Men's Basketball: National Top Ten Tracker - Doerksen climbs over the Cascades

Everyone in the CIS basketball community knows who Jacob Doerksen is. Doerksen is a nightmare to guard for any team, the undisputed centrepiece of the no. 7 Trinity Western Spartans offence and a monster on the glass.

So when the Spartans missed the playoffs last year, I think a few people forgot about him. That isn't likely to happen anymore, as Doerksen posted one of the most monstrous games in CIS history with a (team record) 42 point, 8 rebound, 8 assist performance in the Spartans' 114-89 win over the Fraser Valley Cascades on Saturday.

The win capped off what has been an outstanding first half of the season for the Spartans, who have won 10 in a row and sit at 12-2, atop the Canada West standings. Both of those losses came against the no. 2 UBC Thunderbirds, and the Spartans have yet to take on the no. 3 Saskatchewan Huskies (and are merely third among Canada West teams in the RPI), so it's premature to say that Canada West has a new top contender for the Stan Broder Trophy.

With Doerksen leading the way and a sizzling end to the 2010 portion of the season, however, it seems unlikely the Thunderbirds, Huskies and the rest of the CIS will forget about the Spartans any time again soon.

Other Top-10 scores:
#1 Carleton Ravens:
Are just chillin' over the break. Will resume play Jan. 7 at home against Ryerson.

#2 UBC Thunderbirds:
Split a pair of exhibition games against the NCAA Div. II Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks (a 98-85 win) and the Div. I Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (a 71-53 loss). The Seawolves did what no CIS team has done to the T-Birds in a long time in slowing down UBC's offence. Meanwhile, as noted in this article from a couple of weeks ago, UBC has been practicing with former NBA player Michael Dickerson, continuing their practice relationship from earlier in the fall.

#3 Saskatchewan Huskies:
Will be celebrating the holidays by playing in Winnipeg's Wesmen classic over three days from Dec. 28 to 30. All the Huskies want for Christmas is for the Rejean Chabot-Jamelle Barrett project to keep working like a dream.

#4 Concordia Stingers
Took over Quebec supremacy with a 92-86 win over Laval. As Rob duly noted in last week's Top-10 tracker, Laval had been sitting in the no. 3 spot despite an extremely weak schedule, so we'll see how the Stingers handle being the top squad in la belle province. They'll start by playing in Dalhousie's Rod Shoveller Tournament from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2.

#5 St. Francis Xavier X-Men:
Will also be taking part in the Rod Shoveller tournament. While I'm all for cross-country parity in the coaches' votes, I don't understand how a team that has gone a meager 3-2 in relatively weak conference play stays in the top-5, especially after they've lost to two teams below them in the top-10.

#6 Laval Rouge et Or:
Fell to the Stingers in the previously mentioned battle of Quebec titans. The Rouge et Or lost that contest despite shooting 51% from the field. That came one night after Laval snuck by the McGill Redmen despite making 19 turnovers. The Rouge et Or will also compete in the Rod Shoveller Tournament.

#8 Windsor Lancers:
Will head down to South Euclid, OH for the Notre Dame Christmas Invitational on Dec. 29 and 30.

#9 Toronto Varsity Blues:
Will head stateside to take on Houghton College and Daemen College on Dec. 21 and 22 in Amherst, NY, and will play in Ryerson's tournament from Dec. 28 to 30. The Blues will be a darkhorse team in the second half of the conference season, having weathered the OUA West storm well.

#10 Cape Breton Capers:
Will perhaps have the most interesting holiday travel schedule of all the top-10 teams, as the Capers will head to China from Dec. 27 to Jan. 3 and will play three games.
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5 comments:

  1. I agree with your comments about StFX and I believe there first game in the Rob Shoveller is against my alma maeter, Laurentian...and I think it will be pretty close!

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  2. Speaking of Ryerson's tournament, does anyone know where I can find a schedule? The Ryerson basketball page only lists the dates and schedule "TBA"

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  3. Fun fact: Doerksen was also a standout football player at Rick Hansen high school in Abbotsford, BC, and carried his team all the way to the provincial championship game, winning the MVP award in a losing cause that year...many coaches were disappointed when he chose to pursue basketball instead

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  4. @Gordon it seems that's the way it is for dominant Canada West forwards. I know some people who played high school football against Henry Bekkering (who was drafted by the Stampeders), and... let's just say they didn't enjoy it.

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  5. Update: It would appear I am wrong about the Ravens 'just chillin' over the break.' According to the Charlatan's Brock Smith, they're going to Florida http://www.charlatan.ca/content/ravens-fly-ft-lauderdale

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