Ballin With OJ: 519 Talent is Real

By Michael Ojelade • 9 months ago • Ballin With OJ

What do you think of when you hear the words Brantford, Ontario? Probably nothing if you’re a basketball junkie, but a true Canadian; I mean the Poppy wearing, Maple Syrup slurring, Hockey fanatic Canadian, would say, ahh… The “Great One,” Wayne Gretzky, of course. Those who are history buffs would talk about the legendary Alexander Graham Bell; the inventor of the telephone. Not much would be said for the game of Basketball in this city, or the 519 region as a whole. That is, until now!

While watching the CWOSSA AAAA Jr and Sr boys basketball tournament this past weekend at Assumption Catholic School, located in the rapidly expanding West Brantford area, I witnessed a plethora of talent from the classes of 2015-2019. They had an opportunity to showcase their game and make a name for themselves in the hoops world. The only player of relevance to come out of the region in the last 5 years is Jamal Murray; former Grand River Collegiate player, who took his NBA talents to Orangeville Prep.

Basketball in Toronto and the GTA has been taking off ever since “Air Canada,” Mr. Vince Carter owned the city in the early 2000’s. Through his legacy, we have Tristan Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Nick Stauskas, Corey Joseph, and numerous others who grew up watching Vincesanity, and wanting to become like him. Canada has the most International players represented in the NBA and that list in the coming years will increase. The 519 region, which is predominantly a hockey region is now starting to take notice, and from what I witnessed this past weekend, THE HYPE IS REAL.

Basketball Powerhouse, hailing from Kitchener ON St. Mary’s High School was the favourite going into the tournament for both their teams. They were the two time defending champions, and were looking to complete the trifecta.

CWOSSA Junior Championship

Jr Boys final it was (SJAM) Sir John A. Macdonald, hailing from Waterloo ON, against perennial powerhouse St. Mary’s. As the honoured guest at the event I introduced the Starting Lineups for the game.

SJAM featured 2018 6’3 F Nino Spasik, who, in his first game of the tournament scored 35 points in 15 mins against (BCI) Brantford Collegiate Institute.

Before I introduced him, I called him my tournament MVP, and some of the players on St. Mary’s took exception to that, which fuelled them in the early going, giving them a 15-14 edge after the first quarter. This game was a seesaw affair and got interesting late when 2018 6’0 G Tyreak Farquharson stole the ball from a SJAM player with the game knotted up at 50, drove the length of the court, and with two seconds remaining in the game got bear hugged from behind to stop the score. Both players went down by the bleachers. Farquharson took exception and shoved the player and got called for the technical foul. So, instead of just going to the line and shooting two with 2.1 sec remaining in the game, he now gave SJAM an opportunity to shoot two as well. The game ended in O.T with SJAM taking it 58-53. SJAM was led by 23 points and 7 rebounds by 2019 6’2 G Brian Zapp.

Varsity CWOSSA Championship

In the night Cap, you had the Varsity teams for SJAM and St. Mary’s duking it out for the crown of top team in the 519. Since both teams already qualified for AAAA OFSAA, so this was more of a statement game to enhance their seeding, and bragging rights. The fans came out to support both teams as there was a packed house for the matchup. Both teams made it there on the strength of their star players. For Sir John A Macdonald you had; 2015 6’8 F Brett Parrot, 2016 6’6 F Nedim Hodzic, and 2017 6’3 PG Simon Petrov. St. Mary’s had a star trio of their own in 2015 6’3 CG Tesloth Simon, 2015 6’3 F Nathan Riley, and 2015 6’5 F Jamari Stephenson. Everyone I spoke with before the game was convinced that St. Mary’s would sweep SJAM Curling style. I on the other hand was convinced, from watching SJAM in two earlier matchup’s, that they would not roll over and die, but fight hard to win. In the end it was a no contest as SJAM blew out St. Mary’s by a score of 74-58.

I can’t explain how impressed I was by the talent, poise, and determination of the players and coaches who led them. Below I have listed the top prospects from the tournament, High Performance games, and Interviews from the weekends action.

519 Region Top Prospects Class of 2018-19

2019 5’8 PG Layee Jabateth (Eastwood)
Highlight: 30pts 20reb 4ast vs St. Mary’s
Comparison: Eric Bledsoe/ Johnny Flynn

2018 6’3 PG Kanayo Nnadi (St. Mary’s)
Highlight: 18pts 7reb 6ast 2blk 2stl vs Eastwood
Comparison: Shaun Livingston

519 Top Prospects Class of 2015-2017

2015 6’3 CG Tesloth Simon (St. Mary’s)
Tournament Avg: 18.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.3 apg
Comparison: Lou Williams