2014-15 Outlook for 114th season of McGill men's basketball
The McGill University men's basketball team will officially open their 114th season on Nov. 8 when they host Bishop’s at Love Competition Hall.
The Redmen are coming off back-to-back RSEQ championships, where they have a combined 25-7 regular-season record and qualified for the CIS Final Eight in both campaigns after a 34-year drought. They return four starters from last season after registering a stellar 14-2 record.
Conference coach-of-the-yearDavid DeAveiroreturns for his fifth season at McGill, where the 50-year-old native of Toronto has posted a 74-47 mark (.612) against CIS opponents and a stellar 45-19 record (.703) in regular season play. This past August, DeAveiro had the opportunity to lead Team Canada at the FIBA under-17 world championships in Dubai. His Redmen squad is very young, featuring only three seniors, two juniors, eight sophomores and five freshmen. The Redmen had an intense preseason schedule, posting a 4-5 record against CIS competition and a 0-4 mark against NCAA Div. 1 schools.
The only starter lost to graduation is three-time all-star point-guardSimon Bibeau, a co-captain who overcame two injury-riddled years to average double-digit scoring in his three healthy seasons. Other losses includeNathan Joyal, a key forward off the bench who has graduated, along with role playersMichael Friessen, a guard who transferred and forwardNicholas Yantzi, who has had injury issues and decided to focus on academics.
Leading the 2014-15 edition of the team will be 6-foot-4 seniorVincent Dufort, a shooting-guard who was voted as the league’s most valuable player and merited second-team all-Canadian honours last season. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds over his 16 games played. He was also third among league leaders in defensive rebounds (5.0 per game), fourth in assists (56), fourth in steals (27) and fifth in blocked shots (12). He ranked third in three-point shooting (39%), seventh in free-throw shooting (75%) and had the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).
Looking to build on solid freshmen seasons will be sophomoresDele Ogundokunfrom Hamilton, Ont., andFrancois Bourqueof Terrebonne, Que.
Ogundokun, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound shooting-guard was the league’s rookie-of-the-year award winner, averaging 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He was the top three-point shooter in the league, connecting on 47.8 per cent of his shots from beyond the arc (22/46). The 19-year-old economics and accounting major also garnered second-team all-star and all-rookie team nods. He averaged 31.9 minutes of court-time was seventh in field-goal shooting (45.1%), led the league in steals (42 in 16 games), was sixth in blocked shots (8) and eighth in assists (36).
Joining him on the league’s all-rookie squad was Bourque, a 6-foot-5, 192-pound forward who averaged 8.8 points per outing and was second among conference leaders in both rebounds (7.9 rpg) and field-goal percentage (.500), connecting on 57 of 114 attempts.
VeteransChristian McCue,Thomas LacyandRodrigo Imperadorare all key pieces in the Redmen attack.
McCue and Lacy, both imported guards from the U.S., can heat up at any time, knocking down key long-range shots. Lacy, a 6-foot-1 junior from Jericho, Vt., tied a single-game team record this fall with seven treys in an early October preseason tournament match against Guelph. Imperador, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound senior forward from Brazil, has quick, low-post moves making him a dangerous back-to-basket type of player.
Other sophomores relied upon will be returning starterMichael Peterkin, a small forward who averaged 19.5 minutes per game, point-guardJenning Leung(9/18 in FG shooting) and sharp-shooterRegis Ivaniukas(.382 in three-pointers), plus forwardsBradley Laguerre(6’5”) andSebastian Beckett(6’7”, 229) who add size off the bench. Also sophomore guardJonathan Telforthas returned from an injury-plagued season and can play vital defensive minutes.
Leading a large group of newcomers isJawara Pedican, a 6-foot-2 guard from Vaughn secondary school, who is expected to push seniorAve Brossand the aforementioned Leung for minutes at the point.
Noah Daoust, a versatile 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman forward from Dorval, Que., is expected to contribute heavily on the offensive end. A product of The Hotchkiss School, he can step out and shoot the three-pointer when needed. Abdul-Aziz Atta, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward out of College Brébeuf brings size and intensity to defensive end of the floor andJeremie Casavant-Dubois, a 6-foot-5 star out of College Montmorency, brings a good shooting touch. Rounding out the freshmen isAvery Cadogan, an athletic 6-foot-4 wingman from St. John's Ravenscourt school in Winnipeg.
FOR MORE INFO:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
MOBILE SITE: http://mcgillathletics.ca/mobile/index.aspx
