Douglas has quietly become a thorn in VIU's side, not just in basketball, but across all sports. In the realm of men's soccer, Douglas eliminated VIU on the final day of the regular season, and in men's volleyball, the Royals rallied from a 2-1 deficit to eliminate VIU on their own court.
You know the deal by now.
Women's
Season recap
The Douglas Royals entered the season as the defending PACWEST champions, coming off of an incredible playoff run which saw them, as the #4 seed, upset the defending national champion VIU Mariners and later defeat the Okanagan Coyotes to win their first conference title since 2017.
Despite a 7th place finish at nationals that year, many still expected big things from the Royals. Jettie McLaughlin-Sakaki, who graduated that year and was a key contributor on the offensive side, joined Steve Beauchamp's coaching staff.
Throughout the season, Douglas sat comfortably in the upper tier of teams. After an unassuming 4-3 start, they would travel to Nanaimo and defeat the VIU Mariners 80-72, kickstarting a nine-game winning streak that would propel them to a top-3 seed.
That winning streak would be ended, ironically, at home against the Mariners. Douglas would finish the season 17-7, and would face a Camosun team that had to fight to even get in.
The Royals would prevail over the Chargers, but many had concerns going into their matchup against CBC. Defeating a four-win team by only six points didn't inspire much confidence.
Those concerns would be vindicated, as their hopes of a repeat title were ground into dust by the CBC Bearcats. Despite limiting CBC to only one three-pointer in the third quarter, the Royals also struggled to find their own offense, not scoring a single point until halfway through the first quarter. Their post defense, which had been their strength all season long, was neutralized.
To add insult to injury, Douglas would fall in the bronze match against Capilano, ending a disappointing season for a team that had national aspirations.
Strengths and weaknesses
Douglas's defense is a strange case. While they only conceded the third least points, the Royals were the masters of ball possession throughout the season, finishing first in both forced turnovers and steals. Their offense, while not a strength, was far from a weakness, as they averaged 73 points per game and led the conference in free throw percentage, converting two thirds of their opportunities from the charity stripe.
Second-year forward Mackenzie Dalphond has quietly put herself in talks for the best forward in the conference, as she anchors a frontcourt alongside Laini Glover, Alexis Hart, and Hannah Brar.
2025 PACWEST Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Clements leads a backcourt loaded with depth, including Avnoor Waraich, who led the team in assists, and all-purpose guard Ela Korenevskiy, Douglas' lone commitment so far.
How do they fare against VIU?
This is a strange matchup for VIU. Douglas' guard room has proven that they can go pound for pound with the conference's best, and their frontcourt is extremely talented, but VIU has the advantage in terms of depth.
The Mariners brought in several forwards this offseason, including Katie Hartig and Sarah Cook, in addition to Harriette Mackenzie and Kaia Simpson returning. As of right now, the Royals only employ three full-time forwards, not including Alexis Hart, who plays primarily as a wing.
VIU has enough of an advantage in frontcourt numbers to offset the parity in their guard room. While Douglas could eke out a win like they did last year, it will almost certainly be much harder.
Men's
Season recap
Douglas tried everything to go unnoticed last season, finishing at 8-16. Despite the subpar season, their offensive rebounding was spectacular, only finishing behind the eventual PACWEST champion Capilano Blues. The same could not be said for their offense, which only averaged 70.1 points per game, the second worst in the conference that year.
Though they snuck into the playoffs as the #6 seed, they were soon run over by the Blues, highlighted by an 18-point performance from former Royals redshirt Ajaypal Hayer. It would be the final game in green and grey for several key pieces of the Royals, including Jeevan Sidhu, who will end his time in New Westminster as the fifth-best scorer in Royals history.
Strengths and weaknesses
Per my contact at Douglas, five major pieces of the Douglas rotation are leaving: Jeevan Sidhu, Scottie Austin, Akec Ambianwol, Kai Bohmert, and Andrei Verchez. That's a majority of their leadership and skill leaving in one fell swoop.
However, Douglas isn't going to immediately crater, at least not to my trained eye. When I put together spotting boards for the weekend set against Douglas last season, I was blown away by how many redshirts they carried. Though they began the season with seven redshirts, they ended with six due to Hayer's transfer, but the Royals still have many intriguing options.
When I spoke with Royals forward Lorenzo Bonamin, he said that the team's biggest strength was their ability to score from anywhere on the court. Looking at their offseason moves only reinforces that belief.
Corey Moore will enter his first PACWEST season as among the conference's tallest players at 6'8", and he'll be challenged by Carter Walker, Matteo Malia, and Deni Akinmoyero for both height and a starting forward spot. Carter Reynolds, capable of playing at both guard and forward, will redshirt for the upcoming season and learn behind American JUCO transfer Derrick Monroe.
Their perimeter scoring is now in the hands of Kaniyen Duncan, though he will gain much-needed depth with Ethan Dhillon and Tanner Cruz, and he'll also have a running mate in the backcourt with Olan Smith.
With all of these moves, Douglas is trying to make their roster as young as possible while maintaining the ability to score from virtually anywhere.
How do they fare against VIU?
It's hard to say that teams ever consciously rebuild in collegiate sports, especially in the CCAA, but Douglas seems to be doing exactly that. They have six redshirts looking for a starting spot, and boast one of the younger rosters in the conference. They're primed to return to their contending ways of the late 2010s, but I don't think they're there yet.
Douglas' frontcourt could give VIU fits, but VIU has enough experience everywhere else to make quick work of the Royals. I just think losing the specific players that they did is too big of a blow for Douglas in the short term.
I'll cover the Langara Falcons later this week, but my next article will be about the newly-relaunched All-Canadian Sports Network (ACSN). Until next time, this has been Kaleb Green, the voice of VIU.
-K
No comments:
Post a Comment