Kodiak men face defending champs
How did the Lethbridge College Kodiaks men’s basketball team feel when they first saw Robert Miles suit up with the program?
Probably like they hit the jackpot.
Given where the Kodiaks’ fifth-year guard came from to get to southern Alberta, that feeling would be fitting.
“He came from Vegas through Grande Prairie (Regional College Wolves),” said Kodiaks head coach Ryan Heggie. “Tyson Pushor, our assistant coach, told us about him and we did our due diligence and talked to Robert a few times and made the decision to bring him in.
“From the day he arrived, he brought a level of compete that everybody else fed off of from the first night they saw him out in the Raymond High School gym when we were scrimmaging out there. He just brought that extra compete on the defensive side of the ball. It’s really shown throughout our season. We’re one of the top defensive teams in Alberta, fifth in pointsallowed and first in steals and he’s been a big part of that.”
The Kodiaks will continue to look to Miles to be that defensive stopper as the team begins their Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference provincial run today in Medicine Hat, taking on the defending ACAC and Canadian Colleges Athletic Association champion NAIT Ooks in their first game.
“They’re excited, they’re loose, they’re happy,” said Heggie, whose team finished 15-6 in the regular season to take third place in the South Division. “Any time you’re heading to playoffs it’s a different feeling. You work so hard for six months to get there and now it’s a new season.
“(When) you have an opponent ahead of you like NAIT, was last year’s champions in Alberta and Canada, it’s a good opportunity and it’s a big challenge and the guys are confident. We’re going to go there and defend and play team basketball and see what happens.”
The Kodiaks will do what’s gotten them this far this season.
Simply put, go on the defensive.
“Robert and Cory (Richardson) are one-two in steals in Alberta,” said Heggie. “And the same as Rob, Cory brought another compete level as well. Guys like Grady Taylor, Chris Maughan and Pierce (Van Gaalen) have really fed off of that.”
Still, it’s been an up-and-down year for the Kodiaks.
“We finally broke through beating Red Deer in their gym twice and had the doubleovertime win over SAIT, which was one for the books,” said Heggie. “But if you want to make it really memorable, we know what we have to do.
“The end goal for Saturday night is cutting down a net and grabbing a banner and before we get there we have to get through the defending champions.”
“Overall it’s been good,” added Miles of the regular season. “We’ve played well over the year and had fun doing it and now we’re in the position to go for a gold medal.”
Which would be an ideal cap to Miles’ college career.
“It means everything,” he said. “It’s my last year and I want to go out with a bang, as soon as the ball goes up. It’s my last year and I can’t do it next year. Hopefully we can win three games and win a gold medal.”
Meanwhile, two members of the Kodiaks were named to the ACAC First All-Conference Team at the ACAC Men’s Basketball Championship banquet Wednesday in Medicine Hat.
Third-year player Chris Maughan of Mesa, Ariz., and first-year Cory Richardson of Bunbury, Australia were named to the first team.