'Hard-working, defensive, rebounding team': U of S Huskies men's basketball opens Canada West play Friday
"As our defence and our rebounding kind of hit the level we want to, I think that we’ll be a team that hopefully has a chance to compete (for banner) in Canada West."
Article content
Jamie Campbell got a sneak preview of what the University of Saskatchewan men’s basketball squad had to offer in the pre-season.
The first-year Huskies head coach will get to see it for real when the 2022 U Sports silver medallists open Canada West conference play Friday night (8 p.m.) against the Mount Royal University Cougars.
“It’s encouraging to see everything we’ve seen so far,” said Campbell, who officially took over from interim head coach Chad Jacobson in the summer.
Jacobson, who had replaced Barry Rawlyk near the end of last season, is staying on as lead assistant.
“The guys have been competing really hard,” added Campbell. “We’ve dealt with a little bit of adversity early on in the season, some injuries and stuff like that, but the guys have come back every day and really bought into trying to work towards what we want to be as a team and as a group: a hard-working, defensive, rebounding team. We’ve gotten to play a lot of young guys, with guys taking advantage of unfortunate circumstances.”
As for adversity, fifth-year Huskie Chan De Ciman remains on the sidelines and won’t be available to start the season.
NEWCOMERS TO WATCH FOR
Key additions this season include Briercrest College transfer Jude Shepherd-Hills and Quebec product Erwin Loic.
Shepherd Hills is a 6-foot-5 Aden Bowman grad.
“He’s come in and worked really hard all pre-season,” noted Campbell. “He shoots the ball pretty well. Good size, 6-foot-5. He rebounds, competes on the boards and shoots really well. He’s been able to help provide some spacing for our group.”
Campbell describes the 6-foot-5 Loic as a tough, physical player who excels on the boards.
“He competes,” said Campbell. “He’s all over the place on the floor as a physical presence. He sure wants to play other teams. He’s the type of guy that our guys are happy to have on our team. At practice with our guys, he gets a little physical with them. He’s a good guy to have on our squad.”
Also joining the team is Kelvin Nkubito, a 6-foot-3 guard from Guelph.
“A long, smooth wing player,” Campbell says. “He’s got a really bright future with our program.”
STEPHENS AMONG DOG DEPARTURES
The Huskies said goodbye to a handful of players, including top scorer Marquavian Stephens, Nervens Demosthene, Arminas Ilciukas and team captain Emmanuel Akintunde.
Stephens, an American import, led the Huskies in points per game (19.4) and assists per game (3.5).
Demosthene had come to Saskatchewan last year from Bishop’s University after spending the 2021 summer with the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
DEWAR LEADS VETERAN GROUP
The Huskies welcome back 14 players, although three of those (Dylan Boughen, Benjamin Rose and Seth Jones) were redshirts last season.
Among the key returnees is guard Alexander Dewar.
“Alexander is the obvious one,” noted Campbell. “He’s just had a tremendous pre-season, really. He obviously had to expand his role with some other guys leaving. The scoring load on him is big. It’s immense and he’s really stepped up to play and bought in defensively. He competes. He communicates. He’s really our leader on the floor and he sets the tone.”
De Ciman, Noah Nickel, Agamveer Singh, Cameron Wright, Tyrese Potoma, Fisayo Moibi, Ryker Wuttke, Griffin Sharkey, Kessler Bishop and Maxwell Amoafo all look to expand their roles this season.
“Max and Kessler have the size,” noted Campbell of the two starting forwards. “We were probably one of the best rebounding in the pre-season and they set the tone. Against Memorial, I think they had 30 rebounds between the two of them. I think they really set the tone of who we want to be as a rebounding team. They set that level and the rest of the guys follow from behind.
“Moibi and Potoma, as a backcourt, are able to put some pressure on and shoot the ball really well, get in some spots and create some looks for their teammates.”
OUTLOOK/EXPECTATIONS TBD
It’s early and Campbell doesn’t yet know what to think of his team’s outlook.
“Obviously, we’ve lost some key guys but the outlook is tough to say,” he said. “We haven’t seen everybody in Canada West but we’re looking to compete, to be a hard-working, tough team that did a really good job of scoring in the pre-season. That part won’t change.
“As our defence and our rebounding kind of hit the level we want to, I think that we’ll be a team that hopefully has a chance to compete (for banner) in Canada West, but I think we’ll get a better idea of that as we go through the whole league.”
The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.