Top Ten Men's teams in Saskatchewan: Christmas Break Update
- david-harmon
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
We have reached the Christmas break at Saskatchewan High School, and the first month of basketball action has been very telling. When I said anything could happen in the initial rankings, well, I was proven right very quickly, and you will see why as I roll out the update
They have looked like the defending provincial champs right from the start, which is impressive considering they only have 2 players who actually were with the team last season. They breezed through the Guardian Invitational Tournament (GIT), beating up three teams that are all ranked below.
They will be incredibly fun to watch after Christmas, as we will see them play at BRIT and the Western Canada Basketball Tournament in Kelowna, BC, which is always filled with highly ranked teams as well.
(2027) 6'5 Daniel Solarin has been a presence for them, and their young players have all stepped up and are playing as they belong.
They have been tested early with a tough schedule and have looked good. They have already met up with Holy Cross 3 times, including the GIT semi-finals. They also had a strong showing at the loaded REB tourney in Edmonton, losing to two top-5 BC teams in Kelowna and Vancouver College.
You may have heard this before, but they are very dangerous from beyond the arc with multiple shooters that hit at a high clip, led by (2028) 6'1 Andrew Hawley.
Regina has been tough to evaluate as they haven't seen too many matchups between the top teams yet this year. Martin won their home tournament to start the year and also headed out to Brandon for the Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational, where they lost 2 games to what should be top 10 Manitoba teams (Manitoba starts very late, so we don't have much info for how teams match up there), Vincent Masse from Brandon, and Vincent Massey from Winnipeg.
They also lost a league game to Sheldon Williams, which may be something to note, but I am giving them the benefit of the doubt at this point as no one has stood out as the team in Regina.
(2028) Kobe Thomson has gotten out to a great start and has been the leader of this squad with multiple 20-point games.
Another team from Regina that has looked very good and has a legitimate argument for being the top team in the city. They suffered a loss to a Riffel team that has struggled since that opening game, but wins over Campbell and Leboldus more than show where they belong. They also ventured to Edmonton to play in Ross Shep's Totem Classic, where they went 1-2 but played a great game against the #2 team in Alberta, the Strathcona Lords, and also lost to always tough Cardston.
(2027) 6' Josh Kabongo has gotten off to a strong start, having some very good games in Edmonton.
#5 Bishop James Mahoney High School Saints (Saskatoon, SK) (8-3) Previously - Unranked
The first of the teams that I did not have ranked in the preseason, Coach Bret Hardy has this team rolling early, as they won BOWLT to open the season and then headed to Medicine Hat, where they went 2-1, losing to the #9-ranked Medicine Hat High. They have looked very good in early league play with losses to only Murray and Cross.
This team is young and led by (2028) 6'2 Owen Cook and (2029) 6'2 Taylor Grant, both looking to score the ball from all 3 levels.
#6 Bethlehem High School Stars (Saskatoon, SK) (10-2) Previously - Unranked
Now, the biggest surprise of the year so far. No one saw this team coming, and they have been impressive so far; however, they are in the B pool in Saskatoon and have not had to play the top teams in regular-season play, but that will change after Christmas. They had a great game in the BOWLT final but came up short to BJM, and were very good at GIT, knocking off Leboldus in the semis before losing to Holy Cross in the finals.
Returning (2027) 5'8 Adam Macandog, who played at Orangeville Prep in Ontario last season, and (2027) 6'3 Sowka Tombe led this team's high-powered and high-octane attack. Coach Scott Fernquist looks to grab one of the 2 coveted Hoopla spots for Saskatoon and may just do it.
Campbell has been very hard to place so far this season, as they have not been able to get all 3 of their big players onto the floor at the same time consistently because of injuries. They started league play with a big win over Riffel, but have also had losses to Martin and Miller. They ventured to Medicine Hat for their first tourney and went 1-2 with losses to Medicine Hat. High (Alberta 5A #9) and Brooks (Alberta 3A #1).
They were scheduled to play Leboldus before the break, but the snowstorm postponed that game, which would have told me a lot about the team for these rankings.
It has been an up-and-down start for Riffel and Coach Shields; they have quality wins over Miller and Leboldus, but a loss to Campbell as well in league play. Their other games came at the BSSI in Brandon, where they finished 2-3, playing some tough competition from Winnipeg with losses to Oak Park, Miles Mac, and River East, and wins over Garden Valley and MBCI.
They have played the entire season without guard (2028) 6' Rayce Shaw, who may be back before the playoffs, but it seems Riffel has some work to do to secure one of the 3 Regina Hoopla spots.
#9 Central Cyclones (Moose Jaw, SK) (6-3) Previously - Unranked
Not including Central in my initial rankings was probably very short-sighted, as they are the 5-time defending 4A boys champions, and their program just keeps rolling players through the system. Coach Kris Temple will continue to work with this younger team to improve and grow after the break.
(2027) 6'4 Suliman Suliman has looked very good so far this season. The athletic prospect creates mismatches and makes an impact on the game.
They have taken a tumble down the rankings as maybe I had too high hopes for them to start the season. They have done a good job of beating the teams they need to, but losses to Murray, Holy Cross, and Central show they still have work to do. A very good win against Prince Albert Rival St Mary's keeps them in the rankings and looking like he favorite of one of the 3 rural spots for Hoopla.
(2027) 6'4 Emerson MacCuaig has been his usual beast in the paint and added a consistent outside shot to his game, but will need (2027) 6'1 Zane Litzenberger to fully heal from his ankle injury over the break for them to work their way back up the rankings
Teams to watch
St Mary's (Prince Albert, SK)
(8-2)
Aden Bowman Bears (Saskatoon, SK) (6-3)
Leboldus Golden Suns (Regina, SK) (7-4) Previosuly #10
I hope everyone has a great holiday break and gets some rest before we begin the sprint to Hoopla. We will get some answers, hopefully, as the league play in Regina and Saskatoon sees the top teams face off more often. We also have some loaded tournaments like BRIT, MIT, CIT, and Crosstown that will all see these teams play each other more.
I look forward to seeing more games and will hopefully be able to update these rankings at the end of January, going into the playoff stretch