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Lakehead in rare air
By Mike Aylward, Special to the Chronicle-Journal
Sunday, November 22, 2009

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It‘s only six games into the OUA men‘s basketball season and coach Scott Morrison and his Lakehead Thunderwolves team find themselves in heady, if unfamiliar, territory.
Namely sitting atop the OUA West Division with a perfect 6-0 record.
The sixth win came Saturday – a 78-69 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury. Andrew Hackner led the way with 17 points, including three three-pointers and Yoosrie Salhia had 12 points to go with 12 rebounds as the Thunderwolves stormed back in the second half.
Although it is far too early to tell whether this strong start will mean sustained success or a playoff berth, it‘s definitely safe to say that things are looking brighter in the world of Lakehead men‘s hoops.
The program has yet to match the glory days when Lakehead made it to two national championships and twice were silver medalists (72-73, 76-77). The Thunderwolves have not been ranked in the national top 10 since 1999.
Morrison and his young Thunderwolves squad are hoping to change all that. Although they lost leading scorer Kiraan Posey to graduation, the Thunderwolves are a much more balanced team.
Morrison said in his early years as coach he often tried to find quick-fix solutions to build a winner but that four years ago he made the decision to re-tool the program from the ground up with a major focus on finding the right type of players.
“The key to recruiting at any level is developing strong and trusting relationships with prospective student-athletes. This takes time and usually occurs over two to three years rather than two to three months,” he said. “It has started to pay off in the last couple of years as those kids have developed into CIS players and have the type of characteristics we think necessary to build a winning program in the CIS,” he added.
The past two years have seen Lakehead attract its two-best recruiting classes in over 20 years.
Last season saw the Thunderwolves bring in a bumper crop of recruits – headlined by OUA all-rookie team forward Yoosrie Salhia, who led the country in rebounding last year and point guard Greg Carter; whose passing, defence, and speed rank him among the more versatile backcourt players in the league.
Long forwards Brendan King and Thunder Bay native Matt Schmidt has also been developing and adjusting to play at the CIS level.
This year, U.S. college transfers Joseph Jones, Ryan Thomson and Cam Hornsby along with freshmen Matt Nagy, Anthony McIntosh, Guelph transfer Sebastian Kasiuk (post/forward), and Thunder Bay native Karl Rom have injected even more youth to the lineup.
McIntosh was ranked one of the top high school players in Canada before a knee injury slowed his development.
Despite the good early start; Morrison said he knows there‘s a long way to go.
“We have to remember that the CIS basketball season is more like a marathon than a sprint,” he said. “It will take a consistent level of focus and effort each week during practice and then for four quarters twice on the weekends.”
With the 6-0 start, this Friday‘s home game against the defending national champion Carleton Ravens will feature a battle of the only two undefeated schools in Ontario.
Regardless of where Lakehead ends up in the final standings this year, Morrison has his squad on the right track, ready perhaps to make some basketball history of its own.
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