Bisons waiting and watching

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/02/2023 (1201 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In an era when many of the best basketball players are positionless, Simon Hildebrandt has set a standard for the Manitoba Bisons.

The 6-9, 220-pounder should be under prime consideration for Canada West and U Sports rookie of the year. He’s a versatile defender and, when he has the ball, has shown the ability to beat opponents from the inside and from long range while leading the Bisons to an 18-2 conference record.

On Friday, he will be relying on his brain and not his legs.

Hildebrandt and his teammates will be courtside at Investors Group Athletic Centre, where the No. 7-seeded Trinity Western Spartans and No. 10 Calgary Dinos will face off in a Canada West play-in game.

“It’s so much better to watch in person,” said Hildebrandt, who leads the Bisons with 16.9 points per game. “You can pick up little little things, you hear what the coaches are saying sometimes. It’s a real view of how everything works right in front of you. It’s a just a huge advantage.”

The winner of Friday’s game will meet Manitoba in a one-game conference quarter-final Saturday at 7 p.m.

Due to an unbalanced regular-season schedule, the Bisons have not played Calgary or Trinity Western this season, so unlocking the mysteries of their eventual opponents could be key to winning Saturday.

“I know our level of preparation is very high,” said Manitoba head coach Kirby Schepp, who has scheduled a late-night practice immediately following Friday’s play-in game. “We expect other teams to be very similar. Our guys will know going into that game what everyone does, what they’re good at, what they’re not good at and what they’re trying to do.

“We’ll be watching specific actions, game plans but Simon’s right, it’s different watching it in person…. You get a better feel for, ‘Oh, that guys a little quicker than I thought or he’s a little stronger.’ You get a different feel when it’s in person.”

The second-seeded Bisons have worked diligently to exploit the benefits of a top-four conference finish. Video study and high energy workouts are all part of it.

The Bisons didn’t have to travel and will get an extra day of rest prior to the quarter-final but the margin of victory in a playoff game is bound to be small.

“This time of year you’re trying to look for any tiny little advantage you can and take it, right?” said Schepp, who is trying to lead his team to its first U Sports national championship tournament since 2017. “I know we don’t get a ton of advantages as a result of being a top four seed (but) we do have a small advantage of being able to watch them play — you might as well use it.”

Fourth-year forward Wyatt Tait, who has rounded into form after missing a large chunk of the first half with a high ankle sprain, said extra attention to detail during this week’s preparations is bound to pay off.

“I wouldn’t say we’re nervous; I think we’re ready,” said Tait, who has averaged a career-high 5.1 rebounds and 7.6 points per game in 2022-23. “We’ve had a great season so far and we just keep improving.”

The Spartans (12-8) and Dinos (11-9) also appear to be teams on the rise.

Calgary has gone 7-3 since star forward Mason Foreman returned to the team in January while Trinity Western is 6-4 since the mid-season break.

“I think both teams are under-seeded because Trinity lost their best player (Mason Bourcier) for the two (losses to Saskatchewan) and Calgary didn’t have their best player (Foreman) for the whole first half,” said Hildebrandt. “So it’s a seven (seed) versus 10 but realistically it could be four versus five. I have no idea who’s gonna win that one.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca