Dinos keen to learn from past

They are, after all, studentathletes.

So who better to learn from situations placed before them?

Last year’s U Sports men’s basketball tournament had the University of Calgary in a place they had been only 50 years earlier, the national final. Up against the juggernaut that is Carleton University, they came home with a silver medal and copious notes on the experience.

Starting on Thursday night, how well they’ve grasped those notes will become evident.

“We have to learn to play at that level,” said Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren. “We don’t get the opportunity to play a team like Carleton every year. I think our returning guys know and understand what needs to be done. I’m just not sure if we know it yet. Moving into the playoffs here, we’ll find out whether we do or we don’t.”

The Dinos, who finished second in Canada West with a 16-4 record, take on Thompson Rivers, 8-12, in a best-of-three series, with the opener at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Jack Simpson Gym. Should they win they will then host the conference Final 4 tournament. To a man, the players are eager to show what they’ve gleaned from the spring of 2016.

“I think just the experience, the whole ride, not just the last game,” said guard Thomas Cooper, the team’s linchpin. “The experience of being in the playoffs and going as far as we did. It was kind of shocking for everyone, we were all pretty nervous the whole game. That’s exactly what you play the game for, to go the whole way, and then you’re actually there and it’s the biggest game of your life. I think that’s helped us up our standards a little bit.”

“I felt last year we were too happy with what we accomplished, we forgot to realize that there was another big game yet,” added guard Jhony Verrone. “When it came to Carleton, we weren’t mentally ready and you know the result of that game. We definitely learned from that; we’re ready from the get-go now.”

The optimism on the team is palpable, but it shouldn’t be confused with over-confidence. The season, after all, wasn’t a perfect one.

“I think each year has its own story and this one definitely has enough in it to create the possibility for good endings for us,” Vanhooren said.