CIS CORNER: ESS GRAD IS LIKELY A MOSER WINNER

The cat is already out of the bag, so there's no harm in passing along word that it looks like the pride of Odessa, Carleton Ravens forward Aaron Doornekamp, will capture the Mike Moser Award as top CIS men's basketball player.

It's up at the Sun (now), along with the tournament preview which was about 95% the work of Mark Wacyk at cishoops.ca, Blair Gable with the photography and the brave but determined lads down at the sports desk. There will be more in Friday's edition.

It's kind of staggering to see Aaron reaching such heights as someone who grew up in the same corner of the world and attended his high school, Ernestown, several years earlier -- and who knows what it means to Dave Smart to have one of his nephews and prize proteges honoured.

Who knew it would ever reach this point back in the winter of '95-96? At that time, Rob Smart was starring for the senior basketball team at ESS (one time in Gravenhurst, he scored 36 points in the first half, then said at halftime, "let's try to get everyone on the scoresheet," and almost did, except for one klutzy red-headed kid with no hops who shouldn't have even been there). Dave was helping coach the junior team which had Mike Smart and Ben Doornekamp. The senior girls team won the Kingston-area league with Amy Doornekamp playing post for Stu Turnbull's dad, Tom, while across the parking lot at Odessa Public School, Nate and Aaron were honing their games. There was a Canadian hoops dynasty taking shape right under our noses.

(As for the scoop, well played, sir. Picture Steve Garvey clapping into his glove after Reggie Jackson hit his third homer in the final game of the 1977 World Series.)