UNBâ??s Accreon Helen Campbell and DS & M Eric Garland Basketball Tournaments promise high level of competition

UNB’s Accreon Helen Campbell and DS & M Eric Garland Basketball Tournaments promise high level of competition

For the second straight year, the DS & M Eric Garland Men’s Basketball Tournament will join forces with the Accreon Helen Campbell Women’s Basketball Tournament to provide Fredericton with a full weekend of exciting basketball action.

The event, running this weekend at the Aitken Centre, promises to deliver an excellent level of competition. The men will face off against teams from Lakehead, who went to the CIS Final 8 last year, and Cape Breton and St. FX, both of which were ranked either second or third in CIS polls last season. Head Coach Brent Baker is looking forward to the challenge.

“We brought in probably three of the top five teams in the country,” said Baker. “We know what we’re in for, and I just want to see how we respond. We’re still pretty young, but we’ve got a hard working crew, and they’re a good group to work with, so I’m looking forward to some good things this weekend.”

The young team is led by veterans Andy Wright and Alex DesRoches. Wright, a hometown forward who recently transferred back to UNB from Bishop’s University is the only fifth-year year player on the team. DesRoches, a guard who hails from Dieppe, is the only fourth-year player and was second in the AUS in rebounds last season.

Two new recruits from Australia will join the younger contingent of the team this year and guard William McFee and 6’10” post player Mike Suffield are expected to do big things. They are joined by forward Jordan Irvine from Woodstock, NB, a player Coach Baker considers “a really good pick up for [the team].”

Despite the team’s younger make-up, Coach Baker feels they will hold up against the competition because of their great group dynamic.

“They’re a really good cohesive group, a good team, they’re the best as far as having a group dynamic that I’ve had in my three years here,” said Baker. “The more cohesive you are, the more team play. That’s going to be a big emphasis for us”.

The women will face a similar level of competition this weekend. Teams from Calgary, Concordia, and Dalhousie will round out the women’s ticket.

Head Coach Jeff Speedy had this to say about the competition, “It’s really good. Calgary is one of the stronger teams in Canada West, Concordia in any given year can challenge to win the Quebec title, and Dalhousie in our league is always a tough team.”

The women’s team has a mix of new recruits and returning veterans this year, and Coach Speedy is very pleased with the team’s make-up.

“We’ve got a really nice mix of young, old, and kind of in between, and we’ve got young players contributing already, and older players who have a great chance of being all conference… we have a little bit of everything, so [I’m] definitely really excited at this point.” said Speedy.

The veterans are represented by two fifth year players, Amanda Sharpe and Leah Corby, both from Fredericton, and both strong players. It’s also a family affair this season, as Leah joins her sister Megan, starting point guard and one of the captains of the team.

New recruits Claire Colborne and Virginia Peters are two players to watch out for this season. Colborne, a wing player from Calgary, was recruited by teams from across Canada, and Coach Speedy feels the team is lucky to have her. He refers to Peters, a forward from Ottawa, as “a bit of a diamond in the rough [who] has a chance to be really, really, good”.

The team has been gelling well so far this year, and the tournament will provide them with a good opportunity for regular season preparation.

“It would be nice to win your home tournament, but this time of year we don’t want to get too hung up on wins and losses,” said Speedy. “More importantly, it’s getting ready for the year and working out some of the kinks. In terms of expectations for the year, if we don’t challenge for the league championship, I’ll be disappointed.”

The tournament kicks off on the women’s side, with Calgary taking on Dalhousie at 2pm on Saturday. The men’s side starts at 4pm, with St. FX squaring off against Cape Breton. The full schedule can be found at www.vreds.ca.

“Fredericton and UNB will get treated to some really high-end basketball. When you have that and [the level] of competition, there won’t be anything boring, believe me,” says Coach Baker.