Basketball: CIS grads nurturing dream of hoops academy

It is noteworthy Tarry Upshaw (Guelph) and Nate Phillipe (Saint Mary's) have kept alive the dream of an academy which gives Canadian ballers an alternative to moving to the U.S.

SLAM Online details how Upshaw and Philippe are coaching the Regional Elite Development Academy team out of Hamilton. It includes several players from the NEDA program which got tremendous results before Canada Basketball was forced to shelve it due to funding cuts.

As Phillippe noted:

"I think the trend over the last few years (especially this summer) was our elite Canadian players going down to the U.S. for prep schools, but the reality is REDA is an opportunity for our elite players to stay home and get great exposure and attention from Division I coaches."

Players such as Ottawa point guard Jahenns Manigat (whose brother Willy is at Carleton) are playing for REDA.

Anyway, it is welcome news. NEDA placed 10 female and male players from its 2008-09 roster at NCAA D-1 schools and Greg Francis worked for with it before he was hired to coach the Alberta Golden Bears.

Doug Smith's article in the Toronto Star today noted Canada Basketball, "operated in the black in its latest fiscal year and although there is still debt, the money picture looks at least less dim." Perhaps NEDA can return.

(This is not CIS per se, but CIS will have a place in the future of Canadian hoops.)

Related:
The Resurrection: Canada Basketball struggles to keep its only 'prep school' (Tariq Sbiet, SLAM Online)