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Reaching a national championship and losing is like getting 95 per cent on an exam. You’ve done pretty much everything required and achieved more than virtually anyone else. The only mark you can get is an A+.

In the classroom, you’re more than happy with 95 per cent. In sport, watching the other team celebrate to strains of “Beautiful Day” by U2 is a harsh reminder that there’s a higher mark.

”Last year, after coming second after the countless hours and energy you spent trying to get to the game, and to lose it, leaves a sour taste in your mouth,” said men’s basketball coach Kevin Hanson as he looked back on a season that saw the T-Birds ranked in the top ten the entire year, eventually going 21–2 in the regular season and 7–2 in the playoffs, only to lose to Carleton University 77–87 in the CIS Championship in Ottawa last March.

So what can UBC do to get back to the big game, and win their first championship since 1973? Get tougher. The T-Birds finished 12th in the 14-team Canada West conference in defensive rebounding last year, and many pointed to their lack of physical play and inside presence as the decisive difference in the championship game between UBC and Carleton. Hanson knows this. He even has a name for it.

“Our motto this year is we want to be pitbulls,” he said. “Every loose ball and every rebound has to be ours.”

His players have gotten the message. “Someone that’s going to do everything possible to win, be aggressive, fight as hard as you can, and never give up,” said swingman Kyle Watson, one of nine students returning to the team this year. “He uses pitball because it’s an angry, aggressive animal.”

For the past two years, the Thunderbirds were led by the sharpshooting Chris Dyck: Time after time in close games, Dyck would be the one with the ball as the clock wound down. Now with his graduation, the torch has been passed to Josh Whyte. In just his first year at UBC, the fourth-year guard who transferred from UVic was second on the team last year with 13.8 points per game, and Hanson believes he is up to the challenge.

“He’s the player we go to at the end of the game. [Josh] can do a lot with the ball, whether it’s driving to the basket or taking a jumper…the guy wants the ball, and we’re perfectly comfortable giving it to him,” he said.

Blain Labranche and lanky forward Brent Malish are expected to also provide offence for UBC, while Watson, 6’5’’ Graham Bath, 6’9’’ Balraj Bains, and incoming 6’10’’ centre Chad Posthumus are expected to make up for the losses of Bryson Kool and Matt Rachar to graduation. Hanson hopes that students come out and support the team.

“There’s going to be lots of dunks, lots of three-point shots, it’s going to be exciting to watch. People are only here for a few years, and it’s every student’s team, and we hope people will come out and support us.”

2008/2009 Recap

Regular Season: 21–2.

Playoffs: 7–2.

Standing: 1st in the Pacific Division, 2nd in the CIS Championships.

Key Stat: UBC largest loss of the season was ten points to Carleton in the CIS Championships.

2009/2010 preview

Returning players: 8/12.

Offensive Star: Josh Whyte was second on the team in points (13.8) and first in assists (4.9) and steals (1.9).

Defensive Star: Kyle Watson had 27 steals to only 22 turnovers.

Schedule:
Nov. 13 vs. Saskatchewan, 8pm
Nov. 14 vs. Alberta, 8pm
Nov. 19–20 @ Thompson Rivers, 8pm
Nov. 27 @ Winnipeg, 8pm
Nov. 28 @ Manitoba, 8pm
Jan. 8 vs. Regina, 8pm
Jan. 9 vs. Brandon, 8pm
Jan. 15–16 vs. Fraser Valley, 8pm
Jan. 22 @ Lethbridge, 8pm
Jan. 23 @ Calgary, 8pm
Jan. 28 & 30 @ SFU, 7pm/3pm
Feb. 5–6 vs. Victoria, 8pm
Feb. 13 vs. TWU, 8pm

—All game times local.
Home games available on CiTR 101.9 FM