UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL
Now, that may not be a surprise to many who believed the young team was going to struggle in the Ontario university West.But it would be nice to see just how well this team could do, if they managed to have just a semblance of good health.
For the second year in a row, the Mustangs have gone through a succession of injuries. A team with a lot of experience and depth might be able to push through, but this isn't a team with a lot of experience and depth.
"Initially, we only expected things to be different in terms of overall health and to have a few guys in our lineup. Which we don't," head coach Brad Campbell said.
"In terms of the team we are fielding right now, we've made some adjustments over the Christmas break that showcases more a smaller lineup and puts the team in a situation that deals with small ball from the perimeter."
Part of that is because one of Campbell's key injuries is Adam Jesperson, one of their only big men. Last year, he missed a lot of the season with a hand injury.
"The hand is good. Now it's knee issues," said Campbell with a rueful laugh. It's a situation where if you don't laugh, you'll wind up crying. Aside from that, they also have to nurse veteran guard Ryan Barbeau through the rest of the season. Barbeau is leading the OUA in scoring average at almost 20 points a game.
He is also in the Top 3 in minutes played in Canada (every year, he is among the leaders in minutes played in the country). Now he is suffering from stress fractures in both shins.
"After we played Queen's on December 2, they said he had to take two months off but we only had one over Christmas," Campbell said. "The only thing that will help it is rest. When we played Lakehead last weekend, he played Friday but he had to sit out Saturday."
Campbell said when Barbeau plays, "he's fantastic."
"The reality is for the rest of the year, he's not going to be able to practice very much the rest of the way so we can save him for games," Campbell said. "That isn't ideal, but this way we get his outstanding play the rest of the way."
The other player who has made a huge impact is Peter Scholtes. The Oakridge grad is sixth in the OUA in scoring average with almost 18 a game. He had 19 and 35 points in games against Lakehead, the No. 3-ranked team in Canada.
"He's showed that he is a big matchup problem, which we thought he would eventually develop into. Against the No. 3 team in the country, that was a little earlier than we expected," Campbell said.
The Mustangs get a chance to claw closer to a playoff spot Wednesday when they take on the 4-6 Guelph Gryphons at Alumni Hall at 8 p.m.
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