The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team looks to be a force up front but an unknown quantity in the backcourt as the defending Pacific Division champions open sa国际传媒 West play tonight at 8 and Saturday evening at 7 in McKinnon Gym against the UBC-Okanagan Heat.
With point guard Zac Andrus and the searing shooting-guard Ryan MacKinnon graduated, and guard Reese Pribilski taking a year off, the ball will need to be protected by new hands.
"We've lost three good ball handlers so the backcourt will be under a bit of pressure, but I like where we're at," said UVic head coach Craig Beaucamp, in his 10th season at the Vikes' helm.
Returnee Michael Acheampong from Toronto is an outstanding two-guard. Sharing point-guard duties will be former Vike Brandon Dunlop, who returns to the UVic program at age 25 after three seasons off, and freshman recruit Kyle Peterson from Harry Ainlay High School in Edmonton. Reiner Theil, a sophomore from Vancouver College, will add back-court depth.
It is through the forwards that the Vikes might want to bang the ball. The only key loss is graduated Mike Berg.
Christopher McLaughlin is six-foot-10 and Pierce Anderson from Calgary and Dominic Ohl out of Claremont are both six-foot-seven. Las Vegas-native Terrell Evans out of Yakima Valley Community College is also expected to create plays up front along with returning forwards Ted Neilson out of Dover Bay Secondary and Ryan Erickson out of Esquimalt High.
"I like our depth up front," said Beaucamp, whose team was 3-3 in the pre-season. "Overall, front court and back court, we can go 10-11 deep this season."
AROUND CANADA WEST: "UBC and Saskatchewan have also lost lots of players, so I see a great deal of parity in the league," said Beaucamp.
"With eight teams in sa国际传媒 [including newcomer UNBC], and 16 total in sa国际传媒 West [including newcomer Mount Royal of Calgary], that has brought everybody closer to the middle."
UBC starts out ranked No. 2 in sa国际传媒, while Fraser Valley is No. 4.
