To see some of the best Canadian Interuniversity Sport basketball, the place to be this weekend is McKinnon Gym.
The four-team Guy Vetrie Memorial pre-season tournament tips off tonight with games at 6 and 8 p.m.
In the opener, the always powerful and defending CIS champions Carleton Ravens take on the University of Alberta Golden Bears, who lost last year's final 86-67.
The University of Victoria Vikes take to the floor at 8 p.m. against the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
"We have a great field this year and it will be a treat for the fans to see these teams,'' said UVic coach Craig Beaucamp.
"The Carleton program is the benchmark for CIS teams. The Ravens are very well coached [by Dave Smart] and Carleton produces great players.''
Smart took over the coaching duties in 1999 and the Ravens have won eight CIS titles. Smart is a five-time CIS coach of the year.
"This will be about the eighth straight year that we have played Carleton and it is always good to play against the best. It will be an interesting weekend to see how we do against some of the best teams in the CIS.
"We have a young group and with the holes we have, it is an opportunity for different players to produce.''
Two of the standouts for the Ravens are Philip Scrubb and Tyson Hinz.
Scrubb, entering his third year, was named the MVP at last year's nationals.
Scrubb and Hinz were both CIS first team All-Canadians.
The Golden Bears had a
14-6 regular season record before going 4-0 in the playoffs to advance to the nationals. CIS first team All-Canadian Jordan Baker is one of the offensive threats for Alberta.
The Pronghorns were third in the Prairie Division of Canada West with an 11-9 record. Lethbridge was knocked out of the playoffs by the Fraser Valley Cascades. Lethbridge's Dominyc Coward was a second-team Canada West all-star last year.
On Saturday, Alberta plays Lethbridge at 5 p.m., followed by the Vikes and Carleton at 7 p.m. The tournament wraps up on Sunday with games at noon (Carleton vs.
Lethbridge) and 2 p.m. (Alberta vs. Vikes).
Vetrie was the head coach of the Vikes men's basketball team from 1989 until he passed away on Sept. 15, 2003, at the age of 52. In 1997, he led the Vikes to their eighth CIS championship.
