CALGARY – The Calgary Dinos men's basketball team's youth movement opens in earnest this weekend as they host the Manitoba Bisons for a two-game series to open Canada West competition.

It all starts Friday with a 6 p.m. tip-off, followed by a 7 p.m. start Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

Entering his 13th season as head coach at the University of Calgary, Dan Vanhooren is getting set to field one of the youngest teams of his career.

After graduating four seniors last season, including five-year standout Tyler Fidler along with transfer Boris Bakovic, who ended his career as the leading scorer in Canadian university history, Vanhooren's crew for 2012-13 is all about youth. On the 15-man roster, just two players are above their third year of eligibility, and the core group should have several years together.

“Our young kids – Jasdeep Gill, Mitch Ligertwood, Dallas Karch – are all contributing in not small ways. They're all smart, and going forward we're going to be better in all kinds of ways – and that's very exciting for our program. Jarred has three years left and Matt has four, and so that group is going to be together for a long time.”

Point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson is set for a breakout season after battling injuries through his first three seasons. In just his third season of eligibility after a medical redshirt year, Ogungbemi-Jackson had a unique experience reaching the semi-final of an international 3-on-3 basketball tournament that took him from Edmonton to New York and Miami over the summer.

“Jarred needs to be a leader in a big way, and he has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders this year, and we'll need to rely on him to do some scoring,” said Vanhooren.

The experience in the line-up is bolstered by a pair of veteran transfers in forwards Thijin Moses and Clay Mulumba Mbayi. Both had stints in the NCAA and are big bodies that will provide match-up problems for visiting teams. Moses, a Calgary native who played at DePaul University, stands 6-foot-7 and can be a game-changer on offence with his massive wingspan.

“He's had to adjust getting back into game situations, but he's an offensive juggernaut,” Vanhooren said. “He can put up 30 on anybody in a hurry, and that's a big dimension for us and gives us somebody other than Jarred we can rely on for scoring.”

The Dinos have also brought in a significant group of freshman that Vanhooren expects will see significant playing time this fall. Calgary-area grads Jasdeep Gill and Dallas Karch join Matt Letkeman out of Port Moody, B.C. as the new faces that have already contributed significant minutes during non-conference play.

Calgary was ranked No. 6 in the Canada West coaches' pre-season poll, projected to finish third in the Prairie Division.

“I think we're a playoff team, but other than that it's hard to predict,” said Vanhooren. “Our division is pretty wide open. Alberta will be good, Regina has proven to be tough, Winnipeg and Brandon are both good, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are clearly good, and Lethbridge is competitive for sure. There's no game that you look at right now and say 'that's a win' or 'that's a loss.' Every game is winnable, and that's exciting – especially for a young group.”

The Dinos remain home next week as they face the Alberta Golden Bears Thursday-Friday, Nov. 8-9.

2011-12 Regular Season Record: 10-10
2011-12 Regular Season Standings: 4th Prairie Division
2012 CW Playoff Record: 1-2
2012 CIS Championship Record: N/A
Last CW Championship: 2009
Last CIS Championship: None

Key departures: Tyler Fidler, Boris Bakovic, Dustin Reding, Keenan Milburn
Key returnees: Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, Matt Letkeman, Josh Owen-Thomas
Key additions: Mitch Ligertwood, Dallas Karch, Jasdeep Gill, Clay Mulumba, Thijin Moses

-UC-