69传媒

With a high-octane offence fueled and ready to go, the 69传媒Men鈥檚 Basketball Panthers are hoping to capture that elusive Atlantic University Sport (AUS) championship.

For fifth-year coach Tim Kendrick, adding tough, gritty players that fit his style of play may be the answer he鈥檚 been looking for.

During his tenure as head coach, Kendrick and the Panthers have finished third three times and second just once鈥攁 trend he is hoping will change. A change that begins with the players, he said.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e pretty deep, I think we鈥檙e fairly tough, and I think we鈥檙e athletic and offensively talented.鈥�

In the backcourt, the Panthers added Jake Kendrick, Zachary Usherwood, and first-year guard Amin Suleman out of Toronto, who Kendrick believes is a star in the making. They will help solidify a backcourt that includes Lorenzo Parker and second team all-Canadian, Tyler Scott, who finished second in the country in scoring, averaging 23.9 points per game.

Kendrick鈥檚 perimeter-oriented team will look for their offence early and often with an emphasis on taking good shots, reminiscent of the NBA鈥檚 Golden State Warriors or the NCAA鈥檚 Kentucky Wildcats, Kendrick said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not slow and methodical, we want to get up and down. We want to push the basketball and catch defences off guard.鈥�

In the frontcourt, the Panthers used a productive off-season to address their need for more length and physicality. The additions of forwards Dut Dut and Tevin Sutton-Stephenson will make opponents think twice about driving in the paint. They will join European big men Stefan Vujisic and AUS all-rookie Milorad Sedlarevic, along with the athletic Brad States.

鈥淲e wanted tougher forwards and I think we accomplished what we set out to do.鈥�

For a team that has no issue scoring, averaging 92.6 points per game in 2014鈥�15, Kendrick and his coaching staff have been developing a defensive scheme two years in the making that caters to the team鈥檚 skillset.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been researching and looking at different systems. What we鈥檝e done is blended a few things into the system we鈥檙e trying to use.鈥�

With the goal to bring a championship to UPEI, Kendrick always keeps an eye on the future, consistently bringing in young talent to help the savvy veterans.

鈥淭he expectations here are never low, we want to contend for a title every year. We want to build a program that鈥檚 going to be able to sustain itself year after year,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e reload instead of rebuild.鈥�

And as the season quickly approaches, Kendrick said he cannot think of a better group of men to go into battle with.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an exciting week for us and we鈥檙e ready to go.鈥�

The Panthers play host to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in their home opener on November 6 at 8 pm at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre.

Contributed by Thomas Becker