CALGARY - A long basketball season that will wrap up with the 2012 CIS Women's Basketball Final 8 March 17-19 tips off this weekend in the Jack as the Dinos open at home against a pair of schools from the B.C. interior, beginning Friday with the Thompson Rivers WolfPack and wrapping up Saturday with the inaugural Canada West visit from the conference's newest member, the UBC Okanagan Heat from Kelowna.

The Dinos opened the season last week in Brandon, with the women scoring a pair of giant victories over the lowly Bobcats (85-27 and 90-22) while the men gave up a big lead in the opener before falling 85-72, then bounced back with an impressive performance to win 90-62.

With an entire season to prepare for three home games in mid-March, the new-look University of Calgary Dinos enter the 2011-12 season as a largely unknown commodity in Canada West.

Hosts of the 2012 CIS Women's Basketball Final 8 from March 17-19 in the Jack Simpson Gym, the Dinos are guaranteed an appearance at the national tournament, and 18-year head coach Shawnee Harle has added a solid crop of recruits that should make the Dinos competitive come playoff time.

Leading the way are former All-Canadian Jenna Kaye and last year's BC college player of the year Jessica Franz. Kaye, a law student who transferred to Calgary after stints with UPEI and Dalhousie, was a second-team All-Canadian in 2008 and a two-time AUS all-star, while Franz averaged better than 23 points per game with Capilano University last season. They're joined by Aussie Ashley Hirons, a Melbourne native who is a solid outside shooter and an outstanding student.

That threesome joins a veteran group of returnees including fifth-year guard Megan Lang, forward Alex Cole, and guard Tamara Jarrett. The squad lost the services of Ashley Hill, the school's third all-time leading scorer, to graduation and will need to fill that scoring void by committee. Pre-season results would indicate that they've done just that – playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, Calgary was within four points of Regina in the final minute and dropped just a 12-point decision to defending national champion Windsor.

The Dinos' first real test of the year will come against what looks to be an improved Thompson Rivers squad, which swept Fraser Valley last week in a two-game series.

On the men's side, optimism surrounds a program that missed the playoffs last year for the first time in a decade, but still needs to show consistency – as evidenced by last week's split at Brandon.

With point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson back from his ankle injury that sidelined him for virtually all of last season, a solid core of returning veterans, and some intriguing newcomers, the Dinos look to make some noise this season and get back to the Canada West playoffs.

One major wild card will be in the form of Boris Bakovic, the transfer from Ryerson who led the nation in scoring each of his last three seasons. He's out indefinitely with an injury sustained at the training camp for Team Canada before the Pan American Games, and his fortunes could very well determine those of the team.

Tyler Fidler returns to close out his impressive five-year career, while last year's conference rookie of the year, Matt Letkeman, will continue to muck it up in the paint for the Dinos. Andrew McGuinness has the ability to shoot the lights out, while Keenan Milburn presents a steady presence on the floor. Milburn and Fidler are two of the four fifth-year seniors on this Dinos team, joined by Bakovic and Dustin Reding.

A couple of international newcomers provide a different look for the Dinos in 2011-12. Daan Wiersum comes to Calgary from the Netherlands through a connection with former Dino Henry Bekkering, while Josh Owen-Thomas could crack the starting lineup. Owen-Thomas comes to the Dinos from Adelaide, Australia via the British U20 national team program.

The Dinos played UBC Okanagan twice in Kelowna back in October, winning both games, and will look to do the same Saturday night. Thompson Rivers is up first, however, and the WolfPack has already made waves in the conference this year. TRU split its opening series with a strong Fraser Valley squad that's expected to compete in the Pacific.

Calgary returns home Nov. 25-26 when they again host a pair of B.C. schools, this time in the form of Victoria and UBC.

-UC-