Win streak sits at program-best 18 games heading into provincial; national championships
Gee-Gees fans thought they had seen it all. In the OUA quarterfinals last weekend, the men’s team tore a strip off the visiting Laurentian Voyageurs, jumping out to a 13-0 lead that would turn into an 81-50 decision.
Ranked second in the nation — presumably, soon to be first, following the Victoria Vikes’ loss to Calgary hours earlier — and entering the semifinals on an already-program-best 17-game win streak, expectations have been sky-high for this Gees squad.
But on Saturday, the men broke any semblance of a glass ceiling, leaping out to an-adjective lacking 19-0 start against the TMU Bold. The Bold would be held off the board for more than six minutes after the game began.
“Different,” is the word that longtime head coach James Derouin settled on to describe the 2025 edition of the Gee-Gees. Derouin has been behind the Gees bench since 2010, when he took over from David DeAveiro.
It was DeAveiro who led the visiting Bold into Montpetit Hall on Saturday night. The Bold entered the game 17-7 and ranked tenth nationally — and the home court advantage that DeAveiro enjoyed while coaching the Gees had now turned 180 degrees on him.
A sold-out Gee-Gees crowd sat patiently waiting to erupt as the game tipped off just after 8 p.m. Justin Ndjock-Tadjore gave the fans what they wanted;, delivering a three from the left break after a block from Brock Newton gave the Gees their first possession of the game.
Ndjock-Tadjore said that he could feel the energy in the building right away, and that the rivalry between the Gees and Bold played into the energetic start from the team. “The whole season, this is the game we wanted to win,” added Ndjock-Tadjore, alluding to the stakes of nationals being on the line.
Ndjock-Tadjore finished with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting, adding six assists, three steals, and a block. Three other Gees finished with double digits: Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta (17 points on 6-of-9 shooting), Dragan Stajic (16 points on 6-of-9 shooting), and Newton (11 points on 4-of-11 shooting).
“Our veteran leadership really shined here,” said Derouin after the game. “I thought our energy defensively was just incredible, again, to start. It kind of put the game in a place where all you have to do is be smart and get everybody out without anybody getting hurt … we were ready tonight.”
Derouin gave a lot of credit to the crowd, which he says has been building over the last three or four seasons. “With our football guys, and our rugby women, everybody just out supporting, it’s a super knowledgeable crowd, too, so, they know when to get excited. Unfortunately, they know when to stop paying attention a little bit too,” joked Derouin.
“The atmosphere is great,” added Derouin. “We’re undefeated at home, in playoffs, and man, [the guys] feed off the energy … it’s intimidating for the opponent and it’s exciting for us, hopefully we get some extra seats in here for the Wilson Cup next weekend.”
The Gee-Gees have improved immensely from beyond the arc year-over-year. Saturday, they shot 14-of-25 from deep, and entering next weekend, are shooting the three ball at a 35.9 per cent clip in all forms of competition this season. A year ago, that figure was 29.5 per cent.
Ndjock-Tadjore agrees “one-hundred per cent” that the team’s prowess from beyond the arc has been the biggest difference for this year’s team. “When we add guys like Ankit [Choudhary] and [Owen] Kenney], they helped us a great deal with our three-point shooting.”
But in addition to the external additions of Choudhary (40.5 per cent from three) and Kenney (38 per cent), the Gees have seen improvements from Guemeta (29.4 to 36.5 per cent) and Staijc (35.1 per cent to 48.6 per cent).
The Gees enter the provincial championships ranked seventh in the country in the statistic. A year ago, they placed 46th out of the country’s 48 teams.
A Historic OUA Championship at Montpetit
The last time the Gees hosted the provincial championship was in 1992-93, when they steamrolled Western 88-48. Current assistant coach Clarence Porter was a key figure on that Gee-Gees team.
“We’ve had some amazing teams here,” acknowledged Derouin, reflecting on some Gee-Gees history after the game. Derouin captained the Gees in 2000-01 and 2001-02 himself.
“They’re different. Dragan’s leadership, [Guemeta’s] ability to change the game on both ends of the floor, just an unselfish group. Eight deep. And they’re just locked in all the time. People are asking me all the time, worried about jinxes, what ball we’re going to use — this group is locked in … this team has one goal, and that’s a national championship.”
A national championship, of course, is the one accolade that has not found its way to the program’s mantle. March 13–16 at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, the Gee-Gees have the chance to change that.
Derouin calls Vancouver his second home, winning a CCAA national championship with Langara College in British Columbia before transferring to the U of O as a player. He then spent two years as an assistant with UBC before returning to Ottawa as a coach; travelling to the national championship both years.
Derouin took the team to UBC to play in a preseason tournament in October to get the team acclimated to the building in advance of a potential trip to nationals. But first, the Queen’s Gaels loom a bit closer to home.
“We were worried about wildcards and rankings and stuff like that in the past, obviously Carleton’s dominance had a huge impact on that,” said Derouin.
“This year, the guys have just [been like] ‘we’ll play wherever, whoever, whenever. It’s one thing to say that but this group really does mean it, it makes my job as a coach really easy to be honest.”
The OUA championship will go next Saturday at 8 p.m. at Montpetit Hall. Across town the women will battle the undefeated Carleton Ravens in a unique doubleheader at 6 p.m.
