Cwench All Canadian Basketball Games

MEDIC · Post #1 » by **MEDIC** » Thu Apr 3, 2025 7:03 pm

Friday 7pm - Shooting, 3 Point & Dunk competitions
Saturday 12:00pm - All Canadian Girls Game (TSN)
Saturday 3:30pm - All Canadian Boys game (TSN)

Boys Roster:

Spencer Ahrens
Tristan Beckford
Dante Censori-Hercules
Jordan Charles
Matt Dann
Austin Goode
Rokiem Green
Mahliq Guiseppi-Kitson
Jacob Hammond
Justus Haseley
EJ Horton
Chris Kumu
Mangok Lok
Jacob McGregor
Promis N'Landu
Onyx Nnani
Adriel Nyorha
Efeosa Oliogu
Jaion Pitt
Tyrus Rathan-Mayes
Miles Sadler
Kamai Samuels
Andrew Urosevic
TJ Wal

https://www.cwenchallcanadian.com/boys-roster

Girls Roster:

Patricia Augustin
Carletta Bennett
Alex-Anne Bessette
Deborah Damoah
Jahda Denis
Mildred Dibua
Maya Foz
Megan Hollingsworth
Mikaela James
Agot Makeer
Cameron McMaster
Amiya Moses
Rachael Okokoh
Deniya Prawl
Jayda Queeley
Sarah Reid
Sidney Skrobot
Marie Grace Talle
Believe Tshibangu
Divine Tumba
Alice Veilleux
Katarina Veljovic
Brooke Wagner
Nyadieng Yiech

https://www.cwenchallcanadian.com/girls-roster

MEDIC · Post #2 » by **MEDIC** » Thu Apr 3, 2025 7:05 pm

I know a few of these players, but many names I don't recognize. Does anybody have any intel? Who are the top players to look out for?

Oliogu, Beckford & Kumu are solid. Any others?

Looks like Oliogu will be attending Butler next season. Beckford at Arkansas State.

bozothepope · Post #3 » by **bozothepope** » Fri Apr 4, 2025 3:44 am

MEDIC wrote:Beckford at Arkansas State.

Beckford is actually now going to the University of South Florida. He’s following the Arkansas State coach there. Onyx Nnani is going there too.

Miles Sadler is fun to watch. Small PG with incredible skill. Not sure if he'll even be in attendance for the game since he had a high school playoff game today.

Oliogu is a beast in transition.

I highly recommend the new podcast “Canadian Basketball Show” for more info.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #4 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Fri Apr 4, 2025 3:34 pm

MEDIC wrote:I know a few of these players, but many names I don't recognize. Does anybody have any intel? Who are the top players to look out for?

Oliogu, Beckford & Kumu are solid. Any others?

Looks like Oliogu will be attending Butler next season. Beckford at Arkansas State.

Jaion Pitt should be one of the better players in this game. He's sort of a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy who may need to develop one standout skill to keep progressing in his career, but he's a good player. Just committed to Arizona State for next year.

On the women's side, Agot Makeer is the next big star for Canadian women. She's a top 5 recruit overall in North America and committed to powerhouse South Carolina (defending NCAA champions and in the Final Four again this year) for next season.

MEDIC · Post #5 » by **MEDIC** » Fri Apr 4, 2025 8:04 pm

Thanks for the info! Yeah, Pitt looks talented

MEDIC · Post #6 » by **MEDIC** » Fri Apr 4, 2025 8:23 pm

I've been to every one of these games. It's interesting looking back. Murray was an obvious NBA talent. SGA kind of blended in. He wasn't an obvious NBA player like Murray was. Barrett was good. Lou Dort was impressive as an athlete, but I didn't think he was skilled enough to make it to the NBA.

There are always kids that don't live up to the hype & also kids that surprise you & take their game to another level.

MEDIC · Post #7 » by **MEDIC** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 1:40 pm

Kumu won the dunk competition. Some really nice dunks.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIC52F3NRZB/?igsh=azE2ZjZqNjE5M2Ry

PushDaRock · Post #8 » by **PushDaRock** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 2:57 pm

MEDIC wrote:I've been to every one of these games. It's interesting looking back. Murray was an obvious NBA talent. SGA kind of blended in. He wasn't an obvious NBA player like Murray was. Barrett was good. Lou Dort was impressive as an athlete, but I didn't think he was skilled enough to make it to the NBA.

There are always kids that don't live up to the hype & also kids that surprise you & take their game to another level.

SGA was just a decent athlete back in HS, wasn't really explosive at all but I was confident his shooting which was a knock on him at the time was a lot better than people thought. I thought he could be a good pro but I still can't believe we are talking about him as the 2nd best player in the world right now and likely MVP.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #9 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 5:23 pm

The women's game is a bit disappointing because 3 of the best players don't seem to be playing, even though they were listed on the roster - Agot Makeer, Deniya Prawl, and Divine Tumba.

And I haven't been very impressed with another ranked prospect in Nyadieng Yiech.

So far to me the most interesting player has been Mildred Dibua, who's committed to East Carolina for next year, not really a powerhouse school.

MEDIC · Post #10 » by **MEDIC** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 6:24 pm

Spencer Ahrens won the 3 point shootout if I recall correctly. He has an impressive looking shooting stroke.for a guy that is 6'9".

I'll keep an eye out for his in game play.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #11 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 6:38 pm

MEDIC wrote:Spencer Ahrens won the 3 point shootout if I recall correctly. He has an impressive looking shooting stroke.for a guy that is 6'9".

I'll keep an eye out for his in game play.

He's got a good shot, but I was pretty disappointed in his play last year with Team Canada in the U18 AmeriCup tournament.

Going in, he was one of the guys I was most excited to see, but he didn't really show much ability to get his own shot, and had pretty slow feet on defence at times.

I haven't seen him all year, so hopefully he's been able to improve some of that, although they might just be athletic limitations. He'll still likely end up being a decent NCAA player though, but my expectations were lowered since I first saw footage of him a couple of years ago.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #12 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 7:41 pm

Damn, I didn't hear Jaion Pitt or Justus Haseley announced with the lineups, even though they're listed on the rosters. I was looking forward to seeing both of those guys.

Edit: I guess I missed Haseley. Looks like he's starting the game. Good.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #13 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 7:42 pm

I'm hoping to see a couple of highlight plays from Tristan Beckford. That guy's got some serious hops.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #14 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 9:46 pm

Ok, some game thoughts:

Beckford is definitely the most talented of this group. He plays pretty sloppy at times, but he also plays hard, and so I don't mind that he tries to test his limits. USF has an interesting pairing coming in with him and Onyx Nnani.

Jordan Charles is a 2026 guy, but was still one of the most impactful players in the game. He's always been a good shooter, but he's added a lot more shiftiness to his game.

He didn't do that much, but I like the way that Justus Haseley runs a team at the point. I think he's one of these guys that will keep looking better with better teammates.

I didn't know much about EJ Horton before this game, but he's definitely got some interesting skills, and isn't afraid of physicality as a shorter guard.

Chris Kumu and Mahliq Guiseppi-Kitson also had some good moments. And Jacob Hammond should be a good lunchpail guy for Princeton next year.

Once again I was left wanting a lot more from two of the biggest names - Spencer Ahrens and Efeosa Oliogu. They're both really talented in their own ways, but I'm just not sure that either of them ever really have enough of a positive effect on games.

MEDIC · Post #15 » by **MEDIC** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 10:02 pm

aminiaturebuddha wrote:I'm hoping to see a couple of highlight plays from Tristan Beckford. That guy's got some serious hops.

It sounds like he was nursing an injury. That's why he didn't go in the dunk competition.

Beckford stood out athletically in last years game though.

MEDIC · Post #16 » by **MEDIC** » Sat Apr 5, 2025 10:06 pm

aminiaturebuddha wrote:
MEDIC wrote:Spencer Ahrens won the 3 point shootout if I recall correctly. He has an impressive looking shooting stroke.for a guy that is 6'9".

I'll keep an eye out for his in game play.

He's got a good shot, but I was pretty disappointed in his play last year with Team Canada in the U18 AmeriCup tournament.

Going in, he was one of the guys I was most excited to see, but he didn't really show much ability to get his own shot, and had pretty slow feet on defence at times.

I haven't seen him all year, so hopefully he's been able to improve some of that, although they might just be athletic limitations. He'll still likely end up being a decent NCAA player though, but my expectations were lowered since I first saw footage of him a couple of years ago.

At first I thought he just wasn't trying. I hope he has a higher compete level than what he showed

bozothepope · Post #17 » by **bozothepope** » Mon Apr 7, 2025 6:13 am

I came away impressed by Onyx Nnani. This might’ve been the first time I’ve seen him play. I didn’t realize he was so tall. I like his potential.

MEDIC · Post #18 » by **MEDIC** » Mon Apr 7, 2025 2:35 pm

bozothepope wrote:I came away impressed by Onyx Nnani. This might’ve been the first time I’ve seen him play. I didn’t realize he was so tall. I like his potential.

Yeah. He looked good.

For me, it was Beckford, Guiseppi-Kitson & Charles. Charles has possibly the best handles I have seen at the All Canadian game. Very quick as well.

I liked Green's game. Very competitive/ athletic. Kumu is always fun to watch. TJ Wal had his moments.

Oliogu looked very similar to the way he did last year. Big, strong, explosive athlete that has probably been able to simply overpower people all of his life. He needs to really focus on skill development. Improve his handles & shooting. If he can improve in those area's & focus on being a defensive menace, then maybe there is a spot somewhere down the line as a pro (as a Lou Dort type player).

aminiaturebuddha · Post #19 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Mon Apr 7, 2025 3:50 pm

MEDIC wrote:
Oliogu looked very similar to the way he did last year. Big, strong, explosive athlete that has probably been able to simply overpower people all of his life. He needs to really focus on skill development. Improve his handles & shooting. If he can improve in those area's & focus on being a defensive menace, then maybe there is a spot somewhere down the line as a pro (as a Lou Dort type player).

I worry a bit that Oliogu is going down the Elijah Fisher route, as a big, strong, wing player who was physically advanced for his age, and so either never bothered to or never could develop the necessary skills he'll need at higher levels.

bozothepope · Post #20 » by **bozothepope** » Tue Apr 8, 2025 5:19 pm

MEDIC wrote:
Oliogu looked very similar to the way he did last year. Big, strong, explosive athlete that has probably been able to simply overpower people all of his life. He needs to really focus on skill development. Improve his handles & shooting. If he can improve in those area's & focus on being a defensive menace, then maybe there is a spot somewhere down the line as a pro (as a Lou Dort type player).

I saw Efeosa play with his high school team William Academy a few times this year and he was running the point more than I would’ve imagined — I’m guessing purposely to improve his handle.

I’ve seen him take multiple charges and block shots too, so I think he’s got potential to be a 2-way player at the next level.