By Larry Moko
In the same gym where one of the greatest professional basketball players in the world got his start, a new crop of young high school hoopsters is about to be showcased.
They'll be on the court at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School from Jan. 31-Feb. 1 for the 46th-annual Father Kennedy Memorial All-Ontario Catholic junior boys' invitational basketball tournament.
Back in 2013, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played for More and helped the Knights capture a Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic midget championship.
Currently he's a star for both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Canada's national team.
This year's Kennedy field is comprised of three Hamilton Catholic entries -- Cathedral, St. John Henry Newman and More -- along with St. Mike's (Toronto), Holy Trinity (Oakville), St. Francis Xavier (Milton), St. Francis (St. Catharines) and Blessed Trinity (Grimsby).
The St. Francis Phoenix are defending champions.
The opening game is Friday, Jan. 31 at 9 a.m. A consolation championship is scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. followed by the championship final at noon. Admission is free.
As conveners, Stefano Giovannangeli and Chris D'Angela say they are proud to be involved with the event founded by the late George Luciani in 1978. Luciani, who passed away in 2016, was a former teacher and vice principal at More.
"We are thrilled to be able to carry on the tournament and the legacies of both George Luciani and Father Kennedy through this tournament," Giovannangeli said. "The tournament is steeped in history as evidenced by our 80-page program."
Records show Cathedral has the most championships (10), St. Thomas More, leads in victories (134) and the all-time leading scorer is Robert Giovannangeli of More (29.8 ppg in 1989).
Over 80 former players have returned to the tournament as coaches.
Said D'Angela: "We are excited to host some of the top junior teams from Toronto and across the Golden Horseshoe area. This should be a very competitive field of eight teams."
As the regular season winds down, Newman, Cathedral, Tonnos and More are battling for top spot in Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic league standings. The Gaels lead with a mark of 10-2 while the Cardinals, Knights and Titans follow close behind at 10-3.
"Our team has done well, and we’re pleased with how the season has gone despite losing a few starters to injury," More coach Adriano Grilli said.
"We're hoping to secure some wins in the Kennedy that will transition us into the post-season push."
Grilli, a teacher at the school, played four years for STM and is in his fourth season as the junior team's coach.
"It's pretty cool to give back," he said. "I hope we can finish the story this season and bring the junior boys city championship home."
A seven-person all-star committee watches all the games and selects the Bert Carrigan Tournament MVP Award, the George Luciani Defensive Player of the Tournament, as well as the five first- team and five second-team all stars.
That all-star committee --Tom Curtis, Jim Daly, Mike DiFederico, Greg Donelson, Mark Kislinsky, Tom Spironello, and Mike Morton -- boasts over 300 years of coaching and basketball experience.
Tournament Founder George Luciani
Opening prayer 2018
Action shot 2020 Championship game
2020 Awards Presentation
2019 Awards table