John Hickey makes no bones about it and no apologies for it.
“We talk all the time in practice about trying to be the best in everything we do,” said the fifth-year head coach of the St. Thomas Tommies men’s basketball team.
“We don’t hide from it. Effort, execution, being good teammates. We want to be the best in everything we can control.”
So far, so good.
The Tommies swept through the 12th annual Ken Gould basketball tournament with three convincing victories over Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association opponents – certainly a good omen as they prepare for the start of the regular season, hosting the UNBSJ Seawolves Friday, Oct. 27 at 8 pm at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym.
Hickey stops short of calling the Tommies a team on a mission this year after they were upset in the league final by the Holland College Hurricanes. Tied 43-43 at the half in that game, they fell 97-78.
“Do we have a little more grit this year?” said Hickey. “I think so. Are we a little bit better defensively? I think so. We’re playing at a faster pace than we have the last two years. And I think our depth allows us to do that.”
The addition of a trio of key veterans, including six-foot-seven inch Ted Braden who returns to the Tommies after playing last year in Ottawa with the Algonquin College Thunder; six-foot guard Noah McCarthy, who moves over after graduating from Mount Allison University – and long-range threat Rees Hasson, who crosses campus after a couple of years at UNB, gives the Tommies more depth and flexibility on the floor.
“This is probably our most complete group,” said Hickey. “We’re good. We’re skilled. We’re tough. And we’re a veteran group. These guys have seen a lot of practices, seen a lot of games.”
McCarthy averaged 21 points per game last year with the Mounties, tops in the Atlantic Conference, and complements fifth-year veteran, league MVP Geoffrey Lavoie, who averaged 16.7 points per game a year ago, sixth best in the circuit. Third-year guard Vince Lyttleton is still in the mix as well. He averaged 12.8 points per game for the Tommies a year ago.
Six-foot-seven-inch Harrison Florean of Fredericton and Tanner Hoyt of Saint John are the other fifth-year veterans. McCarthy and Braden are in their fourth year of eligibility; Lyttleton, Hasson, Ben Dool of Moncton and Evan Valanne and Owen Amos of Miramichi in their third; Ethan Tumwine of Fredericton in his second, while Kaden Lavallee of Oromocto and River Lanz of Rothesay are rookies.
McCarthy played for Hickey previously when they represented New Brunswick at the 2017 Canada Games. He’s looking forward to doing it again.
“I love playing the way Hickey’s got us playing this year,” said the six-foot guard. “We just play so fast. We’re just flying around the court on defence. We’re playing with a lot of pace and it’s a lot of fun.”
McCarthy hopes to add “some leadership, and hopefully some toughness,” to the group.
Lavoie believes the Tommies “have a promising year ahead of us. But we’ve got to make sure we keep the same energy the whole year.”
“We have lulls,” Hickey agreed. “Our attention to detail is not close to where we want it to be.”
Lavoie believes the Tommies are the team to beat.
“I’m confident,” he said. “I think guys are in the right headspace. I think my role is to bring it every day so that other guys can kind of follow that energy, and to make sure we stay together. What I like the most is that every player is going 100 percent at all times.”
That’s music to Hickey’s ears.
“I always want to be the team to beat,” he said. “Always. There are always a couple of teams…do I think we’re pretty good and teams are trying to chase us? Probably. We want to make noise nationally.”
Hickey leads a coaching staff which includes assistants Kenny Jean-Louis, Kyle Woodworth, Tyrese Paul and Ian Watters.