SaltWire E-Edition

Writing their own story

New look Acadia Axemen looking forward as they prepare for AUS tipoff

JASON MALLOY VALLEY JOURNAL- ADVERTISER jason.malloy @saltwire.com @JasonMa47772994

Jack Tilley thinks back to the start of the pre-season as he gets ready to play the first Acadia Axemen basketball game to count in 20 months.

“I was just so excited,” the Axemen veteran said before a recent practice. “I remember talking to referees and even a couple of guys on the other team just saying it’s great to be playing basketball again. That’s why we play the game – we love it.”

The Axemen closed out the 2019-20 regular season by beating the Saint Mary’s Huskies on Feb. 19, 2020. A month later, COVID-19 had halted life as everyone knew it before eventually wiping out the 2020-21 university sport season.

“We were lucky enough to be one of the few teams that got exhibition games in last year,” said Rowan Power, a 23-year-old Dartmouth native. “(But) we definitely missed not being able to get out there in front of the fans and play.”

With eight freshmen on the roster and a brand new coaching staff, there’s been plenty of change since the Axemen’s last game that counted in the standings. With that comes a sense of optimism.

“It’s going to be an exciting year,” said Tilley, a fivefoot-10, 170-pound point guard from Rothesay, N.B. “This is a completely new team with a new look. We have a totally new dynamic in the way we play.”

Kevin Duffie left the team in early September to pursue a career path in business after being the Axemen’s bench boss for the previous seven seasons.

New athletic director

Brian Finniss brought in his former hoops coach from Three Oaks high school in Summerside, P.E.I., Mike Leslie, to be the interim coach.

The move came as a surprise to the Axemen. Some of them had played for

Duffie for years and were looking forward to that continuity. But they quickly regrouped and have welcomed Leslie with open arms.

“We all love coach Mike and we’re striving to get a lot of wins this year,” said Power, a business student in his fifth year at Acadia and fourth year of eligibility.

“He’s been an awesome leader,” added Tilley, a fourth-year business student. “He’s really teaching us the game and how to play together, how to move the ball and how to play effectively with one another. … He’s a

really good guy and we love having him around.”

Leslie said the players have been very receptive and patient as they grow together with a common goal. He credited the veterans for their leadership during the transition.

“They worked very, very hard early, and quickly, to establish a relationship with me to be able to lead their group of players,” he said. “That, to me, shows a true passion for wanting to have a very, very successful season.”

He was pleased how quickly the team flipped the switch and started looking ahead.

“We start at 0-0 and we begin to build our story and our narrative,” Leslie said.

Power said the goal is simple: continued improvement.

“We want to be better tomorrow than we were today, and we want to be better the day after that than we were tomorrow,” said the six-foot-three, 200-pound guard/wing.

And that has already shown.

They lost to St. F.X. by 30 points on Oct. 3 and 13 days later lost to the X-Men by 10 in their final tee-up.

After two months of practice and a handful of pre-season games, the new bench boss sees a skilled and committed group of smart student-athletes.

“I think it’s trying to find balance of showcasing some of that skill and talent and then also putting it within the construct of playing together as a group,” he said.

So, what can fans expect from the Axemen this season?

“I would like people, when they walk in and watch us play, (to) say these young men really care about what they’re doing,” Leslie said. “When they watch the basketball game, it should be fun and entertaining.”

Leslie grew up in Oxford and attended the Nova Scotia Teachers College in Truro before teaching in Amherst and the Summerside area and working with the education department in Prince Edward Island. He moved to Halifax in November 2016 to be the head coach of the National Basketball League of Canada’s Hurricanes.

He previously served as an assistant with the Island Storm, under head coach

Joe Salerno, now the UNB bench boss.

Leslie said he isn’t looking at the Acadia position as being the caretaker of the program.

“It’s my wish and intent to be here for a number of years,” said 59-year-old Waverly resident.

X-MEN DOWN AXEMEN

en-ca

2021-10-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-26T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281668258184777

SaltWire Network