A year-by-year list of provincial high school basketball champions shows our city had a thriving hoops culture that predated the Raptors.
From 1982 to 2001, half of the championships were shared among the same Toronto schools: Oakwood Collegiate Institute, Bathurst Heights High School, Runnymede Collegiate Institute, and Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute. These schools were perennial contenders that produced legendary players, including Greg Francis, Jamaal Magloire, and Phil Dixon, and pioneering coaches like Bob Maydo, John Petrushchak, and Simeon Mars. The dominance of these schools defined a time when high school basketball mattered, and neighbourhood schools ruled.
