John Hickey’s first year at the helm of the St. Thomas University Tommies men’s basketball program has seen the team go from 7 wins and missing the playoffs in 2018-19 to 12 wins and being the third seed in this weekend’s ACAA Championships.
In a season that has had its share of ups and downs, the Tommies have come out with a win against every opponent in the ACAA, which has led to a heightened confidence entering a tournament of this nature.
“For the past month or so we have been consistently talking about three things: transition, aggression and execution,” said Hickey. “If we can control these areas of the game, then we should put ourselves in a good spot at the end of each game.”
The Tommies draw the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves, a team they have defeated in every matchup this year. Despite that fact, Hickey doesn’t have looking beyond this matchup.
“I think at this time of year if anyone thinks they have an edge going into a game, then you're not preparing properly for the game,” said Hickey about his team’s first matchup. “Do I think that we have an edge against UNBSJ? No, I don't. Do I think that we have a good chance of winning if we take care of our three talking points? Yes, I do. I would say the same things regardless of our opponent.”
The Tommies have seen many different scoring leaders in games this season, which Hickey sees a strength heading into the tournament.
“Our biggest thing is that we want our guys to be themselves. We don't need anyone one of our guys to do anything more than what they've done all year. If we go out and guys do what they've done all year, we should put ourselves in a good spot toward the end of each game.”
Their first matchup will be Friday at 3:00pm against the Seawolves from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS. All games can be seen on www.acaatv.ca.