Magnusson chases senior weekend sweep
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/02/2025 (295 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Blake Magnusson still gets a kick out of surprising people.
It was fair to be caught off guard when a six-foot-eight, 285-pound forward pulled up from the three-point line a few years ago, but he’s been doing it for four years now. Still, it draws extra reactions from announcers around Canada West men’s basketball when the “Big Viking” lets it fly.
Fans will hear that nickname — coined by Brandon University’s Tyler Crayston on Canada West TV — one last time as Magnusson plays his last two regular-season games against the Saskatchewan Huskies at the Healthy Living Centre today at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Blake Magnusson, right, and Jakarri Lindsey look on during Brandon University men's basketball practice on Wednesday. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
“You look at what I look like and for lots of people it’s the last thing you expect,” Magnusson said. “You don’t believe or don’t think I should be able to do it, I just want to do it even more.
“I don’t look … prototypical but I just want to prove every night that I can do what people don’t think I can.”
The Gimli native joined the Bobcats in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He appeared in 10 games in 2021-22, averaging 7.6 minutes per game before seeing that number cut in half the following season.
He averaged 11.5 mpg last season and is at 13.8 this year. He’d likely play more elsewhere, in a system that isn’t about playing at light speed.
But Magnusson has adapted.
“I gotta be able to shoot it better than anybody … obviously we got one of the best shooters in the country in Sully (Sultan Bhatti) but being able to … play defence and stretch the floor is the only way I feel like I can get in the game and stay in the game,” Magnusson said.
“We’re not a team that can bang it inside … tries to slow the game down. I’ve got to be able to stay in shape and get up and down the floor as much as I can with the lineup we have.”
He’s shooting 32.4 per cent from three-point range this season, one he can’t help but wonder about how it could have been different.
The Bobcats (5-13) aren’t dead yet. They need two wins and one Regina (6-12) loss at Calgary (14-4) to take the last Prairie Division playoff spot. But after a pair of 12-8 finishes, he knows the younger roster could benefit from more experience.
“There was a lot of chemistry, building up to knowing each other and trusting each other on the floor compared to other years where we’d built it together,” Magnusson said.
“It’s been a great time here. One thing I wish is … we (had) the same team I was with the past couple of years.
“This would have been our last year we’d all be together and it’d be a big different outcome if we had Anthony (Tsegakele), Eli (Ampofo), Dom (Dennis), Khari (Ojeda-Harvey) … I love everybody that’s here right now but we would have been easily the best team in the country right now and something we think about sometimes.”
Blake Magnusson is set to play his last weekend of regular season games for the Brandon University men's basketball team today and Saturday. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
The Bobcats have yet to sweep a weekend this season. They split Regina, Alberta (8-10), MacEwan (2-16), Mount Royal (10-8) and Winnipeg (14-4).
If they fail to do so this weekend, they can’t make the playoffs even if Regina loses twice, since Saskatchewan would claim the final spot.
A loss tonight would leave Magnusson with a bitter reality — Senior Night would be his last game.
“We gotta do our job Friday and as long as we do our job … have a sweep and know there is another weekend of basketball, I can appreciate the whole senior night stuff hopefully weeks after,” he said.
The Huskies are on a remarkable run. After starting 0-12, they’ve rattled off five wins in six games to jump back into the playoff conversation.
They pose matchup problems with six-foot-nine Easton Thimm averaging more than 13 points and 10 rebounds per game, while seven-foot Ryker Wuttke is quiet on the scoreboard but a guy BU might not have an answer for.
“They’ve got some size and got young guys that are shooting the ball well right now,” Magnusson said. “They lost (Alexander) Dewar, they lost (Chan) De Ciman but other guys are slowly starting to fill roles. They’re hot but we’ve got a good chance if we play our style of basketball and slow them down.”
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com
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