HIGH ACHIEVERS: uOttawa Gee-Gees in contention for first Canadian university men’s basketball title

By Martin Cleary

When it comes to Ottawa universities winning U Sports national men’s basketball championships, it’s a feast or famine situation.

The Carleton University Ravens are the undisputed leaders locally and nationally in this category with an enviable 17 Canadian titles.

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, on the other hand, have been part of the Final 8 tournament many times, but have yet to call the W.P. McGee Trophy their own for a full year.

But this may be the year the Gee-Gees can understand what’s it’s like to be a national champion, instead of having to ask their neighbourhood peers.

The Gee-Gees have been at the top of the U Sports national Top 10 rankings for seven of the eight weeks, including Tuesday’s most recent poll. They appear to have the talent to carry that No. 1 pennant all the way through the national championship weekend March 8-10 in Laval, PQ.

Ottawa lost its No. 1 ranking in the Jan. 9 poll, after a tight 96-95 loss to Queen’s University Gaels. But the Gee-Gees regained the top spot the following week.

Carleton has been the U Sports men’s basketball team of the 21st century. Since 1965, the Ravens have reached the CIAU, CIS or U Sports national championship tournament 25 times and carried off the trophy an amazing 17 times. Carleton ranks fourth in national tournament championship appearances behind Acadia at 27 and Saint Mary’s and Victoria both at 26.

Those 17 Carleton championships have all occurred in the past 20 tournaments. The Ravens are accustomed to winning the national championship in bunches – 2003-07, 2011-16, 2019-20, and 2022-23. The solo years of celebration were in 2009 and 2017.

On six other occasions, Carleton reached the semifinals. In 1965 (its inaugural nationals) and 2018, the Ravens earned the bronze medal.

While a U Sports men’s basketball title is still under construction for the Gee-Gees, the program is familiar with the national championship tournament.

The Gee-Gees have qualified for 13 national tournaments and chased the coveted title at least once in each of the six decades during that span. Ranked 14th for the number of national tournament appearances by a university, the Gee-Gees and McMaster University Marauders are the only two schools not to have won at least one national championship.

Ottawa first appeared at nationals in 1974 and 1975, but only once in the 1980s and 1990s (1984 and 1993). During the 21st century under head coaches David DeAveiro (2002-10) and James Derouin (2010-present), the Gee-Gees have tried to keep pace with Carleton and played in nine nationals – 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013-16, 2020 and 2023.

The Gee-Gees actually competed in the national final in 2014 and 2015, but on both occasions they faced Carleton and lost 79-67 and 93-46 respectively. During the medal presentations, Ottawa players accepted the silver medal.

In 2013, the Gee-Gees were the national bronze-medal winners and a decade later also were third-place finishers. Last year, the Gee-Gees fell 81-75 to Carleton in the semifinals before defeating Victoria 78-58 for the bronze medal.

When the Gee-Gees won their first national medals, it was in a cluster of three – bronze, silver and silver in 2013-15. They earned bronze in 2023 and are showing this season they have the potential to start another medal string in March.

The Gee-Gees lead the OUA East Division with a 14-1 record for a .933 winning percentage, which is the best in the conference and the country. They scored their most recent win last weekend in Sault Ste. Marie by defeating Algoma University Thunderbirds 87-50.

Fifth-year guard Kevin Otoo was a standout, scoring 29 points in 29 minutes of play. He connected on 12 of his 17 field-goal attempts, including five of nine from three-point range. He also added six assists, four defensive rebounds and two steals.

Forwards Brock Newton and Justin Ndjock-Tadjore also were significant contributors. Newton made nine of his 12 shots for all his 18 points and also was credited with two rebounds and two steals. Ndjock-Tadjore was successful on five of his eight field-goal tries, which included four of six from beyond the three-point arc. His 16-point effort also included a pair of free throws.

Otoo’s career-high 29 points also took him past the career 1,000-point mark. That happened when he hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half. He started his post-secondary basketball career with Humber College Hawks before joining Ottawa last year.

The Gee-Gees have four players averaging double figures in scoring and the fifth player is one-tenth of one point from joining them. Newton leads Ottawa with a 16.2 point-a-game average and is followed by Otoo at 15.3, Ndjock-Tadjore at 14.7, Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta at 12.2 and Khalifa Koulamallah at 9.9.

Dragan Stajic tops the Gee-Gees in rebounds with a 5.9-a-game average, while Guemeta and Newton are tied for second place at 5.6.

The Gee-Gees are scheduled to play on their home Montpetit Hall court Friday against the University of Waterloo Warriors at 8 p.m. and Saturday against the No. 4 Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks at 4 p.m.

The following weekend the Gee-Gees will have only one game and that will be against Carleton in the annual Capital Hoops Classic at the TD Place Arena on Feb. 2 at 8 p.m.

For the third straight week, Carleton, 9-6, is absent from the U Sports national Top-10 rankings. The Ravens started the year at No. 4 and except for one week have been on a steady decline. In the three polls this month, the Ravens have been 11th, 14th and 13th (Tuesday).

In their only meeting this season, the Gee-Gees edged the Ravens 79-78 at Montpetit Hall on Dec. 6.