Switch pays off for Cougars
A change of scenery did Jadin Baldwin a world of good Thursday.
The 16-year-old, Grade 11 student is normally a post player, but Centennial coach Craig Maltais switched Baldwin to the wing and the move paid off big time.
Baldwin poured in 16 points to pace the Cougars past the Niagara Christian College Navigators 70-44 in a consolation round semifinal game at the Standard High School Basketball Tournament held at the St. Catharines Collegiate.
The Cougars now face the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs for the consolation title Friday at 5:30 p.m.
“I hadn’t seen him play a lot but I thought he might be a good fit for us down low because of his power, but I was watching him play and he was floating out to the perimeter a little bit more,” Maltais said. “I thought why am I putting him there if he’s naturally more on the wing and he can still go inside and it worked.
“I talked to him today and he was really focused on coming out and putting up a good performance.”
Baldwin, who moved to Welland from Brampton in Grade 9, didn’t mind the move at all.
“Growing up my whole entire life for 10 years I played on the perimeter and then when I came to high school I had a growth spurt and got bigger,” he said. “It wasn’t too hard. I had a couple of years off of it but I enjoy it and hopefully I can continue.”
Maltais sees a vast amount of potential in Baldwin.
“He’s brings a lot of strength and a lot of offensive ability,” he said. “He’s one of those leader-type guys.
“He’s only in Grade 11 and it takes awhile to get used to ball at this level because it’s so much quicker. He was a strong kid in Grade 10 and he was able to establish himself with power on the floor. There are guys who are out here now who are also big and strong. It took him a couple of games to adapt to that.”
The Cougars turned in their best performance of the tournament, and Baldwin was quick to give credit to Maltais.
“We had no idea what we were coming into. My coach told us they were athletic and he didn’t really tell us about them, he never really does, but it turned out the way it did,” he said.
“I’m just thanking the coach for it, because if it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be able to make it to the championship. He knows how coach a team properly and give us the positive vibes we need on the floor.”
Maltais figures the Bulldogs, who knocked off the St. Catharines Collegiate Saints in the other consolation semifinal, will be a formidable opponent.
“They can shoot. They can put up points and we have to be ready to play lock-down defence and be ready to compete,” he said. “If we can do that I think it will be a good game. They are well-coached and they have some talent and some shooters.”
COUGARS 70 NAVIGATORS 44
Kully’s/No Limit Performance Players of the Game: Centennial’s Jadin Baldwin and Niagara Christian’s Neil Wangler.
For the Centennial Cougars: Ryan Stark 17; Jadin Baldwin 16; Dylan DeVinney 9; Jackson Collin 8; Nick Yioldassis 8; James Goodfellow 5; Jackson McNeil 5; Kyle Clarkson 2; Dalton Slack 2.
For the Niagara Christian Navigators: Neil Wangler 18; Ladi Aganga 10; Ryan Du 10; Anthony Molon 2; Dayo Williams 2; David Moffat 2.
SUPPORT US
On the right side of our web site, you will notice a yellow SUPPORT US button.
We are asking anyone who finds value in our work and is able to financially help us to click on the button and contribute whatever amount you feel is appropriate and can afford. There is no set amount. Any amount is appreciated.
The funds collected will be used to enhance and offset the expenses of running the web site.
