martingrove losing a good portion of last year’s team to graduation, Singh has been asked this year to step up and play more of a leadership role on this young team. Playing with a lot more confidence now, he is able to knock down threes, either with his feet set or from a pull-up on the move, and he has become a better ball-handler, making plays off the bounce for him or teammates. A high percentage shooter from outside or when at the free throw line, especially late in a game, he is capable of hitting them with his smooth touch. Defensively, he will struggle guarding his position when dealing with bigger, stronger and explosive guards. Singh has improved and it shows. He should look to get better adding a little size and strength. He was awarded tournament MVP due to his consistent play.

Connor Gilmore 6’5” PF Martingrove 2014 - Gilmore is a talented young post player with a good build. He executes from the high post creating shots for himself taking it to the hoop strong or passing it out to an open man once the defence collapses. He is also very productive down low, using his size to body up defenders, finishing off passes and cleaning up the offensive glass for put-back baskets. He posted 19 points to lead Martingrove in the championship win. He looks to be a nice post player in the making.

Photo by- Gabby Boulding

Cassidy Ryan 6’6” PF/SF Mount Carmel 2014 - A very young developing combo forward with noticeable upside, Ryan is young and it will show at times with decision-making on both ends. He really showed his best work in the consolation finals game where his 19 points led Mount Carmel to the Bronze medal win. In that game he scored in a variety of ways: off hard cuts to the basket, finishing in traffic, using a short floater down the lane, flashing to the high block for a jumper, or taking his man off dribble from outside. On the defensive end, Ryan displayed solid footwork when defending the perimeter and was big down the stretch making game changing blocks. Its clear Ryan has all the tools to eventually become a well sought after prospect.

Bradon Burke 6’4” SF West Hill 2012- Burke is a solid lefty small forward with good upper body strength. He thrived when slashing and finishing around the hoop with contact. He was given two open looks late in the championship game to seal the win but he couldn’t convert, unable to show the ability to make the big plays in big moments but had a solid game nonetheless, scoring 22 points in the loss. Ball handling and his outside shooting could definitely use some more time developing to increase his chances.

Thomas Johnston 6’3” PG St. Teresa 2011- Johnston is a big point guard with a pass first mentality who handles the ball well with both hands. A classic lead guard who’ll run the offense and do nothing more than what he’s asked for, he has a great understanding of the point guard position and can read the defences well. He is always looking to set up guys for easy opportunities for a basket with the drive and kick. Could look a bit passive at times – sometimes he gives up wide open looks. Johnston seems very coachable and will flourish within a team oriented system.

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