Coach - Matt Skinn (4th year), U of C Dinos
Coach - Craig Anderson (1st year), U of C Dinos

The Try-out cost for each team will be $60, and each player MUST bring money to the first try-out in either Cash or Cheque (Cheques can be made out to Junior Dinos Basketball Club).

U-13 and U-15 Try-outs:

Tuesday April 1, 5-6:30pm, RED GYM, University of Calgary
Monday April 7, 5-6:30pm, WEST JACK SIMPSON GYM, University of Calgary
Friday April 11, 5-7pm, EAST & WEST JACK SIMPSON GYM, University of Calgary

U-17 Try-outs:

Wednesday April 2, 4-6:30pm, WEST JACK SIMPSON GYM, University of Calgary
Monday April 7, 3:30-5pm, WEST JACK SIMPSON GYM, University of Calgary
Friday April 11, 5-7pm, CENTER JACK SIMPSON GYM, University of Calgary

TO REGISTER for the try-outs, please Contact Jr. Dinos GM Matt Skinn at mjskinn@ucalgary.ca or at 403 220 3453 (email preferred). Please forward your sons name, age, team trying out for, high school, height and contact information.

A 6’9”, 200-pound two-man from Calgary’s Western Canada High School, Fidler was the sixth man for the Dinos most of the season and started four games at the end of the year. He averaged 9.9 points off the bench for the Dinos, who completed their best season since 1976 with a record of 18-4.

Calgary hosts the Canada West Final Four this weekend in the Jack Simpson Gym after sweeping the Alberta Golden Bears in the division final last week.

“Tyler was the top high school recruit to stay in Canada last year, and he’s done nothing but meet our expectations,” said Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren. “He has some national team experience, and we’re thrilled that he’s gotten this recognition. We hope he can continue to play well and gain further recognition at the national level.”

Fidler selected to join the Dinos after entertaining several offers from other Canada West schools and the NCAA.

In addition to his scoring, he was a force defensively for Calgary, finishing second on the team in both blocked shots (21) and steals (41) despite averaging just 21.7 minutes per game. Those stats placed him ninth in the conference in blocks and 11th in steals.

A communications student, Fidler will become the conference’s nominee for the CIS rookie of the year award, which will be handed out at the national championship in Ottawa Mar. 14-16.

He is the first Dinos player to be named the conference rookie of the year since Chris Harris in 1998.

Forward Henry Bekkering was also recognized by the Canada West coaches as a second-team conference all-star.

Bekkering, who transferred to Calgary from Eastern Washington of the NCAA this season, averaged just over 20 points per game to lead the team in scoring. He led Canada West in points scored with 463 on the season, connecting on 51.5 per cent of his field goal attempts. The highest scoring player on the highest scoring team in Canada, Bekkering also finished third in the conference in offensive rebounds (67) and routinely brought crowds to their feet with remarkable athletic plays and highlight-reel dunks.

“Henry certainly deserves the recognition and has significantly justified it,” said Vanhooren. “He’s also a team guy playing with a very talented group of players, and he has handled the recognition very graciously. He is entirely team-oriented and not selfish at all, and we’re glad to have him.”

Alberta guard Alex Steele was named the conference player of the year, while David Yul Michel of the Brandon Bobcats earned defensive player of the year honours. Matt Opalko of the Winnipeg Wesmen is the conference’s nominee for the Ken Shields award (student-athlete community service), and 25-year Alberta veteran Don Horwood was named the Canada West coach of the year.

-UC-

2007-08 Canada West Men’s Basketball All-Stars & Awards

Award Winners
Player of the year – Alex Steele, Alberta
Rookie of the year – Tyler Fidler, Calgary
Defensive player of the year – David Yul Michel, Brandon
Ken Shields Award nominee – Matt Opalko, Winnipeg
Coach of the year – Don Horwood, Alberta

First All-Star Team
Alex Steele, Alberta
Erfan Nasajpour, Winnipeg
Andrew Spagrud, Saskatchewan
Greg Wallis, Simon Fraser
Dany Charlery, Brandon

Second All-Star Team
Henry Bekkering, Calgary
Chris Dyck, UBC
Adam Hartman, Brandon
Isaac Ansah, Manitoba
Tyler Haas, Victoria

The Dinos clinched the Central Division title with the victory following an 87-78 win in Friday’s series opener.

“’Wow’ is probably a good explanation of it,” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren following the contest. “That was the best basketball game we’ve played all year. It shows we’re peaking at the right time.”

After a sloppy first-half effort on Friday, the Dinos broke open a tight game late in the opening quarter with a 7-0 run and never looked back, taking a 23-16 lead into the first break. The run was highlighted by a block from Ross Bekkering (3rd year, Taber, Alta.), turning the ball over to Calgary. Cody Darrah (5th, Edmonton) then found Henry Bekkering (4th, Taber) with a spectacular alley-oop dunk that brought the near-capacity crowd of 2804 to its feet in the Jack Simpson Gym. Ross Bekkering then sealed the run with a long three at the buzzer.

Alberta began to press in the second and kept it close, thanks in large part to Richard Bates (5th, Sherwood Park, Alta.), who made several tough shots in traffic in the quarter. Calgary was totally dominant on the glass, however, out-rebounding the Bears 26-12 in the first 20 minutes and taking a 45-34 lead into the half.

Foul trouble loomed for the Dinos early in the third, with six team fouls called in the first 3:45 of the period. Alberta was able to close the gap to seven points, but the Dinos bench performed very well in limiting the Bears’ success – and even built on the lead.

“I think the difference in the game was in the third quarter when we got in a little foul trouble, and our bench comes on, and they play well,” said Vanhooren. “Not only did they maintain our lead, but they increased it. I’m really proud of our team right now.”

The fourth quarter was all Henry Bekkering, who scored 13 including two more brilliant dunks as the Dinos ran away with it. Bekkering led all players with 31 points on the night on 12-of-21 shooting.

Ross Bekkering went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line to score 17 points to go with 12 rebounds. Robbie Sihota (3rd, Calgary) had another stellar game for the Dinos with 17 points in just 21 minutes on the floor.

The Golden Bears were led by CG Morrison’s (3rd, Victoria) 21-point effort as Calgary held the entire Alberta starting lineup to just 27 points on the night. Alex Steele (5th, Edmonton) added 12 points while Bates poured in 11.

On the night, the Dinos out-rebounded their archrivals 46-31 and shot 48.3 per cent from the floor.

Calgary earns the right to host the Canada West Final Four tournament, which will take place Feb. 29-Mar. 1 in the Jack Simpson Gym. Teams and seeding are to be determined, but the Dinos will play at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 29 in the second semi-final game. The bronze and gold medal games will go at 5 and 7 p.m. on Saturday night, respectively.

“It’s been our goal to host the Final Four next weekend, and now that we have that we have to make sure we’re focused,” Vanhooren said. “This fan base and this group of people that came out to the games this weekend helps our team, and to have them here at home supporting us next weekend is only going to be that much better.”

Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to avoid long line-ups at the door on game night. Full ticket information will be available at goDINOS.com on Monday, Feb. 25.

The top two teams from the Final Four will advance to the CIS Final 8 in Ottawa Mar. 14-16.

TEACHER VS. STUDENT - 25-year veteran Alberta coach Don Horwood brings his Golden Bears down the QEII, where he will face off against eight-year coach Dan Vanhooren of the Dinos. Vanhooren played for Horwood at Alberta for three seasons, graduating with his physical education degree in 1993. Horwood and Vanhooren have coached head-to-head in four playoff series, with Horwood’s Bears claiming victory in three of the four. All four series have gone the maximum three games, and the host team has won three of the series - including both division finals (2003 and 2004)

DON’T YOU DARRAH - Dinos fifth year senior Cody Darrah has been on both sides of the Battle of Alberta. The Edmonton native started his career with the Golden Bears out of Strathcona High School but was not awarded significant court time in the U of A Main Gym. Following the 2003-04 season he elected to make the trip south and has been a three-year starter for the Dinos. For perhaps the final time in his career, the clutch shooter will face his old team from his starting two guard position - and you can bet he wants this one.

THE PRICE? IT’S A STEELE - There will be all kinds of intriguing match-ups on the court this weekend, and one of the best will be the battle between Calgary point guard Jeff Price and Alberta leading scorer Alex Steele. Steele, a fifth-year player who finished only one point back of Calgary’s Henry Bekkering as the top scorer in the conference this season, is a game changer and Price will have his hands full defending him all weekend. Price, meanwhile, is the quarterback of Calgary’s offence and led the conference in assists with 114. The two guards finished 1-2 in free throw percentage over the season, with Price’s 87.8 per cent beating out Steele’s 84.1.

DUEL OF THE DUNKERS - Henry Bekkering and Andrew Parker are two of the conference’s most exciting players to watch, and they will go head-to-head once more in this series. Bekkering got the best of the match-up in the regular season, holding Parker to just 23 points in the four games played between the teams (he averaged better than 10 per game on the year). Bekkering, meanwhile, scored 66 in the same four games. Much as Price needs to keep Steele in check to ensure Calgary’s success, Alberta’s will ride on Parker’s ability to keep Bekkering from racking up big numbers.

DOG TIRED - The Golden Bears advanced to the division final after defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies in a three-game series last weekend at the Main Gym. After taking a tight six-point win in the series opener, the Bears fell 66-64 on a late turnaround jumper by Andrew Spagrud that forced the series to a third game. In the rubber match, a strong third quarter effort lifted Alberta to the series win, propelling the bears to a 76-61 victory. While the Bears and Huskies were battling it out, however, Calgary enjoyed its bye week at home with an intra-squad game last Friday night. Conventional wisdom would say that a longer series would be to Calgary’s advantage because of the bye but it’s worth noting that the last time the Dinos and Bears clashed in the division final in 2004, Alberta came into the Jack and took a 10-point decision in Game 1 before ultimately succumbing to the Dinos in three.

ROSS’ REBOUNDING RETURNS - After sitting out the last five games of the regular season to nurse a nagging ankle injury, Ross Bekkering is back to game shape and will return to the Calgary lineup this weekend. The conference’s leading rebounder with 11.5 per game will give a considerable boost to the Dinos’ defensive effort and was a key reason Calgary out-boarded their opponents by nearly nine per game this season.

Calgary (18-4) won the season series with Alberta (16-6, 2-1 playoffs) 3-1, winning both games in the Jack back in November and splitting the series in
Edmonton in early January. The Dinos bring their 12-0 home record into the weekend with the hopes of adding additional dates in the Jack. The winner of this series will host the Canada West Final Four next weekend, from which the top two teams will advance to the CIS Final 8 in Ottawa next month.
However, with a wild card berth available to the conference championship as well, don’t be surprised to see both these teams in action again next week.

2008 Canada West Central Division Final

All games will be broadcast LIVE by NUTV at www.nutv.ca/streaming

Henry Bekkering, the Dinos basketball star, will appear in Sports - Illustrated this week.

Bekkering, who was on the cover of SI On Campus during his playing days at Eastern Washington University of the NCAA Division I, is featured in one
section of Chris Ballard’s extensive look at the history, art, and allure of dunking in the Feb. 25 edition of Sports Illustrated, which appears on
newsstands across the continent Thursday. The cover of this week’s edition features Johan Santana of the New York Mets.

The feature will also have an extensive web component, which will be available through SI.com later this week.

Bekkering has become known across Canada and the United States for his dunking ability, with some clips of his exploits obtaining more than a million hits on YouTube. In 2004 he appeared on FSN’s Best Damn Sports Show Period to give a dunk demonstration, and he has been featured in the Globe
and Mail and by The Canadian Press since joining the Dinos this season.

When his clip reached 1,000,000 YouTube viewers, Bekkering was featured on CTV’s Canada AM on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Bekkering led Canada West with 463 points this season, averaging 21 points per game as the Dinos won the Central Division pennant with a record of
18-4. Ranked No. 4 in the nation, Calgary hosts archrival Alberta this weekend in the division final, with the winner earning the right to host the
Canada West Final Four next weekend.

The elder Bekkering becomes the ninth Dinos athlete to appear in SI since 1983 and the first to be featured outside Faces in the Crowd. Reigning BLG
Award winner Jessica Zelinka was the last UC athlete to record the feat, appearing in the May 28, 2007 issue after being named the CIS female athlete
of the year.

Following the High School Basketball Season, the Jr. Dinos Boys Basketball Club will once again run this summer based out of the U of C. This year we are changing up the program in a few ways to once again offer the best club basketball experience in Alberta!

This year, the Club will be featuring 3 teams: an Under-13 team, an Under-15 team, and an Under-17 team to compete from April-July in spring leagues and tournaments within Western Canada. Each of the three teams will boast competition within a Spring League in Calgary or the surrounding areas (the U-17 team will once again compete in the Airdrie Elite East Spring League featuring competition against University and College Competition), as well as several tournaments in Alberta, Saskatchewan, as well as as possibilities in the U.S. and Full Organized practices at the University of Calgary.

The Junior Dinos program has been featured in the Calgary Herald as well on Global News Locally for its success in recent years. The Under 17 Jr. Dinos boasts a 82-2 record over the past 3 seasons against Under 17 competition including wins over the Alberta and Saskatchewan Juvenile Provincial teams.

A new feature to the program this year is an agreement with Strive Fitness in Calgary. Strive is the city leader in Fitness and Personal training and has trained numerous professional and amateur athletes, as well as the University of Calgary Dinos Men’s Basketball Team which is currently ranked in the top 5 in the Country, and boast one of if not the most powerful, strong and athletic line-ups in Canada due in large part to off-season conditioning with Strive. Not only will Strive provide guidance with training, the staff will also attend some practices, take each athlete through a basketball specific training program, as well as help each athlete with logging their workouts, guidance with nutrition while providing current and leading edge techniques to get the most out of each athlete. This is an exciting new development that has had enormous success with the U of C team, and should carry on with the Jr. Dinos Club!

Along with membership to the Jr. Dinos Basketball Club, each athlete will get official Jr. Dinos Gear, and be subject to the best coaching in the city, as well as discount opportunities to specific Dinos Camps and Clinics. The Jr. Dinos club features coaching assistance from the University of Calgary Men’s Basketball Staff, as well as former Dinos players.

Tentatively, the Jr. Dinos will begin Tryouts on the March 28th Weekend through the first week of April at the U of C with Official Try-out times to be announced ASAP.

To register for the Jr. Dinos Tryouts, send your son’s name, age, grade, date of birth, high school/junior high school name, height, email and telephone number to U of C Dinos Head Assistant Coach and Jr. Dinos GM and Head Coach Matt Skinn at mjskinn@ucalgary.ca, or phone the University of Calgary Men’s Basketball Office at 403 220 3453 with any questions or registration information.

Good Luck to everyone during the rest of your high school seasons, and see you on the court!