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St.Mike’s Invitational Recap

Published by Gilbert Muako on January 20, 2010

Toronto, ON – In its 50th year and counting, the St. Mike Invitational keeps showing why its one of the biggest tickets in town. The senior boy’s event is consisted of some of the top programs and players in the province. Eastern Commerce, Pickering, Father Henry Carr, Oakwood, St. Edmund Campion, Catholic Central (Windsor), and Cathedral (Hamilton) are amongst the powerful teams who roamed the St. Mikes facility over the event. Jammed pack with talented seniors and upcoming prospects, the event did not fall short of what it was expected to be. The whole event was full of exciting basketball and interesting turn outs, one of the more interesting teams in the tournament was St Edmund Campion Bears. Their strong play in the event took them all the way, even upsetting a contender in Oakwood Barons 49-46 in the Championship semi-finals round. Then the Bears went on to meet a powerful and well coached Father Henry Carr Crusader team who are not shy when it comes to winning games. The Crusader’s defeated a young Pickering team in the Championship semi-finals. Both teams put on a show in the Championship finals, a tough close battle throughout the game, the Bears looked like they would pull back to back upsets with the lead late in the game, but careless decision down the stretch lead to Raheem Isaac nailing a game winner to give Father Henry Carr the Championship. Crusaders have now won this event five times in the past ten years.

Championship Finals

Father Henry Carr: 57 VS St. Edmund Campion: 55

Raheem Isaac 13pts Jordan Clennon 17pts

Duane Notice 6’3” SG St. Mike-2013- Duane Notice went for 24pts, 26pts, 28pts, in his three games, leading his team in scoring. The young guard is an explosive scorer but the most interesting part of his game is how unselfish he really is even though he could have kept a lot more shots for himself. He has great body control and is very creative with the ball, once he improves his overall shooting he will be a bigger threat than he is now.

MiKyle Mcintosh 6’6” SF/PF Pickering H.S -2013- McIntosh is a joy to watch. He impacts the game in every way possible, rebounding; blocking, steals, scoring and hustle plays, this talented young man can do it all. McIntosh was just a beast in the low post scoring the ball; his opponents had no answers to his active body work in the paint. He definitely proved in this event that he is one the top players in the province regardless of age.

Raheem Isaac 6’3” SG Father Henry Carr-2011- Another MVP honor for Isaac, he created a lot of opportunity for his team while pushing the ball on the fast break and making good decisions even though he looks shaky with his ball handling at times. The biggest moment for Isaac was knocking the game winning shot to give Father Henry its Fifth Championship in this event.

Kaza Keane 6’0 PG Pickering H.S. – 2013- The more we watch Keane the more he grows on us. The young point guard possesses a high amount confidence at such a young age. Keane is leading his Pickering team to an impressive start thus far. He is a fierce competitor who will not back from any challenge, he more than held his own against the older competition.

Haboubacar Mutombo 6’3” G Pickering H.S. -2013- Mutumbo is an interesting young player who looks to do the right thing on the floor and always seems to make the right move. On the offensive end, he really understands when to pass and when to look for his shot, which helps him score majority of attempted baskets.

Jordan Clennon 6’0” CG St. Edmund Campion-2010- This light weight combo guard plays with a lot of heart, but lacks the size he’ll need to compete at the next level. Clennon has a quick first step and he uses a quick in and out dribble crossover to beat the defender to the hole. Once in the paint he’ll perform a tear drop which he uses and makes on a consistent basis. He is also an effective shooter from the outside.

Jayden McDonald 6’0” PG St. Edmund Campion-2011- McDonald was the heart and soul for his Campion team. He is a hard nose player who will compete the full length of the game. Jayden looked much better shooting the ball from outside. McDonald is type of player you want on your side; he has great intensity and is a lock down defender.

Notes

Kevin Adiefeh and Tychon Carter – Much credit has to be given to these two players, their energy, rebounding and hustle plays were a major reason why St. Edmund Campion ended up in the exciting Championship game.

George Mason – Mason was impressive in the consolation Final. Even though he struggled with his shooting earlier in the tournament he was a major contributor on his St.Mikes team that went on to win the game.

Matt Nuna- I had a chance to see Nuna in action and he was just outstanding shooting the ball from outside with a great touch, he definitely deserves the mention.

Malik Alfred – Alfred was a huge key to Henry Carr’s success in this tournament, him being active on the boards and consistently knocking down shots while flashing in the middle of opposing team’s zone defense.

Shane Reader – Though Reader wasn’t at his best in the tournament, he showed up in the finals as always. Reader has a smooth looking game and is quick with the ball. He was better decision making wise and dint throw the amount of risky passes as he did in earlier games.

Jamar Coke – Jamar Coke is thin star guard on the Cathedral Squad. He went on spurts throughout the event, he displayed his quickest, ball handling ability, and speed to go coast to coast for easy buckets. It would’ve been good to see Coke more consistent with his play.

Alex Johnson – Didn’t have a chance to see Johnson much in action with little court time but still couldn’t get a hold of how much potential this young man has standing 7’2”, he runs the floor well with long strides, is very active and shows great effort on the court. With good coaching and continuous hard work Johnston will soon be a handful for opposing teams.

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