Thorpe shines in Eden’s opening win
Eden’s Trent Thorpe was a junior call-up when he played in The Standard basketball tournament in Grade 9 and 10.
On Monday in his first year as a senior player, Thorpe made quite the impression on the opening day of the 58th Annual Standard High School Basketball Tournament. The 16-year-old drained 28 points to lead the Flyers to a 65-58 victory over the Smithville Christian Storm.
Getting that early taste of the Standard tourney was helpful for the Grade 11 player.
“It was super important,” the 6-foot-1 guard said. “As a little kid, I had grown up watching the high school kids my dad coached. It was super cool to watch and then being in the tournament was a good experience.
“It was great to know what the level of play was like because playing at senior is so much different than junior.”
It was an eye opener on a number of levels for Thorpe.
“The physicality, the talent and the shooting is a world of difference,” he said.
On Monday, Thorpe scored in almost every way imaginable.
“I can get to the hoop, I can finish and over the last couple of years I have developed a three-point shot,” he said. “I didn’t shoot it well today but I can shoot it too.”
He feels his next step as a player is to develop a mid-range game.
“The mid-range is something everyone can improve on the most and that’s what separates the greats from the not-so-goods.”
Jonathon Thorpe, Trent’s father and Eden’s head coach, has had a front row seat to watch his son develop.
“I’ve been coaching him since Grade 4 and he always leaves his heart on the floor and always works as hard as he can.”
Smithvillle Christian head coach Stu Bender was thrilled with how his team played.
“I am very happy with how they performed,” he said. “We just finished our tryouts at the end of last week and we only had one practice.”
With little practice, Bender kept the message simple.
“Just have fun, be yourself, be a basketball player, make the right play and shoot if you are open,” he said.
A number of the Storm’s basketball players were members of the school’s Ontario Federation of Secondary Schools Associations A champion volleyball squad and they were able to use a lot of the same skills.
“This is a smart group of guys and they can transition from sport to sport with very little practice,” Bender said. “I’m excited to see what they are able to do by the end of the season.”
Jonathon Thorpe wasn’t shocked by the tough challenge Smithville Christian presented for his team.
“They are a very big team, a very athletic team and they had a couple of guys who could really shoot the ball,” he said. “They impressed and they will do very well.”
Thorpe agreed it was a good way to start the tournament.
“Hopefully it gets us rolling,” he said. “Our perimeter shooting wasn’t where it needs to be and we had to grind that one out a little bit.”
Trent Thorpe is looking forward to the rest of the tournament.
“This tournament is huge,” he said. “It’s something as a little kid you think about and want to play in. To be here, win our first game and be on the championship side, means a lot.”
STATS PACK
Flyers 65 Storm 58
Kully’s/No Limit Performance Players of the Game: Eden’s Trent Thorpe with 28 points and Smithville Christian’s Jayden Talsma with 24.
For the Eden Flyers: Thorpe 28; Luke Reinaerts 12; Kyle Mulder 8; Ashton Nieuwets 6; Peter Pilling 5; Winston Doppenberg 4; Wesley Hanlin 2.
For the Smithville Christian Storm: Talsma 24; Derick Breukelman 15; Zion Hoekstra 14; Luke Huinink 3; Ryan Roelfsema 2.
REDS 49 SAINTS 38
The fifth-seeded Denis Morris Reds opened the Standard Tournament Monday with a hard-fought 49-38 victory over the St. Catharines Collegiate Saints.
“Today was fun because of the buyout and I think we started out a little bit nervous,” said Denis Morris’ Michael Conlon, who scored 13 points in the game. “They (Collegiate) battled hard and I’m just happy we got the win and move on to tomorrow.”
Conlon was named player of the game for the Reds.
“I love playing in this tournament,” he said.
Noah Honsberger led the Reds in scoring with 16 points. Also scoring for the Reds were Amari Allen (9), Anthony Caruso (6), Thomas Duplessis (3) and Thomas Davidson (2).
Collegiate’s player of the game with 20 points was Joseph Waterman. Also scoring for the Saints were: Louizidor Fenelon (5), Ethan Smith (4), Ethan Taylor (3), Jahmar Kennedy-Clarke (2), Nick Sindingham (2) and Nathan Taylor (2).
