Import Duncan adds size to Bobcat lineup
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Winnipeg Free Press subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $4.99 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
The Brandon University Bobcats are hoping they’ve found the replacement for their biggest loss of the off-season.
Only time will tell.
Six-foot-nine centre DeMarco Duncan joined the BU men’s basketball team after two seasons at Highline College in Seattle, but injured his knee just a couple of days into training camp.
Denver product DeMarco Duncan has joined the Brandon University men’s basketball team for the 2025-26 Canada West season. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
The Denver product is awaiting a diagnosis, but has shown promise so far as someone who can step in for graduates Jack McDonald and Blake Magnusson.
“Definitely a physical presence, will be able to change shots, rebound, exchanges ends pretty well,” said Bobcats head coach Gil Cheung.
“Hopefully, he can keep up a bit. We don’t really want to tinker with what we do, especially on the offensive end, but he gives us an anchor on the defensive end. For the couple of days he was going up and down, he fit in pretty well.”
Duncan followed a common path to elite hoops. He was always the tallest kid in his class, so people naturally pushed him into the game. But it wasn’t until Grade 11 when he was injured during a game, he said, that he truly decided to take the sport seriously.
“Seeing all my teammates playing the game, trying their best, made me want to come back out there and play with them,” Duncan said. “Knowing I couldn’t play made me realize ‘I kind of like this.’”
At the same time, Serbian phenom Nikola Jokic won back-to-back NBA MVP awards as the star of his hometown Denver Nuggets.
Duncan loves watching the seven-footer play and learned a lot as he landed with Highline, competing in the same conference as new BU guard Malik Brown of Portland, Ore.
“A lot of big men like to shoot threes; I like to be in the paint more,” Duncan said.
“I’ll always be under the basket trying to block shots or dunk the ball, get hook shots, that’s where my biggest strengths are at.
“My coach here wants me to be more of a pick-and-roll, block-shot type of guy, so that’s what I’m trying to put more into right now.”
BUILDING BLOCKS
Cheung recruited a big class for the 2025-26 Canada West season, in part due to necessity with a handful of players leaving, but also to increase intensity at practice.
Cheung said the rookie crop is ahead of the curve through a few weeks and is eager to grow through early-morning workouts with assistant coach O’Neil Gordon on top of their two-hour practices.
“I think we recruited, so far, kids who want to be here and want to put in the time on and off the court to leave here with a degree and play basketball at a high level,” Cheung said.
Fifth-years Travis Hamberger and Sultan Bhatti have taken on a leadership role, helping the young guys find their way on the court, in the weight room and around campus.
Fifth-year guard Travis Hamberger proved he’s by far the fittest Bobcat at fitness testing last week, and will lead what he hopes is a warpspeed Bobcats men’s basketball offence. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
Bhatti is coming off a summer of learning from some of the best pros in the country as a member of the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Montreal Alliance.
Hamberger returned as fit as ever, breaking into Stage 21 in the beep test during Bobcat fitness testing as he continued buzzing up and down the court for five minutes after everyone else in his group dropped out.
Neither is messing around this year, especially after a 7-13 campaign and their only post-season without a victory.
“They’re both fifth-year guys that want to go out on a high and know they can’t do it themselves,” Cheung said.
The Bobcats will open the pre-season, as usual, in Regina with a few exhibition games against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns on Oct. 2 and the Regina Cougars the following day.
They close it at home with an Oct. 16 meeting with Algoma University.
But this year they’re also flying to the Memorial University of Newfoundland to play a trio of games from Oct. 9 to 11, as the Sea-Hawks are helping alleviate some of the travel costs.
“We never go anywhere. Memorial gave us a great guarantee to help us financially, and it’s a trip that will help the guys come together a bit and play three quality games as well,” Cheung said. “A lot of these guys have probably never been out there and will probably never get back there.
“It’ll be great to get out there and play in the Maritimes and experience that a little bit, and get back for the regular season.”
The regular season begins at home on Oct. 24 against the Manitoba Bisons.
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com
» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5