Coming off back-to-back bronzes, Gees search for elusive gold in Vancouver
Even after coming off back-to-back bronze medals and adding sharpshooting point guard Ankit Choudhary, the country wasn’t sold on the Gee-Gees.
The men’s team started the season in the seventh rank nationally on Nov. 4 and slipped as far as the 10th rank by the end of November — putting them dangerously close to leaving the top ten for the first time since Nov. 27, 2012.
But even for Choudhary, a newcomer, the mentality was simple. The team didn’t buy in to the lack of national noise around the squad. “Championship or bust,” said the Toronto native, when asked after an 85-65 home opener win on Oct. 26 over the Windsor Lancers what expectations were for James Derouin’s program.
“It’s our time to win the national championship, and if we bring that energy every day, why can’t we do it?”
After shaking off two early season losses to Waterloo and Brock, the Gees entered Christmas break riding a six-game win streak, punctuated by a 71-62 win over Carleton in their own gym. Choudhary then offered an update on that goal.
“I feel like [this is] another chapter towards winning that national championship,” said the Toronto native. “We’re closing out this first semester with a lot of momentum, a lot of swagger, we just want to carry that forward moving into next semester, and keep playing really good ball.”
Flash forward just over three months and that win streak sits at 19 games. Some “really good ball,” indeed.
Just five of those 19 games have been closer than 10 points: that nine-point win over Carleton, an eight-point win at Laurentian, a six-point win at Ontario, a five-point at Queen’s to end the regular season, and an eight-point win over Queen’s in the Wilson Cup finals on Saturday.
Finally, the country has taken notice. The Gee-Gees were rewarded with the first-seed in the UBC-hosted national championships, setting up a date with the RSEQ finalist Concordia Stingers on Thursday at 5 p.m. EST.
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Ironically, the Stingers were the last team the Gees lost to. The 80-70 loss at Montpetit Hall actually came midway through that win streak, during a Jan. 4 exhibition game.
“That game was a great wake-up call for us to kick off the second semester,” said Derouin on Tuesday. “Concordia came in and played harder than us … [that’s a] very tough and well-coached Concordia team, we didn’t match their level and we paid the price.”
In any postseason basketball tournament (see: Virginia vs. UMBC, 2018) a favourite’s edge is less than if the game was played during the regular season. Neutral courts, hot streaks, and unfamiliar teams all contribute to the magic of March basketball. But especially so, in an eight-team tournament like the U SPORTS Final 8.
Derouin is pretty comfortable — and confident in his team. They’ve all been here before. The team is coming off back-to-back bronze medals, and 2025 is the eighth trip to nationals for the Gees under Derouin since he took over as head coach in 2010.
“I feel like [that experience] is huge for us,” agreed Derouin, not just for the team’s on-court practice, but the support the team gets from the Gees’ sports services department as well.
And despite a cross-country trek on Monday, Derouin will be as comfortable as ever pacing in front of the bench at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver.
As a player, Derouin won a CCAA national championship just a short trek from UBC at Langara College before transferring to the U of O to finish his career. As a coach, Derouin began his U SPORTS career with the Thunderbirds, assisting Kevin Hanson to back-to-back Final 8 appearances before again leaving for Ottawa.
With all that in mind, Derouin says it was clear where the Gees were heading during the preseason this year to get the team acclimated to the city and venues before a potential trip back in March.
“As soon as Vancouver [got] a bid, I [was] like, ‘ok, we have to make it,’” said Derouin after the team punched their ticket to nationals with a semifinal blowout over the TMU Bold on March 1.
“Vancouver is my second home, UBC will be there, [Kevin Hanson] will be there, all my Langara alumni, my family will be there, my west coast family, so it’s huge, super excited.”
Tale of the Tape
The Gees will be running their familiar eight-man rotation on Thursday. Their starters consist of a backcourt duo of Dragan Stajic and Ankit Choudhary and versatile wing-forwards Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta, Justin Ndjock-Tadjore, and Brock Newton, who all carry the ball up the court for the Gees at times.
Off the bench, the unit of Owen Kenney (freshman forward), Khalifa Koulamallah (guard-wing), and Matt Smith (big) has grown more-than-accustomed to checking in at the scorers table just minutes into any given game and playing up to 25 minutes a night when needed.
Concordia is led by diminutive point guard Alec Phaneuf, who led the Stingers with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-5 shooting from deep during that Jan. 4 win over the Gees. Phaneuf, who stands at just 5’8”, is joined by 6’0” Junior Mercy in the backcourt.
Jaheem Joseph leads the way for the Stingers up front, averaging 13.3 points per game. The 6’5” wing is prone to turnovers, with 66 to just 60 assists during the regular season.
Just like Queen’s, the key to the game will be staying home on Concordia’s auxiliary players and stopping easy buckets in the paint. The Gees paint defence is second-to-none in the tournament.
Offensively, getting good looks from three is paramount. The Gees shot just 6-of-25 from beyond the arc during that Jan. 4 loss. They also struggled from the charity stripe, hitting just 10-of-18 shots from the line. For Concordia, that rate was 12-of-13.
Finally, winning the rebound battle will ensure a win for the Gees. In their last meeting, the Gees were out-rebounded 49-30.
At times this year, the Gees have lost the rebound battle decisively and still won the game, but honing in on the small things like rebounds in a winner-takes-all match is something you can count on Derouin to hammer home before the game.
The action starts at 5 p.m. EST on Thursday. You can catch the game on CBC Gem or CBC Sports.
