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RDC hoop team getting new coach
www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/sports/RDC_hoop_team_getting_new_coach_99328089.html The RDC Kings basketball squad will have a new look next season.
The major change comes at the coaching position as head coach Craig Behan is taking a year’s leave of absence to work at the University of Victoria.
“The new coach is practically in place, he just needs to wrap up a few details before it will be announced,” explained Behan, who believes the new coach will be a good fit.
“All the guys know who it is and they’re behind the move. I believe it’s a good match and he’ll definitely have a quality team, that will challenge for the Final Four.”
Behan did all the recruiting prior to making the announcement.
“The biggest thing was to recruit the guys, then call them and make sure they knew about the change and who the new guy was and he’s someone they’ll enjoy working with,” added Behan, who has been at RDC for eight years and felt he needed a break.
“It came about fairly late, but the nice thing is I received strong support from all the top people at the college, which made the decision that much easier,” he said.
Behan will work on a pilot project with the U of Vic men’s basketball team where he’ll be an assistant coach working with head coach Craig Beaucamp, who Behan has worked with before.
“We’re friends, so that makes it nice and I worked on my master’s degree there and so it’s like going home,” he added.
The pilot project deals with coaching, working in the community, recruiting, in fact all aspects of the game, according to Behan.
“I’ll be busy, but the nice thing is it’s a change and Victoria is a hot bed of basketball, which I’m looking forward to working in,” he said.
But he also enjoyed his time at RDC, and expects to be back for the 2011-12 season.
“It’s been a great eight years here and we’ve build this program into one of the best small school programs in the country,” he said.
“And when I decided to take the break I didn’t want this program to slip. I didn’t want to leave the program in shambles. I recruited hard and I like what we accomplished.”
Behan did shake up the roster from last season with only four players returning — point guard Lloyd Strickland, guard Jordan Stevens, six-foot-five forward Eric Bakker and six-foot-eight Eddie Sanchez.
“We wanted to have the guys back who fit into the program and understand what it’s like to be a student athlete. We had some guys last year who didn’t have their priorities in place.”
Behan was able to add one of the premier players in the country in six-foot-six power forward Dominyc Coward of Airdrie, who was one of the top recruits out of Bert Church in 2007.
He played a year at the University of Calgary prior to taking last season off to work more on his academics.
“Nothing against the guys we’ve had before, as we’ve had some outstanding players, but Dominyc may be the best recruit we’ve ever landed,” said Behan.
“When he came out of school he was heavily recruited across Canada and by schools in States.”
Coward is attending RDC to play basketball, but also work on his academics, stressed Behan.
“He wants to return to Calgary to finish his degree and felt RDC was a perfect fit so he can make that move next year,” Behan explained.
“The one thing is he’s a massive talent, who can do whatever you want.”
Guard Kendall Boese of Three Hills, who played two years with Mount Royal before taking last year off, has also committed while former RDC all-star guard Adam Shaw is close to returning.
Behan also has two recruits out of Windsor, Ont., in six-foot-five wingman Stason Golden and six-foot-one shooting guard Jacob Cusumano, who played junior college in the States last year.
Six-foot-six Jason Lowe of the Bermuda National team has also committed along with guard Tyler Flarahty of Edmonton.
Locally guard Pedro Porto-Alegre of Hunting Hills and forward Ryan Clark of Lindsay Thurber are on the list along with guard Adam Glover, who played two years ago at Hunting Hills.
“It’ll be a very solid team. Not overly big, but extremely athletic,” said Behan.
