Brandon faces uphill battle without Bhatti

Gil Cheung has his work cut out for him to extend his streak of consecutive playoff appearances to seven come February.

The Brandon University men’s basketball coach has to navigate a 20-game schedule without the only U Sports all-Canadian he has coached, Sultan Bhatti.

For now, Game 20 is the last thing on Cheung’s mind. He hasn’t even given much thought to Game 2.

After two seasons that started with swing trips against two provincial rivals in one weekend, the Bobcats get to focus all their efforts on the Canada West season opener on Friday against the Winnipeg Wesmen. The opening tip is at 8 p.m., following the women’s clash at 6 o’clock.

“We’ve been prepping for Winnipeg and trying to figure out who we are, how Winnipeg will defend us and how we’ll defend Winnipeg,” Cheung said.

“Our schedule for the second semester, I haven’t looked at it.”

PRE-SEASON PROCESS

The Bobcats went 3-2 in exhibition play, including two wins during their three-game trip to Regina in late September.

They lost 95-85 to the host Regina Cougars in the opener as Orie Zehavi dropped a team-high 16 points off the bench for Brandon.

Arjun Hehar netted 31 in a 91-83 win over Lethbridge, then added 25 in a 70-68 nail-biter over the University of Northern British Columbia.

The Bobcats returned home and dropped another to the Cougars on Oct. 13, 88-85, as Noah Manikoglu posted 17 points.

BU defeated Canadian Mennonite University 96-76 in its final tune-up last weekend.

“I thought it was good. For us with a young group, pre-season you just want to see who fits with who and which guys can do what at this level. It’s a big adjustment for a lot of our guys,” Cheung said.

“We tinkered with different lineups and overall I was happy with their compete level most nights. It’s still going to be a big learning curve. We’ve got Winnipeg coming in, who’s a veteran group with basically all returning guys starting for them.”

EARLY-SEASON CHALLENGES

The Wesmen will be a tough opening-night test, with four seniors in the starting lineup and a big, highly touted freshman class.

All-Canadian Kato Jaro will lead a menacing defence and power Winnipeg’s efficient offence, which averaged Prairie Division highs in points per game (83.3) and field-goal percentage (45).

Brandon was a close second in both categories last year, but gave up 83.4 ppg while Winnipeg allowed just 72.1.

The Bobcats have another single-game weekend afterwards, visiting a new-look Manitoba Bisons squad full of unknowns after graduating a massive class. Carberry native Owen Unrau joined the team, which still has a few key veteran pieces including Ramogi Nyagudi, Taven Vigilance and Brandt Lenz.

All three played significant minutes as they eliminated the Bobcats in the first round of the playoffs last year.

BU then welcomes Alberta to the HLC for its first doubleheader weekend of the season.

The Bobcats then play back-to-back weekends in Alberta, against MacEwan and Calgary before their first bye of the season.

BU hosts Manitoba on Dec. 4-5 to close the first half.

“It’s going to be a grind. Winnipeg will be one of the top teams in our conference and have a chance to be a top-10 team in the country when the rankings come out. UVic, UBC, Winnipeg and Alberta will be the top four on our side, so our first four is going to be really tough with U of M and having Alberta,” Cheung said.

“The travel schedule isn’t ideal, going with back-to-back trips to Alberta … it’s going to test us early, and all of those teams are veteran teams.”

After the break, the travel schedule couldn’t be lighter. Brandon hits the highway for Regina on Jan. 8-9, then has three-straight home weekends with a bye breaking up the second and third, hosting Lethbridge, Mount Royal and Saskatchewan.

It closes the regular season with another quick trip to Winnipeg on Feb. 12-13.

GUARD PLAY

For the past three years, Bhatti was impossible to miss on the court. He’d go long stretches where he simply couldn’t miss.

It’s now time to see just how much he’ll be missed.

Cheung said it’ll take time to figure out how to play without someone who drew so much attention from opposing defences, while also looking to replace the 30-plus high-octane minutes Travis Hamberger provided as a spark to the team’s transition offence.

“You gravitate towards (Bhatti) as a defence, and it creates closeouts and open shots for teammates just by having him on the floor,” Cheung said. “I don’t know how many teams can replace a two-time all-Canadian … with just one guy, a freshman or a transfer.

“The leadership and experience Travis brought every single day isn’t something we’re looking to replace, but definitely guys have stepped up and tried to take on some of those roles.”

Naturally, the first place to look for some of that production is Munroop Gill, a breakout sensation from the very first exhibition game in 2025. The Surrey, B.C., native clawed his way into the starting lineup and never gave up that spot as he averaged 17.9 points per game, good for fourth in Canada West.

Gill was named the conference’s rookie of the year, becoming the third Bobcat to earn the honour after current BU women’s coach Ilarion Bonhomme (2012) and Anthony Tsegakele (2020).

“He had an outstanding freshman year and hopefully he can build on that. He’s a gym rat, he loves being in the gym, he’s always looking to play, and he’s gotten stronger in the off-season as well,” Cheung said.

“He’ll be expected to carry a big load of our offence, but at the same time, he’s one of the most unselfish guys I’ve had the chance to coach. He’s just trying to win some games and get in the playoffs and hopefully make a run.”

Third-year Youri Cange should see a regular starting role and significant minutes as BU’s best perimeter defender, who will need to take another step offensively.

Cheung hopes import Malik Brown can keep trending in the right direction, though he has battled a few pre-season injuries and missed time.

Around them, Cheung said CEGEP transfers Yussef Jawad, Kevin Lupetu and Noah Manikoglu will see steady minutes off the bench.

PAINT PRESENCE

The Bobcats are, as usual, thin in terms of forwards with significant experience at the U Sports level.

Former Neelin Spartan Max Winters has carved out a role, starting most games last year and averaging 16 minutes per game. He would play more if Cheung wasn’t as strong a proponent of his hyper-fast small-ball style, which has delivered electric offensive nights in upset victories and some ugly beatdowns when the BU’s three-pointers aren’t falling.

Cheung has been impressed with Winters this fall.

“Max has been great. For a kid in his fourth year, the jump he’s made from high school until now is a testament to him. He’s gotten a lot stronger; he’s put in the time on the court and in the weight room,” Cheung said. “You’re pretty proud of a local kid who hasn’t packed it in or looked to play somewhere else. He’s been one of our leaders every single day, and he’s by far the nicest kid you could ever be around.”

When Brandon goes smaller, it’ll likely be Israeli import Orie Zehavi and Hehar, who quietly became one of four Bobcats to average double-digits in scoring last year, and probably won’t be so quiet in 2026-27.

“He played solid minutes but still played behind Sully most of the time, but he’s been a hell of a steal out of B.C. for us. He’s versatile, he shoots the ball well, high-IQ kid,” Hehar said. “Arjun is going to have a bigger role.”

FREE THROWS: The BU volleyball teams head to Kelowna, B.C., on Thursday for their opening doubleheader against the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday and Saturday.

The Bobcats soccer teams host the Providence Pilots on Saturday at the HLC field, then will use Cougars Field as the site for the season finale against the Assiniboine College Cougars on Sunday.

The BU women can lock up first place and home-field advantage for the playoffs with two victories. If they lose to the Pilots, they’ll be locked into the 2-vs.-3 matchup.

If they draw, first place will come down to the last day of the regular season, but BU would have to beat AC while Providence loses to St. Boniface by enough to overcome the Pilots’ massive 51-33 lead on goal differential.

The BU men (3-4-3) can finish as high as third if they pass the Pilots (4-3-3) this weekend, avoiding a matchup against the first-place Canadian Mennonite University Blazers. Brandon needs a multi-goal win to take the season series over Providence.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com