Survival School basketball red hot

Playoffs are coming soon for Kahnawake Survival School (KSS)’s Juvenile basketball team, and the way they have been playing, it’s likely going to be more than a one-game experience.

At the time of writing, the Akweks are 7-2, good for top spot in their seven-team Greater Montreal Athletic Association (GMAA) division - they will have played one more game on Thursday afternoon, after The Eastern Door’s publishing deadline.

Matthew Kyer, the team’s head coach, emphasized three elements that have led to the team’s success, the first being a change in how playing time can be given at this level.

“It’s basically real basketball, where, in years past, we were playing in a division which was participation, where the kids would have to play four minutes on, and then we’d have to switch them off and then put other kids on,” said Kyer.

It was not exactly a winning recipe to have to continuously switch off players in a sport where a hot streak can mean everything, and where the gaps in size and skill can be magnified compared to older levels.

That’s where the second element comes in, the quality of players. Many of his best players are on the honour role, which means they can always play in games, he explained.

Kyer said his starting five all have something that sets them apart.

His centre, Kasyn Moses, is taller than basically every other centre in their division, but he is lanky, and quick, which contrasts with the stockier bigs other teams use.

Moses is at his best on the defensive end of the court, making life difficult for shooters.

“He alters the game tremendously, because he alters shots. He alters the way they’re going to penetrate inside because they’re afraid to get blocked or not make the shot,” said Kyer.

Jackson Norton is the point guard, delivering the ball where it needs to be. Raniatarine Martin is the other big at power forward, where he is also their three-point specialist. Tioháhes Morris and Slade Two Rivers complete the core, with Two Rivers impressing Kyer with his versatility.

Tehoweren’ha Thunderblanket and Arahkwenhawe Two-Axe are the first off the bench for substitutions, and the rest of the team play when they can and can be counted on to provide encouragement when they’re not on the floor.

The core makes the Akweks good, but it’s the system that makes them great, according to Kyer.

That system emphasizes interior possession, kicking the ball out to open teammates, using space to their advantage, and applying a full-court press on the defensive side of the ball.

Kyer explained that many high schoolers want to emulate what they see in current-day NBA play, which means throwing three pointers all the time, oftentimes no matter the coverage or the openings.

“That’s not reality,” said Kyer.

Players still put up threes, he said, but they’re working on getting bad habits out of their system, mostly by showing that a made two is worth more than a missed three in practice.

The Akweks will have two more games to go in their regular season, the first of which is today, Friday, at KSS at 3 p.m. against Beurling Academy.

Beurling (6-3 at time of writing) and KSS had a close game in their first meeting, which KSS ultimately won 44-37.

KSS’s last game of the regular season will be on the road on February 11 at 3:30 p.m. at Rosemont High School. Rosemont is 2-8 at time of writing, with KSS winning their only previous contest 51-31.

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