Marauder basketball program excited for season ahead
The St. Mary Marauders are ready for the 2022-2023 basketball season. Both teams are hoping to cash their ticket to the Hoopla provincial basketball tournament, taking place in Prince Albert in March.
BOYS
For the St. Mary Sr. Boys, it’s about putting as much pressure on their opponents as possible. Head coach David Seto says the Marauders will use each of the 14 players in their roster throughout the season.
“We’re pretty deep. We have a list of 14 guys. But if you look at our roster, one strength is our depth. We can play with multiple players in multiple positions, and the style we play consists of lots of running, full court transitions and pressing. It’s good to have that depth because it takes a lot of energy and conditioning to play that style.”
The provincial basketball championship, Hoopla, will be played in Prince Albert in March, but there are no guaranteed host spots for either St. Mary or Carlton as both schools must qualify.
Seto says the experience of playing Hoopla in Prince Albert would be a special one for the Marauders should they qualify.
“It will be special if we make it. We’re trying not to talk about it because I feel like there’s going to be pressure to do that. To have the opportunity to potentially play at our local gym and hometown would be something special and something the boys would remember for the rest of their lives. You don’t get that opportunity very often, you just want to try and make the most of it and work hard during the season and you get it in the end.”
The Marauders qualified for Hoopla a year ago and hope to repeat that success this season.
“We’re trying to build on last year’s Hoopla gig and try to go from there. Being one of the best schools in the province was special last year, if we build on that and get better I think that’s great for our program.”
GIRL
St. Mary Sr. Girls basketball will also rely on its depth this season
Head coach Dwayne Gareau says the Marauders have a little bit of everything on their roster this season.
“I think one of the things that will make us unique is that from size to speed to good shooting we have a little bit of everything. We have depth. Sometimes we wait for those cycles to come through where in a year you have the shooting but not the size or you have the size but not the shooting. We actually have a year where we combined all those parts well, so it should be interesting.”
From the early competitions at this point in the season, Gareau says he’s expecting a lot from guard/forward Sydney Batiuk this season but expects others in the squad to play crucial roles
“Starting the season Sydney Batiuk will do a lot for us based on last year and what I see this year. She is a very important character to score goals, good defense, she can ricochet and shoot. She’s universal in that sense, but that only matters if you have parts that girls can play Defense with together. If she’s the opponent’s defensive game plan, we need other girls to step up.”
With Hoopla visiting Prince Albert this season, Gareau is hoping to get as many teams from the PA region as possible to qualify, including St. Mary
“The first and most important thing is that we find a way to qualify. The more PA and territory teams we have representing that territory for Hoopla helps the game and atmosphere grow. We hope we have a good season and everything goes towards us qualifying for Hoopla, that will be the goal as a group.”
Gareau adds that even though the event is being held in Prince Albert, the Marauders feel no extra pressure for Hoopla qualification.
“I don’t know if I would necessarily classify that as additional pressure. Whenever you find yourself in a playoff do-or-die situation, the pressure is at an all-time high. But I don’t think there will be any added pressure any year, whether it’s in PA, Saskatoon or Moose Jaw.”
