The 1997-98 men's basketball team was a curious mix of talented players from a variety of backgrounds and experiences that made a magical run to give Jim Flack his first in a long string of Ontario Championships. Mostly culled from Brampton and Mississauga, the team was a multi-cultural and multi-talented group that had two things in common: they were inexperienced and they were hungry for gold.
Led by two standout guards from Malton, Bryan Harris and Shane Bascoe, and monster pivots, Ricardo Edwards and Chris Bennett, the team regularly played 11 or 12 Bruins in order to wear their opponents down. Motivated by early playoff elimination one year prior, the few that returned had an incredible will to win. With an overall record of 28-12 and an OCAA record of 12-2, the provincial champions will be remembered as one of the youngest teams to win a title.
Assistant Coach Leroy Cassanova (Hall of Fame class of 2016) recalled the group with great fondness. "When we got back to the hotel, the coaches looked at each other with stunned surprise," he said. "We had been victimized by early playoff losses with teams that were superior in size and talent. But finally we were cutting down the nets, and doing it with a bunch of undersized freshmen and sophomores. Their hearts were huge."