10 years in, All Canadian Games thriving as a high school basketball showcase

The All-Canadian Basketball Games were first conceived at a California Sandwiches in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Presumably hovering over veal sandwiches, Tony McIntyre, the CEO of the premier boys basketball program Bounce Elite and father of ex-NBAer Tyler Ennis, handed John Celenza a mission: make a healthier Gatorade alternative.

Soon after, Biosteel – the pink sports drink — was created. A short time later, McIntyre and Celenza were joined by Jesse Tipping — the CEO of Athlete Institute, which is home to the storied Orangeville Prep team in Unionville, Ont. — on a snowy walk somewhere in Ontario.

It was on that journey where McIntyre, Celenza and Tipping set out to create an answer to the McDonald's All-American Game, a showcase of the top high-school basketball talent in the U.S.

And so what is now known as the Cwench All Canadian Games was born in 2015, with Jamal Murray named the event's first MVP.

Ten years later, the Games are still thriving.

Indeed, the proof is in the alumni: the likes of NBA, WNBA and NCAA stars Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, Thon Maker, Toby Fournier and Aaliyah Edwards have all participated in the game over the past decade.

The next iteration takes place Friday and Saturday at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto.

"The best thing about the game is it's always had the best players, right? And that's kind of what hasn't been able to be done prior to this is, how do we get all the best players to just be showcased at one time?" Tipping said.

Recently, Celenza sat with Andy O'Brien at the renowned restaurant The Bicycle Thief in Halifax. O'Brien is a hockey trainer by trade, overseeing the likes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. But he has also served as the main formulator for Cwench.