Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
Seizing the ample opportunity for future playing time on MacEwan's re-tooling men's basketball team, three more talented athletes have signed on for next season.
A little over a month after kicking off his 2017-18 recruiting news with the additions of Lincoln Anderson and Ben Niles, Griffins head coach Eric Magdanz on Thursday announced the signings of Calgary's Moreau Amadou, Regina's Luke Harold and Westlock, Alta.'s Dustin Gatzki.
"It is an interesting year for us," said Magdanz, who had five graduating seniors play in their final regular season game in February. "We have a lot of changeover and a lot of new bodies, but when I look down our team we're very deep, we're long and athletic and we have a lot of guys who can play a variety of positions and defend a variety of positions.
"It's just going to be a different style of play for us where we can use our athletes and use our length to pressure the ball and make it difficult on other teams.
"It's going to be an exciting year, but it's going to be a different year for us."
Although he's coming right out of high school at Calgary's Sir Winston Churchill, Amadou could certainly step in right away, considering he has packed about 200 pounds onto a 6-foot-4 frame.
"He's really physical and is a very skilled player," said Magdanz of the guard/wing. "He's just going to have to learn to play at the speed of Canada West basketball. But we think he's a guy with a ton of potential.
"We think he's a guy who can come in and make an immediate impact because he's coming in a lot more physically ready than a lot of high school players."
Harold is also out of high school, coming off a year in which he led Campbell Collegiate to the 5A provincial title in Saskatchewan. The wing also played elite club basketball in Regina.
"He's a great student and a great athlete," said Magdanz. "He's a guy we think we can count on right away. He's pretty skilled and pretty ready.
"A lot of schools missed him because he struggled with injuries – a quad injury and a concussion. Not a lot of people got a chance to hear about him and we were fortunate to build a relationship with him. I think he can be a really solid U Sports player."
Gatzki, meanwhile, will come in with more experience after spending last season playing south of the border for Eastern Wyoming Community College. Originally from Westlock, Alta., he returned to Edmonton looking to play closer to home. Magdanz, who knew about him from his high school days, offered a solid opportunity to join the Griffins.
"He's another 6-4 wing who's an incredible athlete – probably one of the best leapers we've ever had here at MacEwan and that's saying something with Denzel (James) being around," said the head coach.
"He comes in with some toughness and grit in his time playing in the United States. He's a pretty remarkable athlete. Being a little bit older, I think he's a guy that will fit into our system right away and take some of those immediate minutes that we have available."
With many of the new players in the fold, the Griffins will convene for a spring camp April 28-30, which will include practices and scrimmages against local teams.
