Osuma brothers thriving and making a difference for Griffins ahead of weekend series vs. Dinos
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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18 | 19 | 21 | 26 | 84 |
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23 | 23 | 21 | 26 | 93 |
Team Stats
Calgary
| Game Statistics | Calgary | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (31-70) | (31-70) |
| Field Goal % | 44.3% | 44.3% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 42 |
| Assists | 16 | 20 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 18 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 17 | 18 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 12 | 13 |
| Pts in the Paint | 54 | 32 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 9 | 15 |
| Bench Pts | 16 | 35 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Sometimes in practice, Griffins men's basketball head coach David Kapinga likes to add a little fuel to the fire when it comes to the playful banter between brothers Dami Osuma and Dele Osuma.
"They trash talk each other a lot and it's kind of amazing," he said.
"I also like to put fuel to that: 'yo man, Dele just said this about you Dami.'
'What?'
"There are really, really fun moments we have as a team thanks to those two brothers.
"It's going to be sad when Dami graduates. I've known Dami for a long time. He's a big part of the soul of this team. That will be a sad moment but a proud moment at the same time."
Dele still has two years of eligibility left after this season, but Dami is heading into the final stretch of his university playing career with eight regular season games remaining.
That includes two home games the Griffins have on the slate this weekend as they welcome the Calgary Dinos on Friday (1:30 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
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Friday's contest, with an early start time for MacEwan's 'School Day' event, will mark the first time longtime Calgary Dinos bench boss Dan Vanhooren will coach against one of his former student-athletes. Kapinga led Vanhooren's Dinos to the 2018 U SPORTS Championship – the highlight of his four-season career with Calgary (2015-19).
"It's going to be a lot of emotions," said Kapinga. "Me and him have been through a lot in a good way. It's a reminder of 'man, we accomplished all of this and now I'm here because of Dan. He's a big part of my basketball career and why I am where I am today.'
"There's going to be a lot of excitement, a lot of pride and a lot of maybe even jitters, a little bit. The mentee is going to face the mentor. It should be a really fun battle for both of us."
In his first season as head coach of the Griffins, Kapinga has had a big influence on the games of both Osuma brothers, who are also from his hometown of Calgary.
Dele Osuma has seen his minutes nearly double in his this, his third season with the Griffins (Husain Dhooma photo).
Dele wasn't initially on his travel roster, but the third-year guard has worked hard, earning every minute he's gotten.
"He kind of had an idea of what the team would be like and he let me know," said Dele of their conversation in preseason. "I wasn't on his vision. I just said 'OK'.
"I just wanted to prove it through practice and let the actions show more than words. I think I come in, get shots up, work a lot in practice, lift weights and I think I just wanted to let the work show."
It's certainly showing as Dele has seen his minutes/game nearly double this season to 21.0, which is the fifth-highest on the Griffins.
"For Dele, it's about becoming more of a guard and shooting with confidence," said Kapinga. "He didn't shoot with confidence. It was inconsistent. That's something that's improved a lot.
"He's always had defence, he's always had strength – it was about being to play make, dribble the ball, finish the ball around the rim and read with confidence. Really, playmaking has been his big development. That's really improved and it's helped him be more aggressive and make more shots."
Dami has also taken a big leap forward in his game and is coming off one of the best weekends of his career with 18 points and 18 rebounds in a pair of games at Lethbridge. He was singled out by Kapinga after the contests for being the defensive heartbeat of the team.
Fifth-year forward Dami Osuma is heading down the stretch on the final eight regular season games of his university career (Husain Dhooma photo).
"It was just attention to detail with positioning," said Dami of what worked against the Pronghorns. "We watched a lot of film on where I should be on rebounds and defensively. This weekend, it kind of clicked a little bit more.
"You can solve a lot of problems by just thinking ahead and being in the right spot. Coach Kap has really done a great job with watching film and helping us do things. It's showing and, to be honest, in the next eight games, it's really going to show, hopefully starting this weekend."
Believe it or not, it was Dele, who is two-and-a-half years younger than Dami that got his older brother into basketball. Dami grew up playing soccer and football and didn't play on his first basketball team until Grade 11, whereas Dele was balling out since he was 11 years old.
"It's actually funny because I didn't really take basketball seriously in high school and then during COVID I was working out at a gym called Athletic Edge in Calgary," said Dami. "My prep coach then was there and I went to talk to him: 'let's get Dele on the Prep team.' Then he said, 'you've got a good wingspan, good height, why don't you come?' That's how it started. I went there for a year and built my skills."
That's CTA West, which led to the opportunity with the Griffins and the rest is history for the big man, who brings a very different skill-set to the fore than his brother as a key inside presence for MacEwan.
Dami is tied for fourth on the Griffins with 6.8 points/game, second in rebounds (5.1) and tied for first in blocks (0.3). Dele is averaging 3.3 points/game and has also chipped in on the ball control categories.
Both will be working hard to ensure the Griffins give the Dinos their best this weekend.
"Obviously, the record's not showing like we feel it should be, but we feel like we've gotten better and better," said Dami. "We've learned basketball the right way and gotten better defensively. I'm really happy with the progression of the year and hopefully we can win enough games to make it to playoffs."
