Karl's ancient articles
SEASON PREVIEW:
Swish! Sreech, screech. Ah, the beautiful sounds of basketball. The swishing of the ball falling into the hoop, the sounds of the shoes on the hard floor, the crowd cheering and let's not forget the ball itself bouncing on the ground. Yes indeed, it's basketball season again at Trudeau, (whether you like it or not), even though it seems like its basketball season 24-7 at Trudeau. And why not? With such a talented bunch of players I'm sure they would love it to go all year long. Last year Trudeau in their first year lead by veterans Matt Gibson and other stars Corey Skene, Travis Hance, Josh Clarke, and Evan March, went to the area finals to face the first place Attersley team. (Along the way playing their rivals at Duke). They ended up being runners up to Area Champs, but it took Matt Gibson to miss the final shot with less than 2 seconds to go. But hey, that's history, this highly anticipated season the Blazers have one thing on their mind...revenge. No actually not really considering 5 of their 12 players are new to the team, and many of their old players have gone on to high schools like Eastdale. This season Trudeau has winning on their mind. And not just a few games, and not just the Area Finals. We're talking the whole thing. Trudeau looking to go all the way. Now let's be realistic, this isn't an unachievable goal, but it's an extremely difficult goal. Lucky for Coach Hogg's ball club he has a group of really talented players from the Durham Knights, as well as many of those who have played in the DBA and/or CCB leagues. I will now give you my in depth look at their rosters and a full season preview. I will also be covering the Blazers 2003 season, in their drive to the Sweet 16.
Looking at Trudeaus predicted starting lineup they have Matt Gibson at the point, and Mike Harwood at shooting guard. Harwood has pure point guard characteristics, he looks to pass primarily and would be a great fit for point guard but Gibson is Trudeaus most experienced and most talented player so he does make a great point guard. Personally I would have had Jerome Gabriel starting at the shooting guard postiton but I think Coach Hogg has other plans. Harwood is a great player who had a phenomenal season in the CCB during the summer (earning MVA honours and leading the league in assists), he is fast, has a handle on the ball, and as mentioned before is a great play maker. He can pass the ball beautifully, running the drive and dish and give and go plays primarily, but he has a shot and can score as well. (He placed 5th for points per game in the CCB last season). He had a game winning 3-point shot for the CCB Scorpions last season too, evidence that he doesn't crack under pressure. He is also a solid defensive player who works hard and can even be an unbelievable shot blocker (placing 5th in the CCB for blocks per game alst season), making him Trudeaus best shot blocking guard. Overall Harwood is a great all around player with a great mentality on the floor. Gibson is as stated before is Trudeaus best and most experienced player. What can't he do? Nothing. He is fast, has a handle with his dribble, has excellent stamina and mentality on the floor, is tall for a point guard giving him adavantages on the floor, he is Trudeaus best shooter, nailing threes, and shooting treys, has great leadership on court, and can defend as good as any player in the Blazer's division. His best feature is his phenomenal passing abilities and unselfish plays. All this makes Gibson the Blazers go to guy in all pressure situations. Now moving onto the forwards. At small forward is Karl Leschinsky, and at Power Forward is Julian Liebregts. KL or Superman (two names hes earned) is an explosive player like Liebregts who once again like Liebregts and White feeds off the crowd energy and momentum of the game. He is a perfect height for the # 3 position, and has a fairly good all around game though tends to get lazy on defense sometimes, even though he can be a good defender when trying. He is a slasher, he has one main objective to drive to the bucket, either that or rebound. However he has good passing and dribbling skills like all the big men on this team. His shooting has improved but still has a while to go. He is a gym rat player who is always trying to improve his game (was most improved player in the Duke Houseleague last year). Julian Liebregts is not your typical power forward. Hes tall yes, his shot thoguh improving doesnt havent alot of range sure, but hes fast, deadly fast. And man does he have hops, huge vertical jumps that transfer into mind blowing offensive leaps and defensive blocks. He has great stamina, runs the floor, is tough down low, an unbeatable rebounder, and a scary yeh i said scary defensive player. You hate playing against him offensively because hes so tall, so tough, so fast, and such a great shot blocker that you lose confidence offensively against him. He is also a very sneaky player who can come up with alot of steals. Overall Jules wil be one of Trudeau's 5 brightest stars this year. At center, in the middle, the big man, whatever you wanna call him he's Ben White. Ben is a big man, who has great down low post up moves, can shoot, something you don't often get in a big guy, and he can do all the other normal center things. Block, rebound, be tough down low, that whole lot. Infact hes so good down low that not only is he Trudeaus first option this year offensively, but he could be their most unstoppable player. Anyway he feeds off the crowd like KL and Jules and should be a wonderful player for the Blazers this year. Looking to the bench now, I don't know yet exactly who will be the 6th man, but I'm thinking Jon Butler, Jerome Gabriel, or a rookie Josh Bobyk or James Needham. Most likely a guard. The bench for Trudeau is incredible. What a luxury to have players like Jon Butler, Jerome and Jeremy Gabriel coming off the bench to play. Jon Butler is a big man who prefers not to play down low though could be a dominant force in the post. He has alot of range, and can shoot the lights out if he gets in a rhythm. He also plays tough D and fights for every rebound. Jonny B will be yet another great player for Trudeau this year. Jerome Gabriel is the player who will remind you of Iverson alot. He loves to slash to the basket, and can shoot, he is a very streaky shooter. His main critisism is learning when to shoot, and when to pass. He has one of the three best handles for Trudeau. He is also a relentlesly aggressive defensive player. He can always come up with the steal. Last thing i have to say is he accelerates fast, is fast, has great stamina, and is tough. Jeremy Gabriel, his twin brother is much the same except an even streakier shooter, who has seemingly magical shots. Both of them are probably more fit for the shooting guard position rather than the point. The final veteran is forward Jake Abate-Simmons, who placed 2nd in the CCB league for block per game, just narrowly under KL, and can shoot when he gets in a rhythm. He has the name Dr. J. Finally the rookies. Josh Bobyk, James Needham, Alfredo Garcia and Matt Hogg. Bobyk was the CCB player of the year, (youngest player to ever earnthat award) after he placed 4th in the CCB for points per game. Truly amazing. He won the Trudeau free throw competition, and yes he has a great and streaky shot. I think he has tons of potential for his future on the Blazers, and will be one of their greats. James Needham is a fast, great dribbling, pasing and shooting, and defensive, full packaged guard who will be another sensation for the Blazers. Alfredo is a little guy, I mean really little guard who is lghtning fast, has a great dribble and a pin point accuracy shot. He plays toguh D, and will be great for Trudeau in his next two years. (He also plays for the Durham Knights Jr. Team). Finally Matt Hoog, a great leaper, though a really undersized forward who is aggressive and has alot of potential to be like Liebregts and last years Josh Clarke. Our coaches for this season are the comical Mr. Smith, and the lovable (in a big grizzly bear kinda way if that makes any sense) coaching sensation Mr. Hogg. Ya gotta love his voice, and his coaching talents. Him being coach makes this all the more worth while watching. He is the kind of coach who can take a nothing team all the way, so it's even more interesting to see what he does with a team that already has loads of talent.
My predictions for Trudeau this year are they will at least make it to the Sweet 16 where they will win at least one game, but in the Sweet 16 anything is possible so don't count your chickens on it. I think they wil be one of the most enjoyable teams to watch in Durham this year, and one of the 8 best offensive teams. So if you weren't thinking about coming to watch them, you better change your mind. It's a great time, and a great way to help out your home team, trust me they really appreciate it.
That's all for now, the Blazers will play their first game around 3:20 at Trudeau this Friday. Be there to be amazed.
GAME PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS:
UNLUCKY 13 VS. FAREWELL
"We should have won."
-Matt Gibson, team captain after the game
"Ripoff!"
-Jon Butler after the game
Well, Farewell made Trudeau fans and the team say farewell to the idea of being undefeated, cuz the unlucky 13 factor helped in the Blazers first season lost, and possibly even their last ever game due to the work to rule policy. The team who ended up coming back from being 12 points with 10 mins remaining, lost by 1 point. A great come back but perhaps the 1st line got back in too little too late. The shifts were fair on a good note, but the teamwork and effort in the first half wasnt there. And I wonder why? The Blazers had their highest ever crowd of 15 plus people! It was great but the blazers let their fans down. Now many will argue that there was something wrong with the scorekeeping and the Blazers should have either tied or won. But the bottom line is ppl, the winning streak is ova. We met up with Special K after the game but he was in no mood to talk. The only quote we recieved was...
"The socks arent magic anymore. Superman is dead."
Though possibly just over reacting in the heat of the moment he left the buliding very unhappy. As did every member of the team. And who blames them, the seasonm is possibly over, and they ended it on a bad note.
Top StaTS:
-the Blazers were killed on the offensive rebounds in the half, and the team may have also acheived a team high in turnovers, and a team low in assists
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME:
I cant say there were alot to pick from, but there were alot of sweet blocks, I think we should all say the good highlight was the record breaking crowd attendance! Thank you all for coming out!
X-FACTOR: The crowd.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: N/A
DEFENSOVE PLAYER OF THE GAME; N/A
PETTYJOHN FIANLS VS. LESLIE MCFARLENE
Last year the blazers made it to the finals where they lost. This year was a different story. The Blazers, undefeated came in with an all new cnfidence and attitude. Last time the blazers played McFarlene they won at the buzzer thanx to Special K's shot. This game was a completely different scenario that had Trudeau on top for most the game. Gibson and White were leaders as they lead the blazers to their 9th staright victory and the PettyJohn tournamnet title!
KEY STATS:
-Who cares. we won thats all that matters!
PLAYS OF THE GAME;
Ah it all don't matter, but the Vicory Photo was the best high light!
PLAYERS OF THE TOURNAMENT:
MVP: Matt Gibson
SIXTH MAN: Karl Leschinsky
X-FACTOR: Jerome Gabriel
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE TOURNEY: Jules
PLAYER OF THE TOURNEY: Ben White
VS. GLEN STREET
The Blazer's now undefeated would play a tough and scrappy Glen Street team. Karl was due for a break out game, and Jerome is on a hot streak heading into this game. Both exploded on the court, Jerome racking up an un believable ammount of steals by playing tough and aggressive D while adding double figure points to the board. Special K was wild on the assist chart getting his team mates involved and completing some amazing passes while keeping up a healthy scoring run. Trudeau would win this game and head to the 2003 PettyJohn finals for their divison.
KEY STATS:
-Jules still sat this one out
-Colin once again racked up over 4 steals
-Jon had a back to back solid game
-Ben diddo
-Jerome hit double figures, and had over a whopping ten steals
-Special K had over 6 assists while posting 7 points
PLAYS/ PLAYERS OF THE GAME;
3) Special K goes to work with a beauty dish to Binny who pumps it in
2) Jerome steals the ball, and scores on a breakaway and then just liek an instant replay immediately steals it and scores on a breakaway again.INCREDIBLE!
1)Jake throws an inbound lob pass to Karl, the defense of GS immediately latch head over to him. Special K jumps up and with 1 hand taps the ball to make a pass over to the Big B who lays it in. INCREDIBLE!
VS. PRINGLE
All I can say about this game, is yikes for Pringle. Not a good game it all, and Trudeau just demolished them, thanks to the stepping up of the big B (Jon Butler), and Colin Fish's incredible offensive and defensive job!
KEY STATS:
-Jules sat this one out, due to knee agravations
-Colin Fish had over 10 points, and this next stat is crazy,over 8 steals
-Jon Butler really stepping it up had 11 points,and a couple of great boards
-Jerome and jeremy still played solid
PLAYS/PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
3) Colin's nice steal, and a lay in
2) Jon's sweet swish fadeaway shot from way far out! INCREDIBLE!
1) Colin's 90 degree circus shot lay up INCREDIBLE!
Player of the Game: Colin Fish
Defensive Player of the Game: Colin Fish
X-Factor: Jon Butler
VS. QUAKER VILLAGE
Quaker Village was the team to beat for Trudeau in their pool. And well, they beat them. It was their first game back on the home truf at Trudeau school. The starting lineup for Trudeau really poured it on in the early morning game. Jules on defense was superb, coming up wiht some nice blocks, and great boards. Ben was a point machine, and Jerome really stepped it up during his first start of the season. It was a physical game but Trudeau still was on top by alot throughout the two halves. The only down side to this game was that Mike Harwood was hit hard with an ankle injury.
KEY STATS:
-Ben had over 20 points
-Jerome hit double digits while also getting afew steals and assists
-Jules had 2 nasty blocks
-It was defimnately an off game for KL who only hit 1 shot
-Gibson cleaned up assist wise
-and mike Harwood was hurt, with and injury to his ankle, the actual injury itself is till unknown. This ahd him out for the tournament, and Alfredo replaced him
PLAYS/ PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
3)Karl's 360 shot, misses, but he gets the board and puts it back in
2)Jerome's nice bank shot from the top of the key
1)Jule's nasty rejection that ahd the ball flinging into the walls JUST DOWN RIGHT NASTY! INCREDIBLE!
Player of the Game: Ben White
X-Factor: Jerome Gabriel
Defensive Player of the game: Jules
VS. ATHABASCA
The blazers basically walked in, cockier than ever and waltz there way to their 5th staright victory. The Gabriel twins, and Jonny Butler or the "Big B", stepped it up big time for Trudeau, as well as KL who reached his first double figure game of the season. The Blazers are on solid ground heading back home to trudeau tomorrow to take on Quaker Village, Pringle, and Glen street.
KEY STATS:
-Jon Butler though starting out ice cold finally got the mojo going scoring 7 points in the last quarter of the game.
-KL had a few easy buckets thanks to beauty passes from the Gabriels, and also had an and 1 play, and a another 2 trips to the line to finanly hit 10 points.
-Jeremy Gabriel had over 5 assists, and Jerome over four, and between the two they once again racked up over 4 steals while also adding a few much needed baskets to the second line
-Jules and Ben nasty in the paint, between the two OVER 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 5, count em 5 blocks.
PLAYS AND PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
3)Jeremiah the bullfrog with a lob to KL who grabs it in motion, and gets and easy layin deuce
2)The big B steppin it up to get an easy lay in
1)Jules and Ben both get a hand on a shot to both block it. Double rejection! INCREDIBLE!
Player of the Game: Jeremy and Jerome Gabriel, the twins tying here
Defensive Player fo the Game:Jules and Ben, like Batman and Robin, were partners on D today, ad tie for the honours
X-Factor of the Game: Jon Butler
Vs. Woodcrest
The Blazers came into the game 1 of the Petty John tournament and did great. They blew away Woodcrest in a game full of great high lights for all Blazer fans.
KEY STATS:
-Ben and Julian both posted double digit games,a nd played well on the defensive end as well, with 2 blocks each
-The Blazers had 4 and one plays
-The team as a whole had over 8 blocks
-Jeremy and Jerome in their second game had a good game, almost hitting double figures and having four steals between the two of them, and both made it up there on the assist chart with Gibbie
PLAYS AND PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
3) Matt Gibson had a great play, where he ran the ball up the court and had a beautiful entry pass to Jules,m who lays it up for 2
2)We have a tie here between Jeremy Gabriel, who scores 2 points, then steals the ball and scores 2 again and gets fouled for an and 1 play, and Colin Fish who shoots is knocked downto the ground but makes the basket and gets and and 1 play BOTH WERE INCREDIBLE!
1)Dr.J (Jake) on defense has a monsta rejection, I'm talking a nasty block. He blocks a shot all the way back throguh the air to half court. Nasty! INCREDIBLE!
Player of the Game:This is real tough, In my opinion everyone played great this game, a wondeful team effort but Im making a tie between the big men, Julian and Ben
Defensive Player of the Game: Jake Simmons
X-Factor of the Game:Jerome Gabriel
TUESDAY JANUARY 14TH (tournament)
Trudeau was coming of a blow away game against Kedron to open the season last Friday. In the first game tonight Trudeau took on Leslie McFarlene, it was a very tough physical game, and the referees bad calling didn't help. At the start of the game the Blazers had a hard time generating any offense. It took a while but when they got going it was really a close game. Ben White tried his hardest down low and managed once again to hit double figures, but Jules off the bench was the lift the Blazers needed. Jules played a great game, he had a great offensive game, and an even better defensive game, snatching boards and having a monster block. Im sure though anyone would agree the play of the game was the last few seconds. With the clocking running down to its dying seconds, the Blazers were down by 2 and had the ball. Many passes were tried but only one open shot came, and it was from Superman. (Though he still ahd high socks he was not wearing the favourites). Karl took the ugly jumper, and fell to the ground, the shot bounced crazily up on the rim before falling down. McFarlene still had time to score but didn't manage to giving the Blazers their second win of the season.
The next game was another blowout with Jules having a great game yet again. I guess that headband was working for Jules and the blazers or maybe it was those cookies Ben's mom made the team. I think they were giving everyone the edge out there on the floor as the Blazer's burned through (oh that's cheesy) competition to go 3 and 0 so far this season. What a night for Jules!
The Blazer's are preparing for this weekend big Petty John tournament. The good news is Saturday they have the homecourt advantage. Yet once again, it is no advantage without a crowd! So we are once again encouraging people to come out on Saturday to Trudeau to cheer on your home team Blazers!!!
TOP STATS OF THE NIGHT:
-Binny had double figures in both games
-Julian Liebregts stepping it up to have back 2 back double digit games, while having 2 blocks, and a ton of boards
-Gibson yet again I figure lead the Blazers in assists
-The blazers between their two games had more than 5 blocks
PLAYS OF THE NIGHT:
3)Jules with a monsta rejection. Get outta my house!
2)Alfredo with a high arc jumper from 3-point land swiiiiiiishhhh
1)KL with the crazy game winning shot INCREDIBLE!
Player of the Game: Karl Leschinsky
Defensive Player of the Game:Julian Liebregts
X-Factor of the game: Julian Liebregts
Player of the Game: Julain Liebregts
Defensive Player of the Game: I give a tie here between Jules and Matt
X-Factor of the Game:Julian Liebregts
FRIDAY JANUARY 10TH VS. KEDRON
It was game one of the season for Trudeau, yes their season opener, and while Kedron isn't the greatest team to ever take the court everyone for the most part was predicting a good game. It was good in that the highly anticiapted Blazers came in and kicked ass. That's basically the easiest way for me to say it. Final score, i am so sorry I didnt see it but I don't even know if Kedron made it to double digits, while Trudeau broke the 40 point barrier by a long shot. Sad game for Kedron and a great game for Trudeau scoring wise-or was it? While overall it showed Trudeau wasn't all talk, and that they may be the best Durham team, there were some dissapointments, though not from all players. I'm not going to get into it though because it would be a biased article. The Blazers will play again Tuesday away from Trudeau but we'll be sure to let you in on their progress and when their next home agme is. As it stands now Trudeau will host next weekend's tournament, and I guarantee it wil be amazing if a crowd shows up to support. By the way I'd like to persoannly thank everyone who came out in the crowd for Trudeau, thanx alot! God bless you and Aunt Jemima! let's see what happened today...
STARTING LINEUP:Matt Gibson (PG), Mike Harwood (SG), Jake Simmons (SF), Colin Fish (PF), Karl Leschinsky (C)
Woah was I off with my predicted starting lineup, but I understand this was only because of Mr. Hogg's sympathy towards Kedron's "height challenged" team. Don't get me wrong they ahd that one big guy 51 (I think his name is Mike) but he turned out to be a meh player.
TOP STATS OF THE NIGHT:
-Trudeau broke the 40 point barrier
-Kedron almost failed to break 10
-Ben White was Trudeaus lead scorer with um-well he had more than 20 that's for sure
-Matt was probably right behind him
-and I think it goes without saying Matt let all contestants in assists
TOP PLAYS OF THE NIGHT:
3)I couldn't really decided on a 3rd play, but look on at 2 and 1br>
2)Iceballs slashing in the lane puts up a no look layin (this was hard to see 4 the fans but he did it right infront of meand while it didnt look amazing it was) INCREDIBLE!
1)Alfredo hits the sweet swish fadeaway with flair and ends with the Like Mike arm extended backup defensive walk. It was sweeeeeeeeeeeet INCREDIBLE!
(Ps. X-Factor of the game is a player who made a big postive difference to the game even though he/she wasn;t expected to)
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ben White
X-FACTOR OF THE GAME: Colin Fish
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Julian Liebregts
SEASON REVIEW:
I agree, the season ended in an upset due to work to rule, and unlucky thirteen, but it was still fun, and Im here to commend who my main guys where...
Player of the Year: Ben White, Julian Liebregts
Defensive Player of the Year: Julian Liebregts
X Factor of the Year: Colin Fish
6th Man: Karl Leschinsky
MVP: Matt Gibson, Ben White
TOP 11 PLAYS OF THE YEAR:
11)The Big B with a big fadeaway from ay far out, nails it.
10)Gibbie's no look lay in in the lane
9)Jules nasty rejection, the ball goes flingin into the wall
8)Alfredo's Silky Smooth Jumper, with arm elft extended
7)Colin's And 1 Play, this guy loves circus shots
6)KL's tip pass to the Big B who lays it in
5)Dr.J rejects a ball to halfcourt
4)Ben and Jules dohle rejection
3)Jerome steals the ball, lays it in, and then does a rewind, and does the same thing again
2)Colin's 90 degree circus shot layup
1) "The Shot" from Superman, as unorthadox as it was it was great
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RACKS RECYCLOED RIGHTUPS
EASTDALE EAGLES FOOTBALL
Well, the season may have ended a long time ago, but I don't have anything else to talk about so what the hell. This was Eastdale's first football team in 15 years. tryouts started in the summer, where tons of people came out to see if they got what it takes to play a hardcore game that involves strength, speed, stamina, hand-eye co-ordination, and relentless pursuit. Many were cut, but would come back next year more ready than the last. The team was finally made up and their first game was against Pickering. Eastdale played a pathetic game. In the end, they lost 30-0. The coaches weren't pleased. Practices became even more intense. They recruited new faster, bigger, and hopefully smart players. They recruited new full back Jason Babcock and new running back Eamonn Mcullough. These two new starters really brought up the offense's ability to keep the ball for more than four downs. The defense was already great with Lineman Jerone Williams and Linebacker Paul Kimmerly. Coach Carnovale even recruited a new kicker and longsnapper, Brad Vendenenden (kicker) and Andrew Racknor (snapper, me). But there was one little problem with putting Racknor in as the snapper though. He was small. Very small. In fact, the third smallest player in the entire league. Putting him out on the line with people three times his size was like putting him in a bear cage with no way to protect himself. But the coach decided that even though Racknor was puny, his snapping was great. It always made it the kicker. Plus, he knew how to take a hit so the coach kept him in. With all their grueling practices, Eastdale was ready. They killed Henry Street 28-0. That win brought up the team's spirit's. Until they played Dwyer. Eastdale really wasn't into that game. Dwyer isnt the best team, so nearing the end of the game Eastdale was up 13-7. Eastdale would have won. If it wasn't for the refs. Dwyer tried to pass the ball on one of their plays. The quarterback's throw was short, so the receiver had to stop and dive for the ball. Just before he landed, the ball hit the ground underneath his chest. Everyone knew that except the referees. They called the pass complete, so Dwyer then just had to run in the ball the next play from five yards away. The conversion was good, too, so the final score in the end was 14-13. Eastdale wasn't happy, but they weren't going to let the refs get in their way. Eastdale was psyched for the next game against Richardson. They demolished 28-7. The wins kept on coming after that. They beat Uxbridge, Dunn Barton, Pine Ridge, and Anderson. The next game was the semi-finals. Eastdale wait to play, because it was time for revenge. It was time for Dwyer to learn what Eastdale was about. Eastdale destroyed 28-7. They never punted the ball that game. They were in the finals. They proved that they could beat Dwyer, but they were still hungry for one other win and team. The finals against Pickering. They were wanted that win, but somehow they just couldn't bring it together on the O-line, and the defense was tiring out. Pickering won that game 28-7, but Eastdale held their heads high. This was their first football team in fifteen years, and they got second place. Eastdale may not have been Pickering, but they're waiting for next year.
We'll get our revenge then.
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