Voyage to the top of OFSAA

LOOKING TO REPEAT: Last year’s Voyageurs squad won gold at the 2011 AAAA OFSAA playoffs, but without their top player Andrew Wiggins, coach Gus Gymnopoulos admits the team will have to stay disciplined and make less mistakes. A bulk of the leadership will fall on Cy Samuel-Richards and Roshane Roberts.

Vaughan SS stays grounded in their pursuit for back-to-back championships

Vaughan Secondary’s senior boys basketball team is continuing their voyage back to OFSAA gold despite losing a key member of their crew.

The Voyageurs lost their leading scorer from last season, Andrew Wiggins, after he transferred to a prep school in the US. However, his former teammates are doing well without him, according to coach Gus Gymnopoulos.

“Andrew was so talented that he was able to bail us out of a lot messes last year,” he said. “This year we just have to be that much better.

“We got to play a little bit cleaner, a little bit tighter, a little bit more as a group,” he added. “As a result of that, I think we’re actually starting to play some better basketball.”

A hot start has propelled Vaughan Secondary to a championship at the Henry Carr Early Bird Invitational and an undefeated regular season record as they head into the holiday break. Guard Cy Samuel-Richards won MVP at the Henry Carr tournament where they defeated powerhouse teams such as Toronto’s Eastern Commerce, Pickering and J. Clarke Richardson of Ajax.

Vaughan Voyageurs hosted a tournament of their own, the Vaughan Classic tournament, where guard Roshane Roberts was named MVP after wins against West Hill, Pine Ridge and Martingrove, leading to another championship.

But Gymnopoulos said he still sees room for improvement.

“We won the Henry Carr Early Bird but we didn’t play well and as a result we developed some bad habits and then they carried over,” he said. “I think they walked around with a little bit too much swagger being OFSAA champs and winning the first tournament of the year.”

His squad’s only two losses came during the Humber College Classic when they were defeated at the hands of D’Youville and Oakwood. Despite the Voyageurs’ strong play so far this season, both teams are ranked above eighth-place Vaughan in the Super 16 coaches’ poll rankings.

“I don’t take much out of the rankings in terms of where we are but I don’t think we’re an eight,” Gymnopoulos said. “I don’t mind it because ever since (Super 16) came out our kids are starting to focus much more.”

Gymnopoulos spoke to Vaughan Today just before boarding a bus with his team. For the fifth straight year they were headed to the Sun Youth tournament in Montreal where they were set to face colleges and American high school prep teams. Last year, Vaughan made it to the finals before falling to Algonquin College, the number one ranked Canadian college at the time.

“We go there to play really solid competition,” Gymnopoulos said. “We want to get exposed to certain things and we get better as a result I find.”

Vaughan’s head coach reiterated although the team would like to defend their OFSAA title their main goal remains to improve with every game.

Gymnopoulos said he is confident the upcoming tournament will help them achieve that.

“A lot of the kids understand now that it’s not about ego it’s about hard work and being humble and they’re starting to buy in now,” he said. “I think we’re going to be very good in a little while.

“We’re going to hopefully play our best basketball in the second half (of the season).”