VANCOUVER — Queen’s Gaels head coach Stephan Barrie says his crew feels it has been neglected and has acquired too low a seeding for the U Sports activities males’s basketball Ultimate 8.
The Ontario College Athletics (OUA) finalists enter the match because the No. 7 seed after dropping to top-seeded Ottawa 95-87 within the convention title sport on Saturday. Queen’s was 16-6 throughout the common season earlier than defeating Carleton and Ontario Tech en path to the title sport.
“We really feel like we bought ranked too low in that capability,” Barrie stated. “We really feel like we’re higher than that. We really feel like … we have been neglected for a lot of the yr in some capability as a result of once more, with so many new faces and other people did not actually anticipate a lot from us.
“However we had an expectation and we had a perception and that perception has solely grown. … We positively really feel like we’ve got one thing to show right here.”
The Gaels open the match in opposition to the No. 2 Calgary Dinos on Thursday in Vancouver.
The No. 1 Ottawa Gee-Gees will face the No. 8 Concordia Stingers, the No. 3 and host UBC Thunderbirds tackle the No. 6 UPEI Panthers and the No. 4 Victoria Vikes go head up in opposition to the No. 5 Bishop’s Gaiters.
Queen’s made the nationwide title sport final season however misplaced to Laval, with the Rouge Et Or pulling off a Cinderella story because the eighth seed that solely made it into the Ultimate 8 as a consequence of their standing as hosts.
Nevertheless, the Gaels misplaced a handful of prime gamers, together with Cole Syllas, Connor Kelly, Fofo Adetogun and Michael Kelvin II and have needed to depend on newer faces and returnees who did not get as many minutes final season.
Barrie stated changes had been vital with new gamers entering into greater roles, together with “proficient freshmen,” however he stays assured in his crew’s expertise and play, which supplies him perception of their possibilities of profitable all of it.
“We’ve got some tremendously proficient people who’re simply actually fantastic gamers, but in addition like actually aggressive guys,” Barrie stated. “I imply, Luka Syllas as form of the returning fifth-year man, being an all-Canadian prior to now, having only a fearlessness about him actually helps our crew get into a spot the place we are able to exit and compete and imagine as a result of his perception is so robust.
“After which Ollie Engen as a freshman has performed effectively past his years and he is enjoying on the market like a fourth-year participant. So these two have actually given the group confidence after which the remainder of the blokes have all chipped in.”
Engen completed fifth within the OUA with 18.8 factors per sport and had a team-high 28 factors within the OUA title sport. Not solely was he named OUA rookie of the yr, he was additionally honoured as a first-team all-star. Syllas, in the meantime, made the second crew averaging 17.4 factors per contest.
“I’ve at all times had very excessive expectations of myself and the way in which I’ve performed this season is the way in which that I do know I am able to,” Engen stated. “When it comes to expectations, I knew that there was, you realize, large roles to fill when it comes to guys leaving.
“I positively had the boldness in myself to have the ability to are available in and I believe the coaches did too, for me to have the ability to are available in and actually contribute to profitable from the beginning.”
As a Kingston, Ont., native, Engen relishes the chance to carry Queen’s its first-ever nationwide title.
“That is the objective that you just set out at first of the season. That is the objective that each hour that has been put into this sport is for,” Engen stated.
“To have the ability to have that objective pan out in any case that work, and to have the ability to carry a championship again residence to Kingston, have the ability to give Steph and (lead assistant coach) John (Curcio) a nationwide championship, you realize, that may imply the whole lot.”
