With seven games left to play in Quebec conference regular season play John Dore, head coach of the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball program, is pleased with his team’s efforts to date.
“We’re right where we thought we’d be,” he said. “Our goal at the start of the season was to finish in first place and host the playoffs and that’s still our goal.”
The Stingers currently sit atop the Quebec league standings with an impressive 8-1 win-loss record. Concordia has the highest scoring offence in the conference with an average of 74.3 points a game.
However, Dore is especially pleased with the defensive efforts. The team has allowed an average of just 65.4 points against.
As well, the Stingers lead the country in steals per game with 12.8. Fourth-year forward Evens Laroche has helped in that statistical category. He leads the CIS in steals per game with an average of 3.8. Laroche has really stepped up his game in several areas this season, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Evens has been a great surprise,” Dore said. “He’s having his best year yet. Defensively, he can shutdown teams when he wants to. He’s a great athlete. He’s been shooting the ball better than he ever has.”
So is there something the coach thinks the team has to work on in the second half?
“As the season goes on all the teams are improving,” Dore said. “Each day we look for improvement from our team as well. I’d like to see a bit more consistency from start to finish. We have to play 40 minutes. We have a tendency to build a lead and then fall asleep.”
The Stingers are at home to the Laval Rouge et Or tonight at 8. The Concordia women’s team plays first at 6 p.m.
