ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The Memorial University men’s basketball program is reeling. The Sea-Hawks’ yearly win-loss record borders on folly.
This past season may not have been any different, as MUN limped to 8-12 to scrape into the playoffs, where the Sea-Hawks lost by 24 to Saint Mary’s Huskies in the quarter-finals.
But there were signs of progress this year.
A coaching change saw Peter Benoite to the door, though we’re still not sure if the long-time Sea-Hawks mentor with the appalling win-loss record was fired or quit. The university does not discuss such things.
Either way, a replacement for Benoite, if nothing else, opens opportunity to a fresh start.
And, strangely enough, the Sea-Hawks are not that far off being a contender – in a loose sense — in the Atlantic University Sport conference.
Memorial is not losing any players to graduation this year.
At the Christmas/exam break this past season, the Sea-Hawks were 5-3 and two points behind eventual champion Dalhousie Tigers in the AUS standings.
But then a decent season unraveled.
They say sports teams should never use injuries as an excuse, but this is a whole different story.
At the Rod and Joan Shoveller tournament in Halifax during the break, Memorial lost three starters in one game against Dalhousie.
Starting point guard Jason Thompson saw a wonky hamstring all but snap. Cole Long, who came close to an AUS scoring title, injured his knee. Nathan Barker, an AUS first-team all-star in 2018-19 and second-team all-star the year prior to that, broke an ankle.
Thompson would miss four games when Memorial resumed its schedule, Long a couple, and Barker 10 games (the Sea-Hawks, by the way, would lose nine of those, dressing only eight players).
“We were pretty happy with the first half (of the season),” said Thompson. “Then it fell apart, went downhill.
“I mean, some of our best players were taking hits so obviously we felt season was over in some ways.
“Yeah, you never use injuries as an excuse, but …”
Thompson is a 21-year-old, 6-foot point guard, who averaged 10.6 points per game in his third season at Memorial.
A product of Waterford Valley High in St. John’s, he is a bright spot on the Sea-Hawks, with Long and Barker, making big strides this past season.
“We made playoffs, but we are disappointed with the outcome at the end of the day,” Thompson said. “Playoffs were the No. 1 thing, and we thought if we got there we could make something happen. It didn’t go as we wanted, but wasn’t a bad season.
“The belief now is we’re a team to be feared, and we know we have the respect of the league. It wasn’t a disappointing season in that sense.”
Not words you hear every day.
Good news is, though, his words are well-suited to describing the 2019-2020 campaign.
And that can only be seen as a positive, for a change.
Robin Short is The Telegram’s Sports Editor. He can be reached by email [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @TelyRobinShort
