Someone not named Tyrell Laing or Vova Pluzhnikov will be the leading scorer for the UNBC Timberwolves men’s basketball team this season.
It’s a passing of the torch so to speak as the winds of change blow through the Northern Sports Centre.
The T-Wolves kick off their season tonight (Friday) and Saturday against the Trinity Western Spartans.
Despite the scoring overhaul that’s anticipated for UNBC, head coach Todd Jordan is pretty upbeat about this year’s group.
What the Timberwolves may lack around the perimeter they will more than make up for in the paint thanks to several big men on their roster including Spencer Ledoux, athletic forward Fareed Shittu, Chris Ross, Saymon Loki, and freshman Evgeny Baukin.
“Spencer is going to be a huge part of what we do and it’s going to be an emphasis of ours to try and get the ball into him. Even last year, I was trying to get him more shot attempts and more touches than he was getting and part of that is asking him to be a little more aggressive than he has been.”
“He’s going to be a big focus of our offense for sure and Fareed is an electric player and a guy we want to get involved with as much as we can. Those guys are going to be a big part for sure.”
Tonight is the night!
Dylon Matthews and @UNBCMBB welcome the @TWUSpartans to the @NorthernSport Centre in their @CanadaWest home opener at 7 PM!
Wear green and gold and watch it for FREE!PREVIEW: https://t.co/Nhgixyf2EQ pic.twitter.com/ArQXuMEvLQ
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 4, 2022
On the outside, second-year player Darren Hunter will likely slot into a more prominent role along with American recruit and former junior college player Micha Jessie.
Jordan is quite excited about the Seattle, Washington product after a very productive exhibition season.
“He was an accomplished scorer down at the junior college ranks, which is not that big of a drop from the level we are playing at. He is going to be able to put up some points at this level – through the preseason, he was averaging about 20 a game so he is going to be a big piece.”
“He’s projected to be one of our better scorers this season and then we have some young players like Justin Sunga who was the MVP of the 4A provincials with Burnaby South and Evgeny Baukin has been in town for just over a year playing for Duchess Park. Long term I think he is going to be a good player for us.”
For a team that went 6-12 in the regular season, Ledoux led the entire conference in field goal percentage at 61.6%. Shittu and Pluzhnikov ranked 11th and 13th respectively in rebounds.
The Spartans, who finished 8-10 last season will also be missing their offensive spark pug in Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath who led the conference in scoring with just over 27 points per game, while also ranking first in games started, minutes, and field goals made with 169.
UNBC will be looking to stop fifth-player Mason Bourcier who averaged over nine rebounds per game for Trinity Western.
Listen in as @TWUSpartans star guard Mason Bourcier tees up the TWU – @UNBCMBB matchup to open the @CanadaWest season tonight!
Watch it live on CW TV at 7 PM! pic.twitter.com/gmIsb4YQu7
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 4, 2022
On the women’s side, the Timberwolves come into the season walking wounded against a high-flying Spartans team that went 15-3.
UNBC clinched a playoff spot with a mark of 8-10 but will be asking some younger players to step up early on.
Rebecca Landry could miss the entire season due to an unspecified injury, while second-year player Sarah Kuklisin is also a little dinged up heading into the home opener.
The Timberwolves’ speed took another hit over the off-season as Anastasia Soltes opted to return home and redshirt with the Calgary Dinos, joining former UNBC stalwart Madison Landry who is using up her final year of eligibility in Cowtown.
Head coach Sergey Shchepotkin told MyPGNow.com his team will have to adopt a next-player-up philosophy.
“It’s a little bit challenging now to find new players in new positions but we have some experienced players so we will try to find it.”
Those experienced players include the likes of Sveta Boykova who led the Canada West in rebounds with just over 12 per contest followed by fifth-year Alina Shakirova who finished second in scoring at 18.5 points per game.
Today is the day!!
Alina Shakirova and @UNBCWomensBball welcome the @TWUSpartans to the NSC to open the @CanadaWest season!
Wear green or gold and you get in FREE! 5 PM!
PREVIEW: https://t.co/of1ojoTrTt pic.twitter.com/xAS9uWKgen
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 4, 2022
Laura Garmendia-Garcia will also be looking to take her game to another level as she led the Canada West in field goal percentage at 55.8%.
The Timberwolves will also benefit from fifth-year transfer Olivia Wilson who has claimed a national championship with Macmaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Cevanna Carlson returns to the fold after nearly three years away due to injury, the pandemic, and electing not to get vaccinated for personal reasons last year.
Guards Jenna Korolek (Kelly Road Secondary), Adiah Tupas-Singh, and Hanna Busic will be looking to carve out a bigger role due to the departures of Soltes and Lucy Guan (graduation) and gritty forward Emma vanBruinessen.
On the opposite side, Trinity Western will be leaning heavily on fourth-year forward Nicole Fransson second in field goals made and was also top-three in rebounds.
Fransson averaged 16 points per game, which was tied for 9th in the conference. The next highest Spartans were Kianna Wiens (graduated) and Jolene Vlieg who ranked 26th and 30th respectively.
The tip-off for the games is 5 and 7 pm tonight (Friday) followed by 4 and 6 pm starts tomorrow (Saturday). You can catch all the action at the Northern Sports Centre.
Hear from @TWUSpartans senior Jolene Vlieg, ahead of the @CanadaWest opener against @UNBCWomensBball pic.twitter.com/wKvFM2Yc9Q
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 4, 2022
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