It was a run like nothing ever experienced by any current player on the Huskies men’s basketball team.
The Cinderella squad defied teams at every turn throughout the post season, including a come-from-behind victory to secure a bronze medal in the Canada West conference.
Before knocking off the country’s top ranked team, the Brock Badgers, en route to a silver medal finish at the U-Sports Final 8 as the second best men’s basketball team in Canada.
“It was something special,” graduating forward/guard Emmanuel Akintunde said. “A lot of guys come in and out of programs wanting to get the opportunity to play for a national championship and to be able to get that opportunity and to do it in my last year was very, very special.”
“Right after the game it was more bitter than sweet at that point, it was a tough loss,” guard Alexander Dewar admitted. “But now I’ve had time to kind of reflect and go back, it was definitely a season to be proud of.”
“It was really special to be a part of it and it was inspiring too,” lead assistant coach Chad Jacobson added. “To watch these guys come together and play the way they did.”
The road through the playoffs was a bumpy one to say the least.
The team parted ways with former head coach Barry Rawlyk in the midst of their Canada West playoff run, but despite the off-court distractions the team persevered and bonded together.
“We just came together even more; as a group of guys, as a group of men, as a group of brothers, we just came together more in that moment,” Akintunde said. “To be put in that position where we really need to communicate to one another on what we want to accomplish, it was good.”
“This group has been through a lot together and we were able to come together, be there for each other and we just kind of stuck together throughout everything, throughout the season, no matter what was going on,” Dewar added.
The Huskies will come back as a mostly intact group following their run through nationals, chomping at the bit to get back on the floor and improve on what was a successful run in 2022.
“We’re all friends off of the court as well. So, to have all of us come back, hopefully this is something that we can all just build off of to move forward.”
As for what word or sentence best describes the season Dewar, Akintunde and Jacobson experienced?
“The one word that I would use is unforgettable,” Dewar said. “It was an unforgettable group of guys, a lot of unforgettable memories and an unforgettable run that we went on.”
“Surreal, enjoyment and trust, (this) group of guys are a group of special boys,” Akintunde added. “(This group) just bought into one another, trusted in one another and ultimately paid the ultimate price to get the chance to compete for a national championship.”
“Magical,” Jacobson said with a smile. “It was a magical run that we went on towards the end of the season. It’s memorable, this is a season that we will remember for the rest of our lives, it’s a moment that we have together as this team, it’s ours forever.
“No matter what people want to say or think, this was our moment together and nobody can take that away from us.”
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