Men’s basketball shows everyone how to peak properly
By Davie Wong, Sports Editor
It’s been quite the journey for the Douglas College Royals men’s basketball team. From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows, this season had a bit of everything. While the dynamics of the preseason and the past season pointed towards a middle of the pack struggle, the Royals ended up surprising everyone.
When coach Denis Beausoleil announced his departure from the team at the end of last season’s playoff run, it caught most people off guard. He had just brought in several strong building block pieces, and the Royals were looking like they could be poised for a deep run in the next couple of years. But as the wheel turned, it would end up being Joe Enevoldson who picked up where Beausoleil left off.
For the players and the team, the transition to Enevoldson’s defence-first play-style was difficult. Beausoleil had brought in the Derton brothers, who, while great on the transition and fantastic on the break, struggled in a set defensive style. The team moved from playing a heavy 2–1–2 press to much more zone defence. The transitional aspect of the team still remained, and they were fantastic if they could get a couple of picks from the zone defence to spring the offence, but they generally struggled if they were caught in a five-man zone defence. To make it even more plain, the team went from trying to score the most points, to trying to be the team that conceded the least. That is never ever going to be an easy transition.
And it showed. The team struggled in the first third of the season. Their cadence was off, as was their marking, and even sometimes their zone. But then winter break came. A whole month of nothing but practice. The team went hard, and the players gave it all they had. It really paid off. They came into January, and more importantly February, a new team. Every game saw them improve, and every result was a stepping stone to their goal.
When playoffs came around, that’s when everything started to wrap up for the team. A big win against the Quest Kermodes saw them move on. A tough loss to VIU was the dark spot on the tournament, but they upset the Langara Falcons the next day—which is always an amazing feeling, I’m told—to win bronze. It was something I pinned for the team in the offseason, but I didn’t quite expect the journey it would take to get there.
In terms of individual accolades, Grant Campbell finally got that First Team All-Star I had him pegged for last year. Malcolm Mensah got a Second Team All-Star nod in his final year of eligibility. Rookie Lambert Pajayon earned an All Rookie Team nod for his performance this year as well. But perhaps the breakout player of the year, the player who had the biggest impact for the Royals, was Reese Morris. Morris missed the first half of the season, and took some time to get started once he was back on the court. However, when he got going, Morris was impossible to stop. A board machine, Morris added the physicality and technicality the Royals needed to push them to a new level. He was essential in the Royals’ bronze medal win, and played out of his mind all tournament.
Although the team will be losing a couple of pieces this year, I’m confident that the team that returns will be able to compete at the highest levels.
