Head coach of the Griffins men’s basketball team, David Kapinga, has been making some big changes to the team roster as U.S.-based NJCAA player Jonel Muyo comes back to his home province of Alberta to play point guard, and French player Nathan Lefevre joins the Griffins as guard.
The team also announced that it has signed coach Kapinga’s younger brother, point guard Freddy Kapinga.
Freddy brings two years and 35 games of experience from the Saskatchewan Huskies.
“Having a good amount of games under your belt changes the whole perspective on basketball. It teaches you another dimension,”
– Freddy Kapinga
The men’s basketball program at MacEwan has historically underperformed; however, last season, with David Kapinga taking the reins, the team showed very noticeable growth.
“Our key for this year: we wanted to have competitive athletes that can think basketball,” David says.
David says that before Freddy was brought on to the team, the internal coaching staff were very honest about their concerns and the possible benefits of bringing in Freddy.
“The benefits just way outweighed the cons,” says David.
David is confident that Freddy can bring that competitive basketball knowledge to a higher level of play. Off the court, David felt the team needed a “culture change,” and David says Freddy can help move the needle.
“He’s someone that not only is very honest with himself, but very honest with other people around him. But also holds himself accountable for the things he does great and what he does wrong,” David says.
Part of Kapinga’s culture change is to help the Griffins understand why they are on the team, acknowledge their flaws as much as their strengths, and work on their weaker points in the game.
The season starts Oct. 30 against Mount Royal University at the David Atkinson gym. Students can get in for free.
