Outlook for 109th season of men's basketball at ±«ÓãÖ±²¥
Ìý
MONTREAL -- The ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ men's basketball team will feature a major facelift in their 109th season under new Redmen head coach Dave DeAveiro, who posted an impressive 210-127 overall record in eight years with the Ottawa Gee-Gees and spent the summer working with the Canadian national team
Ìý
Also joining the staff is assistant coach John Dangelas, who moves on from his 13-year career as bench boss of Champlain College in St. Lambert, Que., where he coached numerous future NCAA Division 1 and CIS players.
Ìý
The Redmen will open the regular season with a home affair against the Bishop's Gaiters on Nov. 13 after a challenging pre-season with four game against NCAA Div. 1 schools, including the Maine Black Bears, the Cincinnati Bearcats the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Robert Morris Colonials. ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ went 0-4 vs the NCAA squads but posted a respectible 4-4 record versus CIS teams, including five teams in the CIS Top 10. The Redmen registered wins over Windsor, Queen's, York and UPEI.
Ìý
"Basketball has definitely become a 12-month sport," at ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, says DeAveiro. "Our players showed up on campus in August ready to face two tough schools in Maine and Cincinnati, with a different coaching staff and eight newcomers. It is safe to say that we have used our preseason getting to know each other and understanding the level of commitment and excellence that is expected. Our young group has responded to the different challenges presented to them and is eager to begin the regular season."
Ìý
Last year, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ had a 12-18 overall record under head coach Craig Norman. They finished third in the five-team Quebec conference with an 8-8 record. It was the highest regular-season win total for ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ since 2001-02, when they finished second with a 12-3 record.
Ìý
The 2010-11 edition of the Redmen will feature two seniors, a pair of juniors, three sophomores and eight new faces, including a couple of NCAA transfers and the return of a player who had sat out the previous two seasons. The roster is composed of seven players from Quebec, in addition to three Americans, three from Ontario and one from British Columbia.
Ìý
The team will have tri-captains this year, including senior Michael White, junior Nicholas Nishikawa and highly-recruited freshman Simon Bibeau, whose sister (Helene) plays for the ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ women's team.
Ìý
The Redmen must replace a pair of 6-foot-4 senior guards from their rotation, namely Pawel Herra and team MVP Matthew Thornhill, who was named the Quebec university player of the year last season.
Ìý
UP FRONT:
Ìý
Michael White, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ from Montreal, has returned for a fifth year. Expected to see increased playing time under the basket will be sophomore Nicolas Langley and junior Greg Gause.
Ìý
Langley is a 6-foot-6, 210-pound native of Golden, B.C., who had a summer stint with Canada's national junior team and has the potential to take over a game. Gause is a 6-foot-8, 207-pound centre out of Champlain Union Valley high school in Williston, Vt., who is enough of an offensive threat to lead the team in scoring many nights.
Ìý
The only other returnee from last year is junior Nick Nishikawa, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ from Hamilton, Ont., who was voted the team's most improved player last season. Kyle Bernard, a 6-foot-4 small ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, also returns to the Redmen after sitting out the past two seasons to concentrate on academics. Originally from John Abbott College, the 23-year-old Montreal native last played for ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ in 2007-08 and is a big, athletic wing that will allow the Redmen to be more aggressive defensively.
Ìý
A bruising, tough ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ to watch for is Cody Mazza-Anthony, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound freshman from Bishop Ryan secondary school in Hamilton, Ont. Tristan Tremblay, a 6-foot-7, 220-power ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ who previously starred with Champlain College, has transferred from The Citadel, an NCAA Division I military college in Charleston, S.C.
Ìý
Another piece of the puzzle is red-shirted NCAA transfer Shawn Bowen, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard who played three years at Stetson University after graduating from Champlain College. He is expected to contribute in practice while biding his time until he become eligibile to play.
Ìý
THE BACK COURT:
Leading an impressive backcourt is freshman Simon Bibeau, arguably the top graduating player in Quebec to remain in the CIS this year.Ìý The 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard from St. Bruno, Que., was a member of the Quebec provincial program and starred with Champlain College. After an stellar preseason with the Redmen, averaging about 24 points per game despite facing the opponent's top defenders, Bibeau can be considered a leading candidate for CIS rookie-of-the-year honours.
Ìý
Sophomore Winn Clark and freshman Karim Sy-Morissette will be counted upon to grab rebounds and play defence from the guard spot.
Ìý
Clark is 6-foot-3 guard from Mission Hills, Kansas, who returns off a solid campaign in which he named as the team's most outstanding defensive player. Sy-Morissette is a big 6-foot-4 athletic guard expected to make an impact. He is a local Montreal product from Dawson College Blues where he won a CCAA national championship under coach Wayne Yearwood and was among the league leaders in steals.
Ìý
Also back is 5-foot-10 Olivier Bouchard of Montreal, a pass-first, lead point-guard who captured conference rookie-of-the-year honours last season. He led the Redmen with 56 assists in 15 games to go along with 18 steals, one shy of the team lead. The 21-year-old management sophomore averaged 9.9 points 2.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game and drained a team-leading 79.6% of his free throws. He shot 39.8 from the floor and 34.8 from beyond the three-point line.
Ìý
Two other freshmen to watch are 6-foot-1 Gordon Duffley out of Trinity College School in Manchester, N.H., and David McMurty, a 6-foot-2 point-guardfrom Greenwood College School in Toronto.
Ìý
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
±«ÓãÖ±²¥ Athletics & Recreation
514-398-7012
Ìý