Bisons feel blessed by Omoerah’s return

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This article was published 29/12/2015 (3654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FOR the three years Keith Omoerah was gone, University of Manitoba Bisons basketball coach Kirby Schepp always kept in touch, though by the start of 2015 he was close to giving up.

Schepp and his team always wanted their former prize recruit to come back. They just had to wait for Omoerah to be ready for the same.

This year, that time finally came. In July, Omoerah finalized his decision to return to the U of M. With that, the Bisons gained a well-rounded 6-5 weapon — and the 23-year-old Grant Park alumnus, who is now studying physical education, has his academic future back on track.

“I found out what I wanted to do,” Omoerah said, of his decision to return. “I just didn’t have a healthy balance (before). My grades weren’t where I wanted them to be. For the betterment of my future, I had to take care of my academics first, and have a happy medium between that (and training). Now, I’ve finally made it.”

At first, he grinned, it was a bit of an adjustment jumping back into CIS play for the first time since 2012. The team welcomed him back with open arms, but his training wasn’t where he wanted it. That said, his numbers don’t really show it: through eight Canada West games, Omoerah is averaging 12.1 points and 7.1 rebounds, the latter ranked 12th in Canada West. He’s also fourth in assists and 12th in steals.

What is harder to quantify, is he has Schepp’s trust. One of the most remarkable things about Omoerah, the coach said, is the way he can slide in almost anywhere without missing a step. The Bisons play him at point guard, on the wing, as a power forward. Wherever he is needed.

Not to overstate the case, Schepp said, but he’s sort of like a CIS LeBron James.

“He’s such a gifted athlete,” the coach said. “Keith is a very intelligent person, a very intelligent basketball player. He sees things that are happening on the floor before other guys do.”

In their first Wesmen Classic match Monday night the Bisons played Omoerah in four different spots. They needed the flexibility: The Bisons opened the 49th annual tournament with a first-round battle against Lethbridge, who are 5-1 in conference play and sit atop the Pioneer division. The Bisons are 6-2, and second.

It was a tough way to start the Classic, but the Bisons passed the test, beating the Pronghorns 87-77 as Omoerah put away 21 points and logged 35 minutes. Now, he and the Bisons will face the Wesmen tonight in a semifinal.

Whatever happens then, the real goal of this tournament is to get teams tuned up for the second half of the CIS season. The Bisons are hungry for that; they went into the break on a four-game win streak.

This team could be poised to make a deep playoff run. Omoerah will be part of the reason; there’s also a deep well of returning talent, including fifth-year guard Amir Ali, back from injury, and 6-7 forward Wyatt Anders, who fought the CIS over an eligibility quirk and won the right to play.

Add those three to sharpshooters AJ Basi and Justus Alleyn and you have a Bisons team ranking second overall in Canada West with 85.4 points per game. Five players are averaging double-digit scoring and the team leads the nation with an average of 21.3 assists.

That sparkling figure testifies to the Bisons’ passing game — another area where Omoerah shines. In fact, Schepp thinks he’s partly why the whole team does, too.

“He’s one of our most talented guys, but he’s a pass-first person,” Schepp said. “I think that culture has spread throughout the team… It’s led to our team success, to some extent.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca