There is no formal championship on the line, with a gleaming trophy to hoist at the conclusion, but this week is definitely an invaluable one for head coach Craig Beaucamp and his 2017-18 University of Victoria Vikes basketball squad.
The Guy Vetrie tournament — named in honour of the late Vikes coach who recorded 543 wins in his illustrious career and was named Canada West coach of the year six times — tips off Friday with the Vikes, Carleton Ravens, Concordia Stingers and Guelph Gryphons competing in preseason play at CARSA gym.
“It’s a good cross-section of teams from out East. Guelph and Concordia, two teams which haven’t been out here in a few years, and Carleton, a team which is always pretty solid,” said Beaucamp.
“All three are good competition and Concordia and Carleton have played a number of games already, as far as NCAA games in the summer. I think Carleton has played 14 Division I games, so they’re well ahead of their development.”
Which is opposite of what the Vikes have experienced so far. Beaucamp’s crew is coming off a retreat and intra-squad game in Sidney this past weekend.
“We want to get a chance to see where we’re at and where we are more than anything now,” Beaucamp said of the Vetrie tournament. “It’s not about wins. It’s about getting things sorted out and getting our feet on the ground here.
“It’s early on in the year, we’re obviously a month away from regular-season games, so it’s for us to see what changes we have to make or what areas we have to get better at. You have a month to do that and you want to get exposed as quickly as you can in the areas where you might be deficient so that you can get that addressed.”
Beaucamp has added a number of recruits, including Eric Hegadorn, a six-foot-11 former pitcher, who is making the switch in sports, and Mason Loewen, a six-foot-three guard from Claremont who returns to Victoria after some time away.
“We’re happy with his development on the floor and he’ll definitely get some minutes on the floor this weekend,” Beaucamp said of Hegadorn. “It’s exciting to see his transformation. It’s obviously a big curve and he’s a freshman, just like any other freshman as far as basketball goes. We’re pretty excited about him.
“Mason is a product out of Claremont who had played Division II in Kansas City last year, so he is a transfer back. He’s a nice pick-up for us and we have a good core of returning guys, too, so we really like our group this year.”
The tournament begins Friday with Concordia facing Carleton at 5 p.m. followed by the Vikes and Guelph at 7 p.m. On Saturday, it’s Guelph and Concordia first with Victoria and Carleton in the nightcap (same times) and the tournament concludes Sunday with a noon tip-off between Carleton and Guelph and the Vikes playing Concordia at 2 p.m.
The Vikes are also set to play an exhibition game against the Bishop’s Gaiters on Oct. 5 at Belmont Secondary before venturing to Vancouver to compete against Waterloo on Oct. 8.
Oh yeah, and the Toronto Raptors are in town this week to add to the hectic schedule.
“It’s always busy when you’re getting ready to play games and host a tournament,” said Beaucamp. “Then you throw the Raptors into the mix, so there are a lot of things going on with the space and facilities.”
