Tristen Ross to help lead new look X-men
It’s a process.
That could be one of the mantras for the new look St. F.X. X-men as they prepare for the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) basketball regular season.
“Where we started with such a young team and having the turnover from last year’s team – none of us knew what to expect,” senior shooting guard Tristen Ross said, prior to a recent practice.
“In our minds, it was going to be a constant grind – about making progress – and taking it dayby-day.”
The X-men, who made it to the conference championship game last season, have seven new players, including six freshmen.
Gone are the likes of Allcanadian Kevin Bercy and Cameron Walker, up front, along with Davonte Provo and Julius Antoine, in the back court; four members of the starting line-up.
Ross, entering his fourth season, is a team captain, along with fifth-year forward Daniel Passley.
“From my first year – all the way up to last year – I was always one of the youngest guys on the team, so my role really transitioned this year, in a couple ways,” he said of his move to a leadership position with the young X-men.
“Being that guy that the younger players look up to and, personally, it has taken a lot for me to step back, sometimes, and realize that this is a learning process. Each day presents an opportunity to learn and to grow as a team.
“Especially, making it to the finals last year, it has really made me have to tone my leadership skills in a way that really slows down and understands that it is not going to happen overnight,” Ross added.
His game
As for his contributions on the floor, the Truro native said he “just has to bring the energy.”
“Now, that I am regularly starting the games, it is up to us to bring that initial energy that the guys on the bench are going to feed off,” he said.
“We [the seniors] know the importance because we were in the position that the guys are now. We knew that, if the starters didn’t bring the energy right from the tip, it just creates an extra hurdle that we need to get over, in order to compete in the games.”
MVP performance
Ross garnered the Ernie Foshay Memorial Award for tournament MVP as St F.X. captured their home tournament – the 40th annual X-men Invitational basketball tournament, presented by Pizza Delight – with an 81-69 victory over the Dalhousie Tigers.
He scored 14 points, including 11 consecutively, during a pivotal third quarter run that erased an eight-point deficit.
“It gave us, sort of, a confidence. Like I said, we didn’t know what to expect – half of our team had never played in an AUS game before,” Ross, who finished with 23 points, said of winning their home tournament.
“To come off the weekend and realize that we could compete in this league is all the better because that gives us the confidence to work harder in practice.
“It was almost like a little update that allowed us to see that what we are doing each day and trying to accomplish each day is working,” he added.
Although it was a successful weekend, Ross noted, the team realizes “we still have a long way to go and much to get better at and build on each day.”
In the championship game victory, Thomas Legallais, a firstyear X-men guard, finished with 20 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals, while earning a tournament all-star nod.
Junior guard Justin Andrew contributed 14 points and five assists, while Passley chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The X-men earned a spot in the championship game with an 81-70 victory over the rival Cape Breton University Capers.
Ross finished with a gamehigh 20 points, on 8-for-12 shooting, including three three-pointers, while junior forward Azaro Roker collected a double-double – 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jayden Smith and freshman forward Atik Gilao, along with Andrew, also reached double figures, with 10 points apiece.
Regular season
The X-men will wrap-up preseason action this weekend with road games versus Toronto (Oct. 19), Mcmaster (Oct. 20) and Ryerson (Oct. 21).
“We want to prove that we can be at the top of this league and be competitors,” Ross said, when asked about expectations for the upcoming regular season, noting “coming into the preseason, no one even expected us to win a game.”
“I think, because of the culture that we have developed through the off-season and now into the pre-season, we are just as good as anybody, and we are here to prove that.”
St. F.X. will tip off the AUS regular campaign when they host the UNB Reds, November 2 and 3, on Coach ‘K’ at Oland Centre.
Game time, on both days, is 8 p.m.