“He’s our leading scorer and our shooting guard,” said
Schepp. “In fact, we expect him to be one of the better
shooters in the country. A.J. is instant offence.”
Up front, the Bisons will once again be led by 6-foot-5
Grant Park graduate Keith Omoerah. This is a guy who
might have been one of the best receivers in CIS football
had he chosen football over basketball.
“Keith is one of the best athletes in the country,” said
Schepp. “He has the ability to do anything, play every
position on the floor – from point guard to power forward.
In our physical testing, he had a one-step 40-inch vertical.
He is an NFL-level athlete.”
Up front, Schepp says he expects to start 6-foot-6 Joey
Nitychoruk from St. Paul’s High School and 6-foot-7 Brett
Jewell from John Taylor Collegiate.
“Joey is 6-foot-6 and very athletic,” said the coach. “He
was rehabbing an injury and red-shirted last year. This
year he’s ready to go and I expect he’ll start at forward
while Brett will play power forward and in the middle. He’s
6-foot-7, about 250-260. He’s big and he’s a phenomenal
athlete. In fact, I’d say he’s one of the strongest athletes in
the country. As big as he is, we did a sprint test this past
year and he was the third fastest guy on the team.
Considering his size, that’s incredible.”
Clearly, Schepp and the Bisons will be very solid this
season, but that doesn’t mean the coach didn’t go out and
recruit. In fact, he added last season’s best high school
player in Manitoba, John Taylor’s 6-foot-7 James Wagner.
“He was the best player
in the province last year
and it’s quite a coup that
Brett Jewell
we got him,” Schepp said
proudly. “I was just with
the Junior National Team
over the summer and he
made the team. He’s just a
great athlete. He’s strong
and can play all over the
floor. He’s a good student,
he works hard and he just
loves the game. He’s a guy
who checks all the boxes.”
The Bison men’s basketball team has been built
to compete at the highest
level in the country. It
wasn’t easy getting back
to the top, but after seven
years at the helm, Kirby
Schepp has made U of M
basketball exciting and,
more importantly, a winning program again.
Some remarks by head
coach Kirby Schepp in
this story were first published by author Scott
Taylor in the 2016-17
Bisons Magazine after an
interview with Coach
Schepp in late August.
They have not been
altered. l
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