More than any other OCAA sport, it seems, men's basketball programs across Ontario get hit hard by a mid-season transition to their roster. Come this time of year, the realities of the academic demands of post-secondary institutions become glaringly obvious, with many a student-athlete opting to turn their attention entirely to the classroom.

Cambrian College, it must be said, is among the majority who have felt the effects of this phenomenom in years gone by. Time will tell if it's a factor at the home of the Golden Shield come January 1st (2014), but at least this time, they will be able to benefit from the flip-side of that coin.

Joining coach Richard Whitfield and company after sitting out the first semester is Lasalle Secondary graduate Derrick Rantala. The 6'5" 20 year old, who was born in Timmins but moved to the area with his family at the age of five, will step into the lineup as the team continues their pursuit of a first win in quite some time.

A lifelong hockey talent who briefly contemplated the move to competitive swimming, Rantala became hooked on the hoops during his time as a Lancer. "When it came to high school, I had to pick between hockey and basketball, because basketball got so demanding," Rantala said.

"Basketball was a pretty obvious choice at that time - I was so into it." Taking his cue in his junior years at Lasalle from the sibling tandem of Andrew and Kristine Lalonde, Rantala worked on bettering his game.

"I would get up at seven in the morning to take shots at the gym," Rantala explained. "I had seen Andrew doing it, so I took it upon myself to do it." The effects, both from a personal and team standpoint, were almost immediate.

"In grade 10, I never really shot the three at all," he continued. "When I progressed, I started shooting more and they started drawing up more plays for me to shoot the three." It is that versatility that will come in handy with a rebuilding Cambrian team.

"Our team is not that big, so I'll have to play power forward or center, depending on what the matchups are," Rantala continued. "But next year, Rich (Whitfield) would like to transition me to shooting guard and small forward."

Rantala, as always, will embrace the adjustment. God knows he has already overcome a fairly significant challenge. Tipping the scales at nearly 300 pounds as he took his first crack at Cambrian this time last year, Rantala knew things had to change.

"I didn't feel it and didn't have the game," he acknowledged. "I dropped out after four days in school." Tapping a program that another friend had used in dropping a significant amount of weight, Rantala started dieting on February 1st and lost some 65 pounds in under three months.

"I wasn't even thinking about playing basketball," he said. "I just wanted to lose weight. I was in the gym three times a day." It was this more streamlined version of hardcourt talent that caught the eye of Whitfield at a pre-season camp last spring.

Currently studying in Electrical but looking to move to the Paramedics program next fall, Rantala realizes the Golden Shield have their work cut out for them. The improvement shown by November along with a somewhat more favourable second half schedule has the Cambrian crew looking to establish a foundation in January and February from which they can build in 2014-2015.

For his part, Rantala is continuing his work towards becoming a key part of that turnaround. "My ball handling needs to get better, and my shooting has to improve a little too," he said.

"It's weird, because I've gotten stronger since high school, but it seems that I am always short on my shots." Yet for a team that has traditionally gotten shorter, on the bench, in the second half of every year, they will gladly accept whatever contribution Derrick Rantala can provide.