It's been a long and often trying road for Acadia basketball the past few years, but I believe both the men's and women's programs are starting to turn the corner.

At the Christmas break, the Axemen, who had a decent and competitive pre-season despite a series of unfortunate injuries that tested the team's depth, have a record of three wins and three losses.

The team started 0-2, then rattled off three straight wins, the third a 70-62 shocker over the previous undefeated (and nationally top-10 ranked) Cape Breton Capers. Acadia then took the equally highly regarded St. F.X. X-men to the brink before losing by two.

Paulo Santana has not only been Acadia's top player statistically so far, he's also one of the most exciting players in the AUBC from a fan's perspective. In a win over UPEI, Santana had 27 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, narrowly missing a “triple-double.�

Nor is Santana all alone. Peter Leighton has been deadly from three-point range, Luckern Dieu has been playing with a lot more consistency and Achuil Lual has been providing the consistent rebounding missing from the Acadia attack last season.

The Axemen have been without Jordan Sheriko, arguably their best three-point shooter, for the entire season as he recovers from back and ankle injuries. It will be good to see Sheriko back after Christmas, just as it was nice to see Mike Folker, another potential impact player, return from a pre-season injury.

With them, the Axemen are all of a sudden both deeper and more talented than they have been for probably the past eight or nine years - or since the team last won the conference title in 1998.

It's not a surprise. I'm not going to dwell on the “revolving door� of the past three years’ coaching, only to suggest some arguably poor decisions were made. If nothing else, it's great to have some continuity now in the head coaching position - and to allow the head coach the opportunity to do his job without distraction. I personally like Les Berry, and feel his coaching style and recruiting style are a breath of fresh air to a program that was badly in need of some good news.

Ironically, the best news might still be to come. Shawn Berry, a talented swing forward, is now eligible to play (and gave a taste of things to come with a 28-point performance during the Axemen pre-season trip to Florida last month).

Leo Saintil, a 6'6� forward whose strength is rebounding, has transferred from Memorial and will be eligible to play next fall, and might be the best addition of all.

Berry has proven his mettle as a recruiter, and the Axemen fortunes can only continue to improve, even as veterans like Sheriko finish their careers and move on.

On the women's side, there is arguably even more cause for optimism as head coach Angie McLeod assembles a talented and committed cast of players.

Actually, McLeod's work began a year ago when she recruited such players as Becky Mutch, Samantha Nuttall and Cailin and Anna Crosby.

The Axewomen already had some talented veterans in Kim Hurley, Ginny Gane and Horton graduate Jennifer Bishop, but they lacked leadership and a clear sense of direction. McLeod appears to have solved that problem with the addition of Marrla Evans and Semra Ilhan, two mature transfer students who have more than their share of leadership potential.

Ilhan, a native of Germany who, like Evans, played for Les Berry when he coached at Brandon; is the whole package. She can run the offense, shoot from both short and long-range, and grab her share of rebounds - actually, not unlike a female version of Santana.

The Acadia women had an up-and-down first half, beating SMU in a four-point game, then losing four straight before ending with a win at St. F.X.

One can't help but think, though, their fortunes - which, to be fair, have been down a lot longer than those of the Axemen - are ready to improve.

No one is legitimately expecting the Axewomen to win a championship this year, or next year either, but it's probably fair to say they are well on their way to both respectability and competitiveness with anyone in the AUBC.

Given McLeod's ability as a recruiter, not to mention her connections with Basketball Canada and the Centre of Excellence program, one can expect the improvement - like that of the men's team - to continue at least for the foreseeable future.