All Saints grad a big piece of Ravens drive for perfect season, Carleton beats Gee-Gees 74-34 at Capital Hoops

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Dan Plouffe

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Kyle Smendziuk, left, has started 14 of 15 games for the undefeated Carleton Ravens this season. The Ravens beat the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 74-34 during the Capital Hoops Classic at Scotiabank Place on Jan. 18.

Dan Plouffe

Kyle Smendziuk, left, has started 14 of 15 games for the undefeated Carleton Ravens this season. The Ravens beat the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 74-34 during the Capital Hoops Classic at Scotiabank Place on Jan. 18.

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Ashbury College and Elmdale Public School grad Bess Lennox is working on a public administration master's degree while also battling for a national title with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women's basketball team, who beat Carleton 59-55 at last week's Capital Hoops Classic at Scotiabank Place.

Dan Plouffe

Ashbury College and Elmdale Public School grad Bess Lennox is working on a public administration master's degree while also battling for a national title with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women's basketball team, who beat Carleton 59-55 at last week's Capital Hoops Classic at Scotiabank Place.

EMC Sports - Kanata's Kyle Smendziuk, a fourth-year starter for the Carleton University men's basketball team that has won seven of the past nine national championships, is really what the Ravens' success is all about.

No matter how bad they dominate opponents - and how many people talk about this year's team possibly being the best edition of the Ravens to date - the players and their coach always pick out flaws in their never-ending quest for perfection.

So it shouldn't be a surprise that after overwhelming the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees - a team that has enjoyed its fair share of success against the rest of the competition with a 10-5 record - at last week's Capital Hoops Classic by a score of 74-34 at Scotiabank Place on Jan. 18, that he wouldn't quite join in all the fanfare.

"Sometimes the focus is a bit off," Smendziuk says. "Yes, it's definitely I think one of the most talented teams we've had. But we've had a bit of a lack of focus on defence sometimes."

Smendiuk certainly fits the hard-working mould preached by coach Dave Smart. The six-foot-six forward doesn't get a lot of the offensive glory with 4.5 points per game, but provides a solid floor presence all-around as he's started 14 of 15 games.

It's always about finding a new challenge for the team that has almost doubled its opponents point total in 15 victories, and the All Saints Catholic High School grad has found that goal - an undefeated season.

"We've never done that before. There's always been one game," Smendiuk notes. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not to kind of keep the focus, but it would be nice to go through a year where we kept our focus all year and went undefeated.

"That'd be great, but we just want to make the nationals and take it from there. The end goal is a national title, and if we can win all the others along the way, great."

Smendiuk has developed into one of the Ravens' core players while studying aerospace engineering at Carleton. And there wasn't a much better venue to celebrate that success than at the Capital Hoops contest at Scotiabank Place that attracted 7,022 fans this year.

"It's a lot of fun. It's definitely exciting with a lot more hype around it and a lot more energy in the building," adds Smendziuk, who also enjoys getting the opportunity to show off his exploits just down the road from where he honed his talents at All Saints. "My family's always at the games, but some of my teachers from high school I get to see and people who I know from years ago, so it's always nice to have their support."