Canadian National Is Making An Impact In Nation's Capital

Ron Bailey, Publisher

December 20, 2006 – Canada, long known as a hockey obsessed country, has produced some of the greatest players ever in that sport. America’s neighbor to the north has also been responsible for great track athletes, as well as curlers.

Recently, Canada has created fine basketball players as well, an assertion proven by the likes of the NBA’s Steve Nash, former UConn player Denham Brown, and present Michigan State guard Maurice Joseph, to name just a few.

While it’s way too early to compare a high school student to those players, D.C. does have its own Canadian on the scene, junior Kristopher Joseph.

Joseph and native of Montreal, Quebec, and the younger brother of Michigan State’s Joseph, has traveled south to Washington, DC., having enrolled at Archbishop Carroll. “I always wanted to play in the States” said the 6’7”, 215lb, Joseph recently. A connection between his Canadian coach and Carroll facilitated becoming a Lion.

Kris Joseph uses his ball handling abilty to attack the rim, thereby producing foul shot opportunities, as is occuring above.

According to Kris, the acclimation to hoops in the States hasn’t been overwhelming. “It has not been a tough adjustment” he shared, though players in America by and large are “stronger”, and he’s had to “adjust to the speed” of the game.

Based upon the young man’s performance in the first round of Bullis’ Holiday Tournament, Kris has hit the ground running. On the way to scoring 20 points, Joseph repeatedly filled lanes and attacked the rim. His ball handling skills – including dribbling and passing – are exceptional for a junior, his size. Joseph also displayed an ability to defend and hit the outside shot.

The block and subsequent long pass to streaking teammate in the first quarter of Carroll’s 82-68 victory over Mt. Carmel illustrate both his defensive and passing ability, while his frequent drives to the hole shaking defenders by dropping the ball behind his back demonstrated dribbling skill.

Basketball is a family affair with the Joseph clan: Older brother Maurice, a MSU Spartan, used to rough up his brother when the two played.

Kris credited his brother, Maurice, for helping develop him to this point. “I used to practice with him” he revealed. “We used to play midnight hoops”. As older brothers do, Maurice did not take it easy on his young brother, which had the typical effect of advancing Kris’ development.

Several colleges have taken notice of Joseph, which he identified as “Clemson, Georgetown, George Mason, Arizona State, Maryland, Howard”. Presently he has no leader, and will chose a school that is “A winning program, and is a good academic school”. Geographic location is not presently a factor, as Kris stated “I’ll go anywhere I fit in”.

Going forward, Joseph plans on improving his toughness and strength, thereby further sharpening his game. That desire to better himself also extends to the classroom, where Kris noted, “I’m doing well but there always room for improvement in whatever you do. Therefore I think I can do better and I’m working hard on getting it done”.

Check back with i95Ballez.com for updates on the Montreal native, Kristopher Joseph. He has introduced himself impressively, to Washington, DC.