Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Luke Harold has been preparing for a bigger role on the MacEwan Griffins men's basketball team ever since entering the program as a redshirt in 2017.
He sat and watched that season before getting his feet wet through 13.9 minutes a game in 2018-19.
After a summer in the weight room where he added 12 pounds of muscle, the Regina product has hit the ground running for the Griffins, averaging 10.3 points per game this season despite primarily coming off the bench.
"Luke's doing a really great job scoring out of the four position," said Griffins head coach Mike Connolly. "He can shoot the ball well, he's able to drive. It's a mismatch against bigger guys, yet he's got into the weight room and worked on his strength so he can guard bigger guys.
"He's a very dedicated individual, gets to the weight room, takes care of his body, and he's a good student. He's everything we want in a student-athlete here."
Harold certainly has a newfound confidence in his game and that's paying off for the Griffins, who will host Thompson Rivers University on Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m., both games David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
"I think definitely last (season) at the start of the year was getting used to the pace because I didn't play my first year," said Harold. "Definitely once I got used to playing at this level, I felt pretty comfortable out there. Last year was when I got over being nervous about coming in.
"It's just being confident enough to shoot when I'm open and not being worried about making mistakes. Just letting the game come to me has been something I've been doing a lot of this year."
Harold only has to look around the Canada West conference to feel even more confident in his game. Growing up in Regina, he played with or against most of the players on Saskatchewan and Regina's rosters and even has a former high school teammate who is playing NCAA Div. 1 at Cleveland State (Tyrese Potoma).
Harold has also played with current Griffins teammate Jesse Trussler for many years.
"I grew up with Jesse," he explained. "We've been playing basketball together since Grade 6. We won a community league championship together in Grade 6, so we've gone way back. We ended up winning provincials together in Grade 12."
Both are gaining confidence in larger roles on the Griffins in 2019-20 – (Trussler leads the Griffins in assists this season) – and that's only going to pay larger dividends in the future.
"The numbers are coming," said Connolly of Harold. "He's shooting the ball, he's among our best scorers off the bench. He's been playing really well off the bench and embracing that role. So, that's good. It gives us depth. He's almost up to 10 points a game. As a guy coming off the bench, that's good for us. The other team has to deal with that. I think in our overall makeup, that's really good."
The Griffins may have started the season 0-4, but they're coming into the weekend off their best effort of the campaign last Saturday when they got within three points of U SPORTS No. 6 Saskatchewan late in the third quarter before losing 79-65.
"We played them pretty well on Saturday," said Harold. "We had some mistakes that we made and were still able to hang with them. We're a much younger team than them, so for us to be able to hang with them Saturday is a confidence boost. We know we can play with teams at that level. Now it's just making sure that we execute every play. Sometimes we have little lapses.
"I think we're definitely moving in the right direction. I think everybody knows we can compete with all the teams at this level."
Thompson Rivers (3-1) is another one of the best and will provide a great challenge as the Griffins aim for their first win of the season.
"Thompson Rivers is a very good team," said Connolly. "If they hadn't lost to UBCO (93-91 on Nov. 8), they'd be in the top-10 this week. All the coaches were wanting to vote them in there.
"They're a fundamentally sound, tough, physical team," he added. "They play well defensively as a group. They work the ball together, so it's going to be a very good test for us to be able to just have some grit and grind through them. They're going to play a game that's very methodical – move the ball, attack with not just one superstar. Defensively, they swarm. They're pretty good. I think they're really well coached. One of the best coaches in Canada is coaching that team. It's going to be a challenge for us."
