CALGARY – Following their bronze medal performance in the Canada West championship and fifth place finish at last year's U SPORTS Men's Final 8, the University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team is poised to contend once again for a CW title.

The Dinos enter this season looking to fill the void left by 2016-17 First Team All-Canadian Thomas Cooper. Fourth-year guard David Kapinga's defensive toughness and shooting ability should provide leadership and scoring for the Dinos. Converting a blistering 48.1% from deep last season, Kapinga led CW in 3pt%. Lars Schluter and Mambi Diawara join him as primary offensive weapons for the pace-and-space Dinos. 

Returning to 18-year Head Coach Dan Vanhooren's squad are fifth-year seniors Connor Foreman and Jhony Verrone. Verrone a feared wing defender, and the rim protector Foreman are expected to anchor a Dinos team that limited opponents to a CW fourth best 75.5ppg last season. While defence continues to be a major focus for the Dinos, they will strive to play more up-tempo this season to combat the losses of Dallas Karch, Jasdeep Gill, and Cooper. 

Second-year guard Max Eisele is expected to provide a steadying force for the young guard crop that looks to see more minutes with Trinity Western transfer Lucas Mannes out to begin the season.  Other new recruits include Andrew Milner, a first-year guard from Antigonish N.S., Calgary product Angelo Mbituyiamana, and Winnipeg's Mason Foreman. 

The team went 21-6 last year, before defeating the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to claim Bronze at the CW championships and earn a wildcard birth to the U SPORTS Men's Final 8. Their first round game was a rematch of the 2016 Finals against the University of Carleton Ravens. For the second consecutive year the Ravens ended the national title hopes of the Dinos. Responding with resilience, the Dinos went on to defeat Manitoba and St. Mary's to claim the conciliation title. 

The preseason provided a challenging litmus test for the Dinos, they dispatched perennial contender McGill 81-61 en route to a Calgary Cup title. The Dinos completed their preseason by defeating the 2017 national silver medalists Ryerson Rams 87-85 in OT, finishing with a 6-1 record.

The Dinos begin their 2017-18 season in Prince George B.C., with a matchup against the UNBC Timberwolves. 

DETAILS

• Date: Friday, October 27 9pm MST
• Saturday, October 28, 8pm MST

HEADLINES

• The Dinos finished the 2016-17 regular season with a 2nd place regular season finish in CW 
• UNBC failed to qualify for CW playoffs, finishing 15th in the conference.

CALGARY DINOS (2016/17 CW record: 16-4, 3rd in C.W. Championships, 5th in U SPORTS Championships)

• David Kapinga will serve as a leader at both ends of the floor, acting as the floor general with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.66 last season.
• One of the most prolific scorers in CW, Diawara will be asked to lead this unit on a nightly basis with the departure of Cooper.
• With all three of their returning leading scorers all shooting over 35% from 3pt land, the Dinos will look to play small and beat teams with speed. 

Next week: The Dinos will play their home opener against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, the defending CW Champions.

UNBC TIMBERWOLVES (2016-17 CW record: 4-16)

• Eight-year head coach Todd Jordan's team begins the season with a daunting schedule, opening against Calgary, before travelling to Vancouver in two weeks to play the defending CW champion Thunderbirds.
• Jovan Leamy, a fourth-year transfer from Ryerson, is expected to provide defensive toughness for the Timberwolves, who gave up 83.4ppg last season.
• The Timberwolves added four new recruits this year, all of whom will be looking to take the place of Rhys Elliot, their leading scorer last season.  

Next week: The Timberwolves hit the road for a matchup against Trinity Western University.