The Carleton men’s basketball team will begin the 2016-17 season with the same goal as they have every season: a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national title.
The Ravens are coming off an exceptional 2015-16 season, finishing the year with a 16-3 record and defeating the Calgary Dinos in the CIS title game to win their sixth straight championship and 12th title of the last 14 years.
Despite their consistent excellence year in and year out, players on the team said they understand that every upcoming season presents a new challenge for both individual and collective growth.
Kaza Kajami-Keane, who starts at point guard for the Ravens, said the Ravens have been working hard to train for the upcoming season.
“I think this summer is going great,” Kajami-Keane said. “We are having very competitive scrimmages and are moving in the direction we need to be going. The summer is perfect for personal development, all of us have certain aspects of our games we need to get better . . . I am improving my ability to be a better defender.”
The Ravens lost two starters last season, with Gavin Resch and Guillaume Payen-Boucard both graduating. Kajami-Keane said every year for Carleton basketball is different.
“You have different styles of players that may come in, guy’s roles change and you adapt to that, but at the end of the day we have our base that we always can go back to, which is defending and rebounding as hard as we can,” he said.
Kajami-Keane added that growth is important for the team, saying the team has all the tools it needs to be great.
“For next season, it is important that we stay focused on our fundamentals and in developing into the team we know we can be,” Kajami-Keane said. “We are a deep team and have a lot of different talent, adding transfers that were here last year as well as some that came in the summer. The players from last year have matured and developed . . . I am excited to see us mold into a team I know we can become.”
Connor Wood, a fifth-year guard and last year’s CIS championship tournament MVP, echoed Kajami-Kean and said the goal for the team is to become more cohesive and improve on the defensive end.
Wood added sustained focus and discipline as the key factors for his Ravens to
bring home a seventh straight national championship.
Kajami-Keane also spoke of the young players on the team, and said they have great things in store.
“Being an older guy on the team, to the point where they refer to me as grandpa, it is always nice seeing the younger guys grow and learn.” Kajami-Keane said. “You see them develop and try and help them get through kind of like how I remembered guys helping me through it when I was their age.”
Another notable storyline for next season is the return of Dave Smart as head coach, with Rob Smart heading back to his assistant coach position. Kajami-Keane said he doesn’t see it as a significant change.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, the base is always going to be the same,” Kajami-Keane said. “Rob and Dave both are great coaches, they know more about basketball than anyone I have ever encountered in my life . . . These two coaches have been a blessing in my life, and I thank them for that as much as I can.”
The Ravens will start their season with three consecutive road games, with their season-opener featuring a matchup in Algoma against the Thunderbirds on Nov. 18.
Following the games against the Thunderbirds, Nipissing Lakers and Laurentian Voyageurs, the team will return home to the Ravens’ Nest for their home opener against the Brock Badgers on Dec. 2.
“Every year we just start fresh,” Kajami-Keane said. “It’s not about what you did the year or even years prior because those are the past. Winning a championship is great, but I think we are more just attempting to be best team we can be, so when we are done we can look at each other and said we gave it our all.”
