By Troy Langstaff
Although it was a loss, the 74-65 defeat at the hands of the Carleton Ravens in the 2020 U SPORTS national championship game marked the best result in program history for the Dalhousie men’s basketball team.
The 2019 regular season saw the team finish with a program best 19-1 record before dispatching Saint Mary’s and StFX en route to the Tigers second-straight AUS banner. At nationals, the team was seeded second and had to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The Tigers grinded out a four-point victory and then dominated the UBC Thunderbirds in the semifinals 84-55. The silver medal marked the program's second ever national medal (bronze in 2017).
Head coach Rick Plato was awarded the 2019-20 U SPORTS Coach of the Year award for his team's performance.
Xavier Ochu and Sascha Kappos were two notable players from the 2020 squad that saw their time at Dalhousie come to an end.
Over the course of Ochu’s three seasons he averaged 9.8 points per game while shooting 43.6% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. His Tigers career was highlighted by an AUS defensive player of the year award in 2020. Since Dalhousie, Ochu has transferred to the University of Windsor to play for the Lancers in the OUA.
Kappos was an AUS first team all-star in 2019 and averaged north of 11 points per game in his final two seasons. He played in 90 games during his five-year stint with the Tigers and averaged 58.3% shooting from the field. Kappos is now playing for ASA Koroivos Amaliadas of the Greece A2 league.
“With the departures of several key components to our national runner-up team, obviously there were many holes to fill,” explains Plato. “We will be very young upfront this year, but I am optimistic that third-year forward Sam Wade, first-year Ben Shoveller and post Matt Smith will provide the stability we need in that spot.”
The 2021 team will feature nine new players, three of which are from this year's recruiting class. A couple players to keep an eye on this year include guards Nginyu Ngala, and Malcolm Christie.
Ngala has spent the last three years at Vanier College in his native Montréal winning back-to-back provincial championships in 2019 and 2020. He was the finals MVP and a first team all-star in 2019. Ngala was part of the 2020 recruitment class and will finally get to don the black and gold for the first time this season.
Christie spent the last few years playing for the Fredericton High School (FHS) Black Kats. He is a two-time FHS top offensive player and was a member of Team New Brunswick at the 2019 Canada Basketball U17 National Championship. He was one of the three players in the 2021 recruiting class.
This year’s roster also includes returning players Keevan Veinot, Alex Carson, Marley Blommers and Shamar Burrows. U SPORTS first team All-Canadian and AUS MVP Veinot and Carson, a U SPORTS championship all-star, were two of the Tigers best players in the 2019-20 season and were a large part of the team’s historic national run. The two of them also spent some time playing in the CEBL this past summer.
Blommers and Burrows will play larger roles this season than in past years due to the departure of some aforementioned Tigers. Burrows has kicked off the season with back-to-back double-doubles while Blommers is averaging 10 points per game.
The Tigers went 7-2 in the pre-season, going undefeated at the Stu Aberdeen Tournament hosted by Acadia in early October. The team also went 1-1 at the Coach K Invitational at StFX. The only other pre-season loss came against Memorial.
“Although COVID restricted our exhibition play to Nova Scotia, the nine games provided much needed experience for our very young players,” saiys Plato. “It was a great opportunity to work out the kinks that were caused by COVID and I am quite happy with the development and growth of our young players.”
The regular season consists of 20 games with at least two games versus each opponent. Dalhousie faces Cape Breton, UPEI and Memorial four times each. The Tigers will take on Saint Mary’s, Acadia, StFX, and UNB only twice each with each game being worth four points instead of the regular two.
“This team has worked tremendously hard and is eager to defend its AUS championship,” says Plato. “Injuries have caused many concerns, but the depth of this team is such that I am confident the boys will step up and they did just that in winning our two season opening games.”
As coach Plato alluded to, the Tigers kicked off their season with a weekend sweep at Cape Breton this past weekend. The year will conclude on February 18th when the team heads across town to visit SMU.
One would think that with the recent success the Tigers have had, the group might feel added pressure to succeed but Plato kept it light when asked about the issue.
“Playing varsity sports is a privilege and the boys are keen to make the most of it. Pressure - that is what keeps a tire inflated and causes changes in the weather.”