Big Man on Campus

That's It. That's All. That's Everything.

The Big Man on Campus is through blogging after two consecutive OUA seasons of rambling, wondering, criticizing and commenting about the Guelph Gryphons, OUA and CIS.

For those unaware, cuts to the Guelph Mercury during this economic downturn resulted in some layoffs and a major reshuffling of the newsroom.

As a result, I am no longer covering sports on a full-time basis. And, therefore no longer maintaining the BMoC - believe me, not my choice.

Thanks for reading.

You can, however, still send tips, story ideas, comments and conspiracy theories to my inbox, just click my name below! Because, you  never know, I may, sooner rather than later, show up as one of those "independant bloggers based in a basement."

Posted by Greg Layson

Sowing The Seeds

Here are the seeding, schedule of events and draw for the 2009 CIS Men's Basketball Championship in Ottawa

SEEDING

1. Carleton Ravens (OUA champions: 21-1 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

2. Calgary Dinos (Canada West champions: 17-5 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)

3. UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West finalists: 21-2 regular season, 5-1 playoffs)

4. Western Ontario Mustangs (OUA finalists: 19-3 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)

5. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA bronze medalists: 19-3 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)

6. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions: 13-7 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

7. Concordia Stingers (QSSF champions: 12-4 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

8. StFX X-Men (Wildcard – AUS finalists: 17-3 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL)

Thursday, March 12

19:15 All-Canadian Reception (Marriott Hotel - Victoria Room)

Friday, March 13
12:30 Quarterfinal #1: No. 2 Calgary vs. No. 7 Concordia
14:30 Quarterfinal #2: No. 3 UBC vs. No. 6 Dalhousie
18:00 Quarterfinal #3: No. 4 Western Ontario vs. No. 5 Ottawa (The Score)
20:00 Quarterfinal #4: No. 1 Carleton vs. No. 8 St. Francis Xavier (The Score / tape delay: 22:00)

Saturday, March 14
12:30 Consolation #1
14:30 Consolation #2
18:00 Semifinal #1 (The Score)
20:00 Semifinal #2 (The Score)

Sunday, March 15
13:30 5^th-place consolation final 
16:00 Final (The Score)

Well, That Just B-Rocked!

Better late than never, but I thought I'd comment and editorialize a little about the Guelph Gryphons-Brock Badgers OUA women's playoff hockey game Thursday night at the Gryphon Centre.

First, the good, about the game itself. I made the comment to a few members of the U of G brass that "it was the best hockey game I've seen played at Guelph this season — men's games included." Granted, I never saw or covered as many men's games as I'd have liked. But even Guelph athletic director Tom Kendall gave some kudos to the pace and tenacity of the game and players, respectively.

Now, the bad. I'm not sure if there were two referees last night — and by that I mean one in the fast and furious first period, during which the players were allowed to play and another the rest of the way, busy gumming up the game with a tight leash and phantom calls.

And to the fans. For the first time in three years the Gryphon Centre had atmosphere — thanks mainly in part to the Brock fans. Although their chant of "B Rock! B Rock!" got annoying fast it was nice to see some fans made the trip on a fan bus. It was disappointing — and, admittedly a bit comical — the bus had to leave before the end of the double-overtime game.

Still, couple the rowdy, fun-loving fans with a good old hockey game, during which Brock's Beth Clause made 53 saves, and it made for quite the B-Rock-in' spectacle.

Flashback

Remember when I surveyed the OUA men's basketball coaches before the season started and asked for their pre-season all-stars? No? Well, here's how they voted:

PRESEASON ALL-STARS

FIRST TEAM
G—Josh Gibson-Bascombe, Ottawa (10)
G—Nick Pankerichan, Guelph (5)
F—Aaron Doornekamp, Carleton (12)
F—Kiraan Posey, Lakehead (8)
C—Greg Surmacz, Windsor (13)

SECOND TEAM
G—Stuart Turnbull, Carleton (4)
G—Kael Harrison, Laurier (2)
F—Keenan Jeppesen, Western (7)
F—Mitch Leger, Queen's (3)
C—Boris Bakovic, Ryerson (3)

NOTE: Coaches could not vote for their own players.

For comparison's sake, here's how things shook down at the end of the season:

OUA WEST DIVISION ALL-STARS

FIRST TEAM
Greg Surmacz, Windsor
Keenan Jeppeson, Western
Bradley Smith, Western
Kiraan Posey, Lakehead
Kael Harrison, Laurier

SECOND TEAM
Mouctar Diaby, McMaster
Owen White, Brock
Nick Pankerichan, Guelph
Isaac Kuon, Windsor
Jesse MacDonald, Laurier

OUA EAST DIVISION ALL-STARS

FIRST TEAM
Boris Bakovic, Ryerson
Aaron Doornekamp, Carleton
Dax Dessureault, Ottawa
Stu Turnbull, Carleton
Josh Gibson-Bascombe, Ottawa

SECOND TEAM
Mitch Leger, Queen's
Nick Magalas, Toronto
Rob Paris, Toronto
Tut Ruach, York
Matas Trillis, Laurentian

One notable difference is that Guelph's Nick Pankerichan was voted a pre-season first-team all-star but eventually was named only a second-teamer in the OUA West. Keep in mind, however, I asked the coaches to vote for two forwards, two guards and a centre. The year-end all-star teams are divided on voting only, which is why the OUA West all-star team has four forwards — arguably five, if you consider Harrison a forward only.

And The Winners Are . . .

. . . precisely who I said they would be.

But, for clarification, here are the OUA West major award winners, including the all-star teams first published here a few weeks ago.

2008-09 OUA MEN'S BASKETBALL WEST DIVISION MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Greg Surmacz (Windsor)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Alex Brzozowicz (Western)

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Didi Mukendi (Brock)

KEN SHIELDS AWARD
Alex Brzozowicz (Western)

COACH OF THE YEAR
Brad Campbell (Western)

FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
Kale Harrison (Laurier)
Keenan Jeppesen (Western)
Kiraan Posey (Lakehead)
Brad Smith (Western)
Greg Surmacz (Windsor)

SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
Mouctar Diaby (McMaster)
Isaac Kuon (Windsor)
Jesse MacDonald (Laurier)
Nick Pankerichan (Guelph)
Owen White (Brock)

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Travis Berry (Laurier)
Greg Carter (Lakehead)
Scott Laws (McMaster)
Didi Mukendi (Brock)
Yoosrie Salhia (Lakehead)
Joel Whitty (Brock)

A Handy Dandy PDF You Can Use

As usual, thanks to Guelph sports information director Michelle Pino for the weekly recap in PDF form. Go ahead, get caught up.

Download Weekly recap_March 2

Winners, Winners, Chicken Dinners

The Guelph Gryphons football team held its annual Wildman Trophy Dinner on Saturday night.

This year, fullback Graeme Reed won the award that goes to the player that most exemplifies true sportsmanship, leadership, gentlemanly conduct and good scholarship. I couldn't agree more with the choice. I interviewed Reed often the past two seasons — although not as much as CTV, who used Reed as their go-to guy — and I was struck by his maturity and honesty. There's an articulate fella under that intimidating goatee and wild mohawk. He was the perfect choice for this award.

Other winners on the night included:

Jedd Gardner — Team MVP. No player made bigger catches or ripped off bigger runs that Gardner this season. He's destined to be an all-Canadian.

James Savoie — Defensive Player of the Year. Just one of many Gryphons to stay well ahead of the learning curve. A big personal accomplishment when you consider the more senior players who didn't win it this year.

Grant MacDonald — Lineman of the Year. Was there a more improved and more feared Gryphon in the trenches this season? Even when he was sick he was sick, as the young kids say.

Mike Millar — Rookie of the Year. He had big shoes to fill in the linebacking corps. And did.

Rob Maver — Special Teams. You think? This needs no explanation, does it?

Gord Fairty — Captains Award. This one's picked by the captains. So, if they're reading, they can speak of Gord in the comment section below.

— posted by Greg Layson

Sign Here . . .

. . . and here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Saturday afternoon, 18 football players signed their CIS Letter of Intent to play for the Guelph Gryphons in the 2009 OUA football season.

Each player was introduced to the crowd and media, signed their letter, shook the hand of head coach Kyle Walters and then waited to pose for a group photo.

The day's events included speeches from athletic director Tom Kendall and Walters.

Both Guelph print outlets were on hand, as was CTV. It was quite the production.

The day was exactly what the U of G and OUA — and CIS for that matter — have been missing for years. It had fanfare, buzz, atmosphere.It felt bigtime. One person even suggested it was overkill, although I disagree. 

Kids and, ahem, media, eat this stuff up. And, it sends a message to the signing players; you matter, you mean something. It also sends a message to the opposing coaches; hands off.

Granted, I don't ever want to see it get to the point where OUA coaches are playing games like Lane Kiffin.

Here is the list of players who signed on Saturday:
*Joshua Barker       DB 6'0   180 Northern CI & VS Sarnia BA English
Cody Byers             DB  5'11 185 Huron Heights SS Keswick BA History
Benjamin Carter     OL  6'6   280 Christ the King SS Georgetown BA History
Bryan Cook            LB   6'1   205 Ancaster H & V S Ancaster  BA History
Corey Davidson      RB  6'0   195 Lakeshore Cath HS Stevensville Computer Prog.
Dillon Dimitroff       REC 6'1  175 Notre Dame SS Burlington Commerce
Jason Diston           REC 6'3  187 St Paul HS Niagara Falls Human Resource
Douglas Dougherty OL    6'6  280 Grey Highlands SS Conn BA Sociology
Patrick Janik           OL   6'2   335 Holy Trinity SS Oakville B.Comm Marketing
Graeme Mahar        FB   5'11 224 Humberside CI Toronto BA General Arts
Lucas Meschino      OL   6'1   300 St Michaels Collegiate Toronto B. Comm Marketing
Mike Newman         REC 5'11 160 Lakeshore Cath HS Fort Erie BA General Arts
Taylor Palmer         DB   6'1  180 St Paul HS Niagara Falls Human Kinetics
Jakob Piotrowski    OL   6'4   270 Eastview SS Shanty Bay Agricultural Business
Ryan Plestid           OL   6'1   285 Georgetown H S Georgetown Nanoscience
Neil Riley-Grant      DB   6'3  190 Campions High School Brampton Humber
Daniel Shepherd    REC 6'1  195 Donald a Wilson SS Whitby Criminal Justice
Cameron Thorn      DL   6'5   265 Eastview SS Midhurst Human Nutrition
Joshua Wilson        OL   6'6  285 Donald a Wilson SS Whitby BA General Arts
* Not in attendance at press conference although has agreed to play for Guelph.

A couple notable names:

Corey Davidson, one of the most sought after running backs of the recruiting season. Walters said he's similar to Nick Fitzgibbon and is likely the tailbacks heir apparent. In the meantime, he'll replace Paul Bartley as the No. 2 back and kick returned.

Dillon Dimitroff. Yes, he's related to NFL Executive of the Year and former Guelph Gryphon Thomas Dimitroff, who is now the Atlanta Falcons GM. Dillon's dad is also a former Gryphon.

Any number of huge, athletically built linemen; from Eastview teammates Jakob Piotrowski and Cameron Thorn to Benjamin Carter. Walters wanted to get bigger. And he did.

What's The Spread?

Seriously. That's a question I get asked at just about every OUA basketball and football game I cover. And, for kicks and shock and awe, I usually toss one out there. I'm usually pretty close. But I certainly wouldn't pony up any cash to back my own book — so don't even think about asking to take some of that action.

Anyway, today, when I came into work, my co-worker Tony Saxon asked for a spread in the Waterloo at Western game. I didn't hesitate to spit out Western by 22 1/2. Yup, 22 1/2. Western's that good and Waterloo can't possibly put together a fourth win in a row can they?

Discuss.

— posted by Greg Layson

And That's That

The Waterloo Warriors beat the Guelph Gryphons 71-63 Wednesday night in an OUA men's basketball quarter-final at the Mitchell Athletics Centre.

Guelph was in it pretty much throughout — but I'll admit to saying "this game is over" at least three times to Christine Rivet of the Waterloo Region Record. Guelph was trailing all three times, including the time I said it in the first half.

The Warriors played like I'd never seen them play all season. They were fast, furious and scrappy. They ran the Gryphons from the gym in the first half. And then Dan White continued to shoot them down in the second.

White led all scorers with 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 5-for-9 from the three-point line.

It was as if Guelph couldn't defend the fast break in the first half and the perimeter in the second.

Waterloo capped the regular season on a two-game winning streak. And, the odds were in the Warriors' favour. Prior to last night, Waterloo and Guelph played three times this season when you include the exhibition game played in Fergus. Guelph won all three meetings.

Duncan Milne led Guelph with 23 points last night. It was another stellar second-semester performance by the big man, who had six double-doubles this season, all of which came after Christmas.

Point guard Michael Petrella played up to his capabilities, too. He scored 13 points and finally was a threat both passing and shooting the ball.

Nick Pankerichan had 11 points in his finale. He graduates as the school's second-leading scorer of all-time. He amassed 1,231 points in five years.

I'll have more on Pankerichan's and Milne's exits in tomorrow's Mercury. And I'll have more on Petrella in Friday's paper.

— posted by Greg Layson