Lowdown

A changing of the guard is underway at the defending provincial champions. 

The Cavaliers, fresh off their first-ever CEGEP AAA title, try to turn the page after the graduation of three Division I players -- Pierre-Marie Cespedes, Negus McKenna and Olivier Lamoureux. All eyes will be on 6-4 scorer Maurice Joseph, the top-rated guard in Canada. This young team will follow his lead.

Guards

Joseph, who veballed to Michigan State, brings the same multidimensional attack as his 
predecessor, Cespedes. 

The Adidas All-Canadian can hurt you in every way imaginable, and it remains to be seen if anyone in the country can guard him for 40 minutes. 

It would be an understatement to say that Joseph will have lots of help in the backcourt. There are 11 guards on the roster, although none has yet emerged as a CEGEP star.

Veteran Patrick Kervin was explosive in limited minutes last year. 

He'll be pushed by rookies Etoile Imama and William Archambault .

Forwards

Max Paulhus-Gosselin is set to become the next CEGEP star. D-I teams are all over him, and for good reason -- he's one of the best athletes in the province, and is definitely CEGEP's top defender.

The Adidas All-Canadian forms one of the top duos in Canada along with Joseph.

The rest of the forwards are untested, but Kambi Laleye and Max Boudreault had strong summers, and their towering size has caught D-I attention.

If they both have breakout seasons, Champlain could repeat as provincial champs. Any contribution from rookies Raul Tutelea and Alex Sabino-Ifill would be welcome, as the frontcourt lacks depth and experience.

Assistant Coach Rami Hamad says:

Coach: John Dangelas, 9th year.

2003-2004: 15-1. First place. Defeated Vanier to win provincial championship. Lost to St. Thomas (N.B.) in National Semi-Final.

Departures
- Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes, 6-1 guard (14.5 pts, 6.1 asts**, 2.5 rbs, 2.1 stls, 76.6 ft%, 37.7 3pt% - Signed with D-I Gonzaga).
- Negus McKenna, 6-4 forward (14.4 pts, 10.1 rbs**, 3.8 stls** - Signed with D-I Western Carolina).
- Olivier Lamoureux, 6-9 forward (9.2 pts, 4.9 rbs, 0.9 blks - Signed with D-I Massachusetts).
- Junior Nicolas, 6-0 guard (6.2 pts, 2.8 rbs, 2.3 stls, 33.9 3pt% - Signed with Bishop's).
- Bruno Visotzky-Bernier, 6-6 forward (4.6 pts, 2.9 rbs, 1.2 stls - Signed with UQAM).

Key Veterans
xx - Maurice Joseph, 6-4 guard, 3rd year (15.5 pts, 2.7 rbs, 2.4 asts, 2.3 stls, 0.9 blks, 80.0 ft%, 31.3 3pt%).

- Maxime Paulhus-Gosselin, 6-5 forward, 3rd year (8.2 pts, 3.6 rbs, 1.8 asts, 1.7 stls, 0.9 blks, 30.0 3pt%). 
- Patrick Kervin, 6-0 guard, 2nd year (2.1 pts).
- Maxime Boudreau, 6-8 forward, 2nd year.
- Adekambi Laleye, 6-10 forward, 2nd year.

Other Veterans
- Philippe Letourneau, 6-5 forward, 2nd year.
- Brian Belanger-Finn, 6-1 guard, 2nd year.
- Bradley Zrihen, 6-1 guard, 2nd year. 
- Erik Bergeron, 5-9 guard, 2nd year.
- Jean-Francois Dufour, 6-4 forward, 2nd year.
- Rodney Skerrit, 6-2 guard, 2nd year (ACL/out until January).

Recruits
- William Archambault, 6-4 guard, CPEQ.
Great shooter with size.
- Lofulo Etoile Imama, 6-0 guard, Polyvalente Nicolas-Gatineau

(13.7 pts, 6.3 rbs).
Voted to Juvenile AAA All-Star team as a 14-year-old. 
- Raul Tutelea, 6-4 forward, Sun Youth.
Inside workhorse with good physique.
- Vali Lazarescu, 6-4 guard, College Jean-de-Brebeuf (23.5 pts, 6.8 rbs).
Top scorer in Juvenile AAA league last season.
- Olivier Boyard, 6-0 guard, College Jean-de-Brebeuf (16.1 pts, 8.6 rbs).
Big-time high-school scorer who'll have to fight for minutes.

Walk-ons

- Alex Sabino-Ifill, 6-4 forward, St. Patrick's H.S. (Ottawa)
Top-3 player in Ottawa last year.

** = league-leading stat 
xx = returning All-Star

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Joseph is the best guard in Canada.

"We have a lot of talent on the team and it's going to be really competitive. Everybody will get a chance to show what they can do."