Coach Berry 'pretty pleased' as Acadia approaches Final Six

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

The Acadia basketball Axemen enter this weekend’s AUBC ‘Final Six’ championship tournament as the top seed and, as such, will not play until the semi-final round Saturday.

“I’m pretty pleased overall,” head coach Les Berry said Wednesday of Acadia’s 18-2 regular season record, which earned the Axemen a first-round bye as well as advantages in scheduling and opponent in the semi-final round.

“The guys worked extremely hard and have put themselves in a good position.” And for those who believe a team with a first-round bye is at a disadvantage on the second night, Berry said, “you always like to play the least amount of games you can.”

Acadia went the other route last year, winning three playoff games en route to the championship, but to Berry, “having to win a game to get to the next level is never as good as having a bye, especially when you’re playing in an unfamiliar setting.

On seven-game winning streak

After losing their opener to Saint Mary’s, the Axemen went 18-1 the rest of the regular season and are currently on a seven-game winning streak. They led the conference in team offense (86.8 points per game) and team defense (65.8 points per game).

Their 24-5 overall record earned Acadia the #2 spot in the most recent CIS rankings, matching their highest ranking of a season spent entirely in the national Top-10.

To Berry, “the key to the season was consistency,” in which “our overall depth played a large part.” Acadia had 10 players start at least one game and there were no Axemen players anywhere in the top 20 in the conference in minutes played per game.

“Outside of Leo (Saintil), different players have been able to step up, elevate their game and get the job done on any given night.” He cited Shawn Berry, Peter Leighton, Andrew Kraus, Pat McIver and veteran Achuil Lual as some of the players in that category.

Asked if Acadia had something to prove after ending up a surprise winner of last year’s AUBC title, he said, “at the start of each year we sit down and identify our goals for the season. It was the same last fall. We never felt we had to prove anything to anyone.”

Serious distractions

The Axemen accomplished what they did this regular season despite being dealt some blows and having some serious distractions prior to the start of the season.

The team was sanctioned by both Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for the use of an ineligible player during the 2006-2007 season.

Berry was stripped of his conference Coach of the Year award and suspended until Jan. 1 of this year, leaving the team under the direction of assistants Steve Baur, Kevin Veinot and Mike Lawton, who “did a great job,” Berry said, until the head coach’s return in January.

The Axemen also played the entire first half without last year’s conference MVP Paulo Santana due to an ankle sprain. Since his return, Santana has blended back into the mix without the necessity of being nearly the impact player he was last season.

This is due largely to the addition of Saintil who, as the third leading scorer and leading rebounder in the conference, has had a huge impact, on Acadia and the entire AUBC.

Saintil is also an illustration of the scope of Acadia’s team depth in that “he has done all that he has this season while playing less than 28 minutes per game.”

No magic formula

Berry said there was no magic formula to Acadia’s success. “Leo and Shawn have been our best and most consistent players all season and we’ve gone with Achuil down the stretch due to his experience,” with notable results.

As for the rest of the starting line-up, “on a week-to-week basis, we go with who’s hot or who has given the best effort in practice. And if things are going well, we don’t change things a whole lot.”

For that reason, McIver, who has stepped up his game on both sides of the ball this season, worked his way into the starting line-up and has stayed there.

Using a longer bench has resulted in a team that is 10-deep, and Berry said, “I feel confident in using any or all of them. The role players all know their roles and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.”

Berry will watch the opening round carefully Friday, with Cape Breton meeting Dalhousie at 6 p.m. followed by UPEI and Saint Mary’s at 8:15.

On Saturday, the Axemen will meet the lower-seeded of Friday’s winners at 6 p.m., with St. F.X. playing the higher seed in the late semi-final at 8:15. Saturday’s winners will meet for the AUBC championship Sunday at 2 p.m.

“At this stage, it doesn’t matter who we play,” Berry said. “You’re going to have to beat them all at some point to win. It’s up to us to play our game the best we can. We can’t be too concerned about the other teams if we aren’t playing our best.” At the same time, “if we can play our best, I like our chances.”