Regina Cougar Basketball



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	We are pleased to announce that the Winter Cougar newsletter is now available. It is available through the regular mail or via e-mail. If you are interested, please send your address. The next issue will be available in April. We have also kicked off our Adopt-A-Cougar program (please see Money Matters for details). For sponsoring an athlete at $500, an individual/business receives a thank-you package from the team and a full tax receipt. The money raised goes to help with the costs of non conference travel, meals, uniforms, and equipment. We are very proud of both the athletic and academic (75% plus graduation rate) success of our student athletes. If you are interested in sponsoring an athlete or need more info, please feel free to phone Coach Hillis at (306) 585-4069. Hebert Newest Cougar The University of Regina Cougars have given one recruit a Royal welcome. Cougars head coach James Hillis said Tuesday that Riffel Royals point guard Brendan Hebert -- a Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League all-star this season -- has committed to the U of R men's basketball team. Hebert's Canada West career is to begin next season. "This is a very timely graduation (from high school) for us," Hillis said. "With Paul Schubach graduating (from the U of R this season), we're definitely going to need some help at that position. This is a great opportunity for Brendan and it's a great opportunity for us. "He's not the biggest guy, but he has demonstrated that he's athletic. I saw him in the Canada Games. He faced full-court pressure all the time and didn't turn (the ball) over -- and he does the same thing in high school." Next season, the 5-foot-11 Hebert will get an opportunity to do the same thing at the U of R. "I grew up watching Bryden Wright and Joel Hunter and, more recently, Jamal Williams and Jeff Lukomski and you could say I idolized them," Hebert said, referring to former and current Cougars. "When you grow up watching players like that, you start to think you want to be like them. "How could you not want to play for the Cougars?" Hebert has represented Saskatchewan in the Western Canada Summer Games (in 2006) and the Canada Summer Games (2009), as well as in under-15 and under-17 national championships. He helped Riffel win the 2007 RIBL junior boys city title and reach the '08 junior city final. Hebert and the Royals made it to the 5A senior boys final at the 2009 Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association championship tournament and are in Hoopla again this weekend in Saskatoon. This season, the 17-year-old averaged 17.7 points (he shot 47.2 per cent from the floor, including 34.3 per cent from behind the arc), 8.6 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. He registered 21 assists in Riffel's 82-74 loss to the LeBoldus Golden Suns on March 10 in the RIBL senior boys third-place game. Hillis likes the fact Hebert has a pass-first mentality as a point guard, but the head coach also is impressed with Hebert's shooting ability. With Schubach gone, Darius Mole stands to be the Cougars' starting point guard next season. "We think Darius has something to offer," Hillis said. "(Mole and Hebert) are a little bit different. Brendan shoots the ball better and, in certain situations, we think Brendan can slide over to the wing and shoot it from there." Hebert said he has to become more consistent with his shot to play at the next level. As well ... "I've got to get in the gym and get a little bigger and stronger," said the 148-pounder. "I also have to get a feel for the team dynamic." "He can handle the pace of the play; that's why we're happy to get him," Hillis added. "That's why he had other options. He was recruited by other teams because they saw he can handle the speed of the game at this level." Cougars Have Some Work To Do Making the post-season made the 2009-10 season a little more palatable for University of Regina Cougars head coach James Hillis. The Cougars men's basketball team went 10-10 in the Canada West regular season to earn a spot in a best-of-three quarterfinal against the Simon Fraser Clan. Regina's season ended Saturday, when the Clan completed a 2-1, come-from-behind series victory. "I'm pleased, with the new alignment, that we were .500 and that we made the playoffs, "Hillis said. "There were a lot of shocked faces from people who didn't make the playoffs, like Brandon and Victoria. Trinity Western didn't make the playoffs and that was a team that was considered a legitimate contender for a national championship. "With the realignment and the reduction of the teams that make the playoffs, it's a very difficult league to make the playoffs. We didn't back into it, either. We took care of it ourselves." The Cougars will have some work to do to reach the same level -- or to surpass it -- next season. Regina lost point guard Paul Schubach and forward Jamal Williams to graduation after the '09-10 season and their production will be tough to replace. Those who return -- notably shooting guards Jeff Lukomski and Sterling Nostedt, point guard Darius Mole and post Kris Heshka -- will have to pick up the slack. "We've got to get better by making the players we've already got better," Hillis said. "We'll start in a couple of weeks with workouts -- and we've got to get into the weight room, too. At times, we didn't look strong enough. "We weren't big enough, either. That's a big part of it. We're going to need to try to recruit bigger guys in all positions, not just posts." That may take Hillis across the continent. The best big man in the Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League is 6-foot-5 Campbell Tartans star Matt Campbell and, while Hillis is trying to recruit Campbell, the Cougars' head coach knows he needs to employ "a wider shotgun in terms of recruiting." "Part of it is resource-based," Hillis said. "If we're going to recruit kids from Toronto or Winnipeg or Calgary, that requires money. It requires money to support the athletes in terms of scholarships but also in terms of travelling and identifying players." Mind you, size isn't the only concern this off-season. Hillis suggested the Cougars have a reputation across the conference as a good shooting team, but he noted the statistics from the '09-10 season don't bear that out. Regina was 10th in the 14-team loop in field-goal percentage (41.1), 12th in three-point field-goal percentage (31.9) and last in free-throw percentage (62.4). "We've got to shoot the ball better ...," Hillis said. "You address that two ways. One, the guys who are coming back and want to make this team need to shoot the ball better. They need to get in the gym and shoot the ball. They can't take the summer off. Guys who struggled from the free-throw line need to shoot the ball maybe 50,000 times between now and September. "The second way is to recruit guys who are better shooters." Regina Loses To Hot Shooting Clan The season is over for the Cougars as they drop a 95-76 decision to SFU. Turnovers were again a problem for Regina who also had to deal with red-hot shooting from the home team. This marks the end of the day in Green and Gold for Jamal Williams and Paul Schubach, two of the better players in team history. THANK-YOU so much guys for all your contributions! Cougar Comeback Falls Short Cougars play pretty well but lose 82-75 to the Clan. Just a few too many mental mistakes (TO's and missed defensive assignments) hurt. Game three goes this afternoon at 3:00 pm PT. GO COUGS!! Green And Gold Draw First Blood Regina played great D and beat SFU last night 77-71. Jamal Williams led the Cougs with 19 points and 9 rebounds. They have to play with the same energy tonight and hit the boards a little harder to come away with the sweep. Regina Leads CW In Attendance Cougars once again led CW in attendance (4th time in 6 years!!) with an average of 1150 per game. This proves we have some of the best fans in the country. THANKS!! Cougars Humbled In Saskatoon Red hot Huskies thumped the Cougars last night 102-72. Jeff Lukomski with 21 points and Jamal Williams with 18 led the Green and Gold. Cougs have to play with more energy at the defensive end but should should give SFU a run for their money in two weeks. Poor Shooting Hurts Regina Tough game last night for the Cougs as they dropped a 92-75 decision to the Huskies. The game plan was good, Huskies just made their shots while Regina struggled. Kris Heshka led the way with 19 points. The game means the Cougars will travel to SFU next weekend and play the Clan in a best of three. Cougars Clinch At Least Third Regina sweeps Winnipeg on Senior Night. Fifth year players Jamal Williams and Paul Schubach were honoured and then went out and helped the Cougars to a 98-79 victory over the Wesmen. Jeff Lukomski led the Green and Gold with 27 points while Jamal added 23 and Kris Heshka had 22. Big series next weekend against the Huskies with second place in the CW East Division on the line. Regina Holds On For Win Cougs win 94-86 tonight over the Winnipeg Wesmen. Good offensive night as the team shot well in general and were led by Kris Heshka (23 points) and Jimmy Scroggins (20 points). Defensively there were to many let downs and they will have to tighten up to beat the better teams in the conference. Close But No Cigar Regina could not over come foul trouble as five Cougars fouled out in a 93-84 loss to the Dinos. Jeff Lukomski led the Green and Gold with 23 points. It was a decent showing as the Cougs were in tough against the #6 team in the country. They held their own and continue to show improvement down the stretch. Turnovers Cost Cougars In Calgary Dinos pulled away late to beat the Cougars 91-74. Regina had cut the Calgary lead to five early in the fourth but could not sustain the come back. Guys did everything pretty well except turned it over 30 times. Need to get that under control for tomorrow nights game. Kris Heshka led the way with 18 points. Cougars Lead CW In Attendance Forgot to add that 1800+ fans at the game tonight giving us a season average of 1200+. This leads CW and we may claim the attendance title for the fouth time in the past six years. Thanks to all our fans!! Cougars Sweep Brandon Cougars clobber Bobcats 98-75 tonight in Regina to complete the sweep. Jeff Lukomski hit nine 3's (second single game best to his own 11) to lead the Green and Gold with 34 points. Cougars now in tie for second in CW East with U of S with 8-6 records. Tough road trip next week to Calgary. Regina Wins Third In A Row Regina pulled away late to beat the Brandon Bobcats 69-55. It was a defensive struggle for most of the game til Jeff Lukomski and Jimmy Scroggins keyed a fourth quarter run. Kris Heshka led the Cougars with 14 points while Jeff added 13 and Jimmy had 12. Cougars Get Sweep On Road Cougars win 86-73 tonight. Jamal Williams, Jeff Lukomski, and Jordan McFarlen lead the way with 13 points each. The win puts Regina in third with a 6-6 conference record. They will host the Brandon Bobcats next weekend in a two game stint. Green And Gold Beat Bisons Regina comes back from an 18 point deficit to beat the Bisons last night 84-74. Jamal Williams led the way with 23 points while Jeff Lukomski added 16 and Jimmy Scroggins had 14. Cougars Add Guard University of Regina men’s basketball head coach James Hillis announced Wednesday that the team has added 6’2” wing Jimmy Scroggins to its roster. Scroggins last played at Bakersfield College, where he was a two-year member of the Renegades. He averaged 5.7 points per game during the 2006-07 season, as Bakersfield went 30-3 overall and won the Western State Conference South Division co-championship with an 11-1 conference record. He also scored 5.6 points per game in 2007-08 with the Renegades. “Jimmy is very athletic, very fast, and a great defender in the half court and in the quarter court,” Hillis said. “He can be effective for us at either the two or three positions.” Scroggins attended Mount Mercy College in Des Moines, Iowa during the 2008-09 and for the first semester of this year, but did not play for the school’s basketball team. He hails from Phoenix, Ariz., where he attended North High School. Scroggins, who is enrolled in the U of R’s faculty of arts, is eligible immediately and is expected to be in the Cougars’ lineup this weekend against UBC and Victoria. Cougar Game In Williston CANCELLED The Cougar basketball game scheduled for today in Williston, ND, has been cancelled due to bad weather. Slam Dunk of an Evening The fourth annual Slam Dunk of an Evening is scheduled for Saturday, January 23 at 4:30 p.m. at the U of R. SAVE THE DATE! Join us for a fun pep rally and reception for the whole family in Gym 1 before our Cougars take on their nemesis, the Brandon Bobcats. Women’s tip off is at 6:15 p.m., men’s at 8:00 p.m. Cougars Win In OT Jamal Williams had a big second half and OT as the Cougars defeated the TRU Wolfpack 92-85. The game was tied at 77 at the end of regulation but quick 3's by Jamal and Jeff at the start of the extra period put Regina a head for good. The Green and Gold end the first half of the season 4-4 in conference and will have to improve significantly over the break to be a factor in the CW playoffs. Fraser Valley Beats Regina Poor start last night did in the Green and Gold as the lost 89-73 to Fraser Valley. The inconsistent play continues, which must be frustrating as this is a veteran team. Guys have to come out with energy from the get go. A must win tonight against Thompson River. Regina Sweeps U of A Regina overcame a slow start to beat the Bears 78-73. It was likely their first ever sweep of Alberta in Regina or Edmonton. The starting five all had excellent second halves as did subs Connor Burns and Darius Mole. Cougars Win First Ever Conference Game In Edmonton Cougs won an ugly one last night in Edmonton 62-61 over the Bears. Jamal and Kris led a strong fourth quarter for the Green and Gold. Guys played great defence but again struggled from the line. Either have to get their confidence back or spend some extra time in the gym as we cant afford to lose a game by missing freebies. Cougars Come Up Short Vs Trinity Western Cougars played better last night but dropped a 81-74 decision to the tough Trinity Western Spartans. Jeff had a big game with 25 points and Kris played tough down low again. When everyone finally gets on the floor and playing together we will be pretty darn good. Hot Shooting By SFU Does In Green And Gold Cougars had one of those nights where nothing seemed to go right. Simon Fraser just couldn't miss their three's (18 of them!!) and they cruised to a 91-76 win. Kris Heshka played well but the team as whole were sluggish. Tomorrow night its Trinity Western. Cougar TV Hits The Net The University of Regina Cougars are proud to introduce live video webcasting for home basketball and volleyball games this season! Adam Geiger, a familiar sports voice on the Moose Jaw airwaves, will handle play-by-play duties for both sports. Braden Konschuh, the U of R's sports information director, will provide colour for the basketball games. The pre-game show will kick off five minutes prior to each scheduled start time. Poor Shooting Sinks Green And Gold Regina couldn't hit the broad side of a barn as they dropped a 70-54 decision to the Pronghorns in Lethbridge. The 23 turnovers also didn't help as a very good defensive effort was wasted. No Cougar hit double digits in the scoring column. Regina Wins Conference Opener The Green and Gold traveled to Lethbridge for their first conference game of the year. They built a 15 point lead in the fourth quarter and hung on for a 81-77 win. Sterling Nostedt led the way with 16 points while Jamal Williams and Paul Schubach added 14 each. Cougars Lose In North Dakota Minot State returned the favour to Regina as they beat an under-manned Cougar team 100-76 in Minot. Paul Schubach led the Green and Gold who were playing without starters Kris Heshka and Jeff Lukomski and important sub Danny LeBeck.Jeff Lukomski will now be available next weekend as the CW Conference part of the schedule gets started. Kris Heshka sat out last nights game but will also be ready to go next Friday, Saturday. Danny LeBeck will be active after Christmas. Cougars Bounce Back With Win Regina finished their trip to Saskatoon with a 76-63 win over Thompson River. Everyone who dressed got into the game and Marek Downarowicz led the Green and Gold with 18 points. The Cougars are now 5-1 on the year and head down to North Dakota to play Minot State on Friday night. Turnovers Costly In Loss To Huskies Cougars lost to the Huskies 90-82 tonight in Saskatoon. Too many turnovers. For the Green and Gold to have the year we are hoping for that problem has to be corrected. All the starters scored in double digits, led by Jamal Williams' 22. Regina Runs Away From McGill After a slow start the Green and Gold built a 30 point lead and then cruised to a 95-72 win over McGill in Saskatoon. Jamal Williams and Marek Downarowicz led the Cougars with 15 points each. Up next (tomorrow night) will be the host Huskies, who will be our toughest opponent. Cougars Sweep American Opponents Regina move to 3-0 on the young season (all vs. non-CIS teams) by winning a pair of games on the weekend. Friday night the Cougars knocked off Minot State, an NAIA Division II team from North Dakota 96-63 with 6'5" Jamal Williams going off for a 23 pts/15 rebound double/double. Earlier today, Regina defeated Williston State, a Junior College from North Dakota 89-86 as last season's Canada West second team all-star 6'7" Chris Heshka, led the way with 23 points/nine boards. Regina played without usual starting shooting guard and three point specialist Jeff Lukomski who is currently toiling for the football Cougars. Cougars Win First Game Of Year The Green and Gold thumped Medicine Hat College 102-37 last night. All 12 players who dressed saw at least 10 minutes of action and all got on the scoreboard. Paul Gareau is out for a couple of weeks while Danny LeBeck may be missing until Christmas. Both are injured. Cougar Add Three More Players Addressing the needs for athleticism and spreading minutes across more players, James Hillis was able to attract a pair of rotation-ready recruits, beginning with Darius Mole, a 6'0 multi-sport athlete at Phoenix (AZ) St. Mary's Catholic where he was part of a 5A-I state championship basketball team in 2007-08 while also quarterbacking the football team and doing the long jump. Mole appears to be ready for big minutes at the point, complementing Paul Schubach. Adding much-needed depth at the four spot is another American import, 6'6" Danny LeBeck, originally from Colorado, who has spent the past two seasons at U.S. Junior Colleges (Scottsdale CC last season and Casper (Wyoming) CC in 2007-08). Much like incumbent starter Jamal Williams, LeBeck, who fought back injuries last season, is known an adept passer and is also ready to contribute immediately. Michael Smith from Toronto is the third just announced recruit and was a red-shirt last year at York University. A 6'0 guard, Michael adds top level quickness and athleticism. He will back up Jeff Lukomski and give the team another weapon off the bench. Cougar Great Inducted Into RSHoF Cougar Basketball is proud to announce former great Chris Biegler has been inducted into the Regina Sports Hall of Fame!! Chris holds to many team records to mention, was a three time All-Canadian, the 1987 CIS MVP, and represented Canada internationally. He will be inducted formally on October 8. Golf Tournament A Huge Success!! Yesterdays Cougar Basketball Golf Tournament had a great turnout and was a huge success. We would like to thank all of our participants and sponsors!! Austin Bates Takes Year Off Cougar Austin Bates is taking a year off from hoops and will play football for the Regina Thunder. He will join former Cougar Guard and current Thunder starting quarterback Reid Quest. We wish both players all the best and hope to see Austin back in the Green and Gold in a year. Cougar Basketball Summer Prospectus Available The 2009-10 Cougar Basketball Summer Prospectus is now available: http://leroy.cc.uregina.ca/~cougars/coug0910prosp.txt Cougar Basketball Gives Back To Community Coach James Hillis and players including Jamal Williams, Paul Gareau and Jeff Lukomski volunteered to help install playground equipment at St Matthews Community School this past week. Another example of how Cougar Basketball helps support local communities. Former Cougar To Lead Sask Sport Former Cougar All-Canadian Dale Holmes has been named the new head of Sask Sport. Sask Sport is the body that over-sees all Provincial Sport Governing Bodies. Dale will do a GREAT job!! Misc Notes Check out the CARILLON link or the Leader-Post for more COUGAR coverage. Their archives can be searched for past stories as well. Tim Switzer publishes an excellent Blog covering local sports. Tape delayed TV broadcasts of Cougar games can be seen on Access Communications or SaskTel Max . LIVE VIDEO is available over the internet for Cougar home games. Go to the Cougar Athletics web page (see OTHER LINKS section) and follow the links there. The Brandon Bobcats were voted as the top rival for the Cougars with the Saskatchewan Huskies and Winnipeg Wesmen folowing close behind. PLEASE feel free to make suggestions as to what you would like to see added. Also, please stay tuned to the LATEST NEWS section for important Cougar info.