Vetrie tourney ready for opening tip

Twelve teams are ready for action as the Guy Vetrie Tournament is set to begin in Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday.

The Vetrie tournament, which changed its name from the Sault Invitational, will feature some entertaining high school senior boys basketball as six strong visiting teams join the six local high school teams.

Games begin on Thursday night with all 12 teams in action.

At Korah, White Pines meets Sudbury LaSalle at 7 p.m. followed by Timmins and Korah at 8:45 p.m. At St. Mary's, Sir James Dunn battles Bawating at 7 p.m. followed by St. Mary's and Father Henry Carr at 8:45 p.m. St. Basil will entertain Sarnia Northern on their home court at 7 p.m. with Mother Teresa and Sudbury Lo-Ellen Park to follow at 8:45 p.m.

Father Henry Carr and Mother Theresa enter the tournament as two of the top ranked teams both provincially and nationally.

Mother Teresa is ranked number two in the Greater Toronto Area while holding the second ranking in the National Power Ranking. Father Henry Carr is fourth in the GTA and eighth in the national polls. The Toronto Star coaches poll currently has Father Henry Carr in second and Mother Teresa in third.

Sudbury's LaSalle and Lo-Ellen are both strong teams capable of competing for a title while Sarnia and Timmins are also expected to make a strong run at the tournament.

Action continues on Friday as all local teams will host games on their home court in a gym crowded with students beginning at 2 p.m. followed by games at 7:15 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.

Korah will host Saturday's championship games beginning with the consolation final at 3:45 p.m. The third place game follows at 6 p.m. with the championship game scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m.

The winner of the tournament will receive the Tom Tipton trophy while the tournament's most valuable player will be presented with the John Marasco trophy.

"We're expecting some good basketball and it couldn't happen without the help of all our sponsors. It is important to thank the sponsors because without their considerable donations we couldn't hold a tournament of this calibre," said tournament co-convenor Jeff Giovanatti, who is working with co-convenor Ross Viotto on the project.

The tournament was renamed this year to pay tribute to local basketball legend Guy Vetrie who passed away suddenly in September after a stellar coaching and playing career at the Canadian university level.

"We really wanted to pay tribute to Guy after we heard about his passing," said Giovanatti. "I coached with him for six years at his camp and it was shock. We wanted to recognize him because he always took time out of his schedule to come back to the Sault and coach and run his camps."

After a four-year career as a star basketball player at Laurentian University in Sudbury under legendary coach Ken Shields, Vetrie began his coaching career at the school as an assistant to Shields.

Following a season at Laurentian, Vetrie went on to coach the Saskatchewan Provincial Elite team for two years. Vetrie then broke into the University ranks as a head coach with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies from 1979-1988 and took the team to several national championship tournaments.

Vetrie moved to UVic in 1989 after being selected by Shields, who left UVic after seven national titles in the 1980s to coach the Canadian National Team. At UVic, Vetrie led the team to a national championship in 1997 and a spot as Canada's entry in the Jones Cup in Taiwan that year.

Vetrie, who has won 530 university games as a head coach, won six Canada West conference coach of the year awards and served as the national team assistant coach from 1989-1991. Vetrie also coached the national B team in 1991.

Vetrie never lost his love for his hometown and made his way back to the Sault each summer for his annual basketball camp, where he touched the lives of many local basketball enthusiasts.