New-look Blue Tide hit court
Published Wednesday November 4th, 2009
Crandall basketball teams begin ACAA season against Mount Allison
The Crandall Blue Tide came close to winning their first Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association men's basketball championship last season.
They'll try again this year with a new head coach and an almost whole new team.
The Blue Tide return just three players -- guard Karl Frederick, forward Kemoy Shaw and post Matthew Sweezey -- from last season's team that lost to the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics in the conference final, less than a week after beating the then-No. 1 nationally-ranked Mystics on the final day of the regular season.
Serge Langis takes over from former Crandall bench boss Greg Maillet and his lineup features nine rookies. Despite a nearly complete makeover, Langis believes the Blue Tide can be a contender again.
"It's definitely a different looking team and we've certainly lost some experience, but personally, if we're not making a run for the championship any season, then it's not a good season for us," said Langis, a 35-year-old Moncton native who coached the l'Odyssée Olympiens senior boys high school team the past three seasons.
"That's what we expect here and that's what I tell kids when I'm trying to sell them on our program. We always want to be getting ready for a championship year, regardless if we're rebuilding or not."
Crandall opens the regular season Friday at home against the Mount Allison Mounties at 8 p.m. The women's game between the schools is set for 6 p.m.
The Mounties teams are 0-1 after dropping games to Mount Saint Vincent Sunday.
The Blue Tide finished second with a 16-5 regular-season record before reaching the conference final for the first time last season. Notable losses include all-Canadian post/wingman Clint Bateman, ACAA rookie of the year Kareem Frederick, guard Chris Leger and forward Josh MacLeod.
Crandall will lean heavily on its three returning players -- Karl Frederick, Shaw and Sweezey, a Miramichi native.
"If these three guys can stay healthy, our offence goes through them. There's no question about it," said Langis, an assistant coach on the now-defunct Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus men's team in the ACAA for two seasons.
Langis also expects to get contributions right away from some of his freshmen, who come from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and Nigeria.
Mike Barnett, a 25-year-old forward from Salisbury, isn't your typical rookie. He played briefly with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men a few years ago and has come back to college basketball. Forward Wade Lawrence and guard Jamie Gray, both of Bristol, N.B., and guard Jordan Fresque of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., could earn major minutes.
"Anyone of our rookies could surprise me. They've all played good basketball and they've had solid coaching along the way. It's just a matter of how much work they want to put into it," said Langis, who also hopes to add a couple players for the winter semester.
"We want to be a high-tempo, hard-nosed team that is an outstanding rebounding team and outstanding defensive team and we'll go from there."
The Crandall women's team, which finished fifth with a 7-14 regular-season record and lost in a semifinal last year, has a new head coach in Jared Cheverie, a former assistant with the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers men's team.
Forward Josh Graham, a second-team all-star last season, returns to lead the Mount Allison men's team. The Mounties women's team features forward Marlon Smith of Amherst, N.S., last season's ACAA rookie of the year, and transfer Meghan Dickie of Miramichi, a first-team all-star forward with Crandall last year, but has lost graduated standout Shannon Parlee of Riverview.
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