BU Bobcats put on show for hometown hoops crowd

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This article was published 26/03/2024 (772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There wasn’t a better place to spend Friday and Saturday nights around here than the Healthy Living Centre this winter.

If you attended every Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball home game, you watched a comeback victory and then a one-point overtime thriller against Thompson Rivers.

You saw the Bobcats sweep the nationally ranked Calgary Dinos, then extend a winning streak to seven consecutive with a pair facing Trinity Western.

BU kept it going in the second semester with a 25-point blowout and near weekend sweep of the Canada West finalist Winnipeg Wesmen, then a strong defensive effort to cap the home slate with two wins facing the Saskatchewan Huskies.

“When things are clicking, we get hot … free admission for 13 and under, I don’t know if you can find a better show anywhere,” said Bobcats head coach Gil Cheung.

HIGHS AND LOWS

Brandon ultimately met the same fate it did a year ago, matching its 12-8 record, winning a hard-fought first-round game then falling to a rested squad in the quarterfinals. It took a terrific night from the now three-time conference champion Victoria Vikes to eliminate the Bobcats.

The fact they were in that position, however, speaks to the determination of a team which suffered two big blows before the season started.

BU’s two best players from 2022-23, Anthony Tsegakele and Jahmaal Gardner, left early. Tsegakele signed a professional contract for his third season in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, rather than the U Sports development contract, deeming him ineligible before he flew overseas for pro opportunities.

Gardner signed a deal with a Moroccan pro team the morning of the season opener at the University of Manitoba.

BU lost that night but came back and blew out one of the top teams in the conference, igniting its run to as high as 12th in the national rankings.

“It was huge because a lot of these guys had been around here for a while. Everyone says they want the opportunity but when the opportunity actually shows itself, they stepped up and made plays and showed they deserved to be starters and contributors at the Canada West level,” Cheung said.

“At the end of the day, there’s no hanging their heads. We lost to the best team in the country, the eventual Canada West champions and gave them a run so I think it was a huge success.”

Brandon could have gone further, or at least had a better shot if a few bounces went its way. An 80-78 loss at Regina, if reversed and paired with two wins in the last four games of the season could have vaulted BU to a first-round bye and more favourable quarterfinal matchup.

BU also could have lost one or two to the winless MacEwan Griffins after a nightmare of a trek to Edmonton filled with flight delays and added bus trips.

The Bobcats ran out of gas, playing three of four weekends two to three provinces over.

THE LINEUP

Tsegakele and Gardner wouldn’t be replaced by two players — maybe two players each.

But instead of trying to swap them out for specific guys, the Bobcats shifted to a team-oriented style. “Keep it hot,” Cheung would often shout while his team whipped the ball around and looked to shoot plenty of three-pointers.

Khari Ojeda-Harvey ran the show and posted more than 20 points per game in the first semester and likely would have garnered a conference all-star award if he kept that clip after Christmas.

Eli Ampofo, already one of the best defenders in the league, took on an increased offensive load and averaged 13.9 ppg while still shooting an astonishing .476 from beyond the arc.

Travis Hamberger emerged as a starter who could play more than 30 minutes per game and was BU’s fourth guy to average double-digits in scoring at 10.9 ppg.

Jack McDonald and Blake Magnusson essentially split time as Brandon’s big man. At six-foot-seven and six-foot-eight, respectively, it was a tough job on a team that wanted to run more than anyone.

Cheung said the key to their success was that they could both space the floor as shooters.

“They were big, they were asked to rebound, they were asked to set a lot of screens, they were asked to defend the other team’s big but they were also asked to be great passers and guys that could pick and pop and space the floor for everybody else, so in that way I think they loved it,” Cheung said.

“I know this place got pretty electric at times but I don’t remember it ever being louder than when Blake hits a straight-on three or when Jack gets going a bit. They embraced their roles and never once said, ‘Coach, I need more shots.’”

Last and the opposite of least, Sultan Bhatti.

The third-year forward emerged as a true star, averaging 19.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He hit double-digits every night while handling a bigger load on the defensive end to make up for the loss of Tsegakele, the 2022-23 Canada West defensive player of the year.

Bhatti put up the numbers of a first-team all-star and received a second-team selection.

“Watching him mature, he came in here and his highs were high, his lows were low. Now he was way more even keel and would be more of a leader in practice and games,” Cheung said.

“He would make sure the frustrations never carried over. He’s one of the best shooters in the country. If you sat in the gym with him, he could go 25, 30 shots from three and not miss.

“He also said, ‘No Anthony, I gotta make sure I get four more rebounds a game.’ People don’t understand how big of a jump that is.”

When you add in the supporting cast and observe this edition of the Bobcats as a whole, there’s one truth that hasn’t always been the case in recent years — they loved being around each other.

It might be the most tight-knit men’s basketball team in Cheung’s 14 years in charge.

“At the end of the day, everybody wants to win, everybody wants to win a national championship or Canada West banner. My kids are here, I’m here every day and there’s not one day I’m like ‘shoot, I don’t really want to do this,’” Cheung said.

“Look at our assistant coaches. How many times will you walk by there at 3:20 and O’Neil Gordon is in there sweating and working out the guys? Derek (Barnett) coaches senior girls, Brett (Nohr) coaches senior boys and they’re here every single day, getting paid jack squat, giving up their weekends and they wouldn’t do that if it wasn’t for a great group of guys and a great staff we have at BU.”

MOVING FORWARD

This team will look a whole lot different next season.

Ampofo, McDonald, Dominique Dennis, Silas Owusu-Acheaw and Malik Lewis are set to graduate and most, if not all of them, will not be back.

Ojeda-Harvey, the New Yorker, jumped on a plane this week and is doubtful at best to return.

As the Bobcats become weaker, the schedule gets tougher as the 10 Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta teams will only play each other next regular season while the seven British Columbia teams stay in their province.

Cheung said he’s looking to add more length to improve on the glass and the defensive end.

He could have three open import spots to patch the lineup together, but finding someone like Gardner willing to move to Canada isn’t easy.

Next season’s starting five will include at least one player with minimal to no Canada West experience.

It’s not an ideal scenario for Cheung, however, at the same time, he can’t help but be proud of a group who stuck together through a rocky three to five years and twice came close to the final four.

“As long as you graduate, you do what you like. They’re grown men, they don’t owe us anything. But I would have an awful feeling in my stomach if they left to do other things knowing they’re only a couple of courses or a couple of credit hours short,” Cheung said.

“I would love this group to run it back and then bring in the right pieces, too.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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