Kodiak men’s basketball to rely on veterans

By Lethbridge Herald on October 19, 2023.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Lethbridge College Kodiaks men’s basketball head coach Ryan Heggie will lean on veteran players this season after losing many key players off last year’s Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC)bronze medal winnaing team.

“Yeah, it’s been traditionally something  that we’ve always tried to have in our team here in Lethbridge the last several years,” said Ryan Heggie, men’s basketball head coach.

“So definitely again this year it’s nice to have that depth. We do have veteran guys that can carry the load but they’re going to log a lot of minutes. So they’re going to need help in the scoring department and they got it on Saturday (in a season opening 90-82 win over Augustana).”

Heggie will rely on the five returning guys of Filip Karanovic, Treydon  Barton, Declan Peterson, Jared Heggie and Mason Hoffman.

“Those are our five returners,” said Heggie.

“So we’re going to lean on those guys because everybody else is a first year player. But the first year kids, they’ve really started to find their game and find their role. So make no mistake, our veterans are going to have to lead us and they’re going to log minutes this year and a lot of them. But like I said earlier, our recruits and walk ons, they’re learning and they’re coming on. Some nights I’m going to go into the depth and some nights I’m not going to go very far into the depth, (it) just depends how the flow of the game goes.”

As for coaching this season’s team, Heggie says it’s a mixture of you have to be patient, but you also have to be firm.

“They have to know exactly what you want as a coach and what the program needs out of them,” said Heggie.

“It’s refreshing that there’s so many new players. They’re a sponge. They’re absorbing a lot of information and they’re willing to absorb, right, because it’s their first year, they don’t know any difference, they haven’t been in a college program before. So they’re eager, they’re ready to listen, they’re ready to work hard every day and as long we all show up the same  day …ready to work, we have good practices.”

“Just get better and like I said we got lots of new guys ,” said Hoffman, on the focus.

“So the expectations aren’t really there. We kind of just want to get better as a group. That’s kind of the only goal we have right now.”

Hoffman says obviously you want to build chemistry off court.

“We find that defence is how we get better on the court. That’s kind of our style of game,” said Hoffman.

Hoffman thinks effort will be key for success.

“Our effort is  going to be there,” he said.

“We have a lot of heart. Like I said, we got a lot of first years. So that means we got a lot of guys that are trying to prove themselves.”

Hoffman will look to bring composure and accountability to the court.

The aim is a national championship in Hoffman’s mind.

The Kodiaks will look to build off  their season opening 90-82 win over Augustana last Saturday, when they host the Ambrose Lions tonight in their home opener at 8 p.m. before completing the home and home on Saturday at Ambrose at 8 p.m.