WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Acadia basketball Axemen will put an emphasis on team play at both ends of the court this season as the squad looks to get right back into the mix after a season that saw the team involved in plenty of close games but missing the playoffs.
Head coach Kevin Duffie, who was wearing an Axemen jersey the last time Acadia played in a national CIS basketball final, is confident this year's lineup has the right depth of talent to be competitive at both the conference and national level.
"We're ready to win some more games and compete with every team in our conference,'' says Duffie. "We have a core group of eight or nine players who can play significant minutes. We are going to have to make sure guys are buying into their roles and accepting what we need them to do in order to win."
Entering his second season as the team's head coach, Duffie aims to guide his team toward earning another trip to the CIS championship. Duffie spent six years as an assistant before taking over the head coaching position.
"Our goal is to win championships. That's what we're here for,'' says Duffie. "I think we have the group this year that can compete at the conference level and be right there on the national level as well."
The Axemen had a "changing of the guard" prior to last season with standout Owen Klassen and other veterans like Anthony Sears, Anthony Ashe and Laughlin Gale leaving the fold. There was also a head coaching change just months before the start of the new season with Duffie taking the reins from Steve Baur. Baur left to take on a job as an assistant coach with the women's national team.
Danny De Palma, a high school coach at Charles P. Allen in Bedford, joined Duffie as an assistant coach for the 2014-15 season. De Palma coached Nova Scotia's U16 Boy's team this past summer and Duffie was alongside as an assistant coach.
The team also welcomed a solid class of freshmen in 2014, headed by the multi-talented Ben Miller out of Winnipeg, Man. The freshman class also included talented big man Nick Ernest out of Oakville, ON, and three-point specialist Nick De Palma of Bedford.
It was a transition year for Acadia men's basketball and the team finished out of the playoffs along with St. Francis Xavier.
A prize off-season acquisition was Quispamsis forward Erik Nissen, who joins Acadia after two years playing hoops south of the border at the University of Maine.
The 6'9" Nissen is expected to make an immediate impact.
"He's a national calibre player who will contribute immediately,'' says Duffie. "Erik is a solid player with solid skills and will fit nicely into our style of play."
Team defence will also be crucial for Acadia, says Duffie.
"Our conference is very athletic. There are a number of athletes who are tough to contain one on one so we have to make sure that help is there."
Duffie is confident he has a roster with the depth and breadth of talent to get the job done.
Playing a critical role will be last year's AUS rookie of the year, Ben Miller, who was also named to the CIS all-rookie team. Miller was one of those rare freshmen who played himself into the starting lineup and has become a cornerstone of the hoop Axemen.
"He's the guy who will be running the floor for us. We will put the ball in his hands and he will make the good decisions. He's a great player who can do a lot of things on both sides of the ball."
Also expected to play critical roles are graduating senior Shaquille Smith, the team's leading scorer last season and one of two Axemen out of Dartmouth's Auburn High School. A.J. Simmonds, a fourth-year guard is the other.
"They each have great work ethics and come to play. They also have played strong mentorship roles with the team's younger players."
The Axemen will also lean heavily on on veteran post Rhys Larry. The hard-working forward out of Maitland, ON (located near Brockville), is coming off his best season and posted impressive numbers, leading the league in rebounding while averaging double figures on the scoreboard.
Duffie is also expecting great things from talented small forward Kyle Arsenault, whose season was shortened by injury last year.
"He is someone we will rely on down the stretch to make big plays for us."
Second-year big man Nick Ernest, who played significant minutes after Arsenault's injury last season will also play an important role.
"He had some very good moments for us last year. He works hard and will be a great player for us.''
And Duffie expects sharpshooter Nick De Palma will play a more important role in his second season with Acadia.
Senior Thomas Johnston will also be part of the regular rotation.
Additions along with Nissen include Horton High guard Mitch Tempro and Charles P. Allen post Andrew Scott.
Duffie also welcomes former Mount Saint Vincent University standout Mark Clarke as an assistant coach, joining former Acadia all-Canadian and Horton High coach Kevin Veinot and De Palma on the coaching staff.
Gone from last year's squad are sparkplug and second leading scorer Sean Stoqua, who will look to graduate at Christmas, freshman Dan Luton and two-year veteran Gianmarco Luciani, who has transferred to York University.
Duffie says success will come from executing as a team.
"It becomes about the team. Making the right plays on offence, getting the right people shots and working as a unit. How quickly we come together as a unit is probably the most crucial part.''
The Axemen will spend much of the early season on the road.
The team will start its season with an exhibition game against the Saint Mary's Huskies, coached by Jonah Taussig, at War Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday, Oct. 8.
After that the Axemen will travel to Ottawa the weekend of Oct.16-17, to face the national powerhouse Carleton on Friday, and University of Laval on Saturday, Oct. 17.
On the weekend of Oct. 23-24 the Axemen will play out of Centre 200 while it takes part in the Caper Classic.
It opens regular season play on the road with back to back games against the Matt Skinn-coached Cape Breton University Capers on Nov. 6 and 7. Acadia then travels to Antigonish to play Steve Konchalski's X-men on Friday, Nov. 13.
The Axemen host St. Francis Xavier in its regular season home opener on Friday, Nov. 18. It then hosts Tim Kendrick's UPEI Panthers for a pair of home games on Nov. 27-28 before the Christmas Break.
The Axemen will continue exhibition play shortly after Christmas, travelling to Winnipeg to take part in the Wesmen Classic Dec. 27-28. That will be followed by The Shoveller Classic at Dalhousie on the first weekend in January.
The Axemen travel to St. John's Jan. 9-10 to play the Peter Benoite-coached Memorial Sea-Hawks and travel to Charlottetown the following weekend to play UPEI Jan. 15-16.
Acadia will host St. FX on Jan. 20 before travelling to Antigonish to play the X-Men on Jan. 22, followed by a trip to Halifax to play the |Rick Plato-coached Dalhousie Tigers on Jan. 30.
In February Acadia will play CBU in back-to-back home games Feb. 5 and 6 before heading to Halifax to play SMU at the Tower on Feb. 12.
They round out the regular season by hosting Brent Baker's UNB Varsity Reds on Feb. 19 and SMU on Feb. 23 and end regular season play with a Feb. 23 game in Fredericton against UNB.
Provided by Frank De Palma