Interview with Coach Tyrell Vernon, Coach of the X-Men Basketball Team on their Weekend at the U SPORTS Championships in Halifax

I talked with Tyrell Vernon, Coach of the X-Men Basketball team, to discuss the X-Men’s Basketball U SPORTS Championship that took place from the 10th-12th of March.

When asked how he would assess the way the team played over the weekend, Coach Vernon stated “Obviously, it didn't end the way that we wanted it to. But I think we put ourselves in the situation to win every single game, so now it's just kind of you know, back to the drawing board a little bit to figure out some things that we can change for next season.” He continued, saying that he feels “everybody gave everything that they had, that's for sure.”

When talking about the atmosphere in Halifax and the team's energy, he responded that it was an amazing experience to have that many people show up, and to have sold out arenas cheering for them. He says he knows the guys won’t forget it.

When discussing improvements made this year and plans for improvements for next year, Coach Vernon said the biggest area in which they improved was trusting the defensive systems and having more attention to detail at the defensive end. Next year, he wants the team to continue to evolve their approach with what works.

When asked what this means for StFX and the basketball program, he responded “they haven't won an AUS championship in 17 years so being able to do that was a big monkey off our back.” He continued by saying “and, you know, to go to nationals and get the national silver, we got a bronze when I was here, and that was 2012, so it's been a while for that as well.” He believes that being in the middle of the national stage and having everyone show up with lots of energy was definitely a good thing for them.

For next year, Coach Vernon said some of his goals included recruiting and making sure they bring in some more talent (as they are losing a few players). Another goal is “to do what we can to win AUS to put ourselves in the situation to get back to that national stage.”

Lastly, I asked him who he thought personally really stepped up during the nationals. He said that “Avan Nava and David Muenkat did what they do, but they usually do.” Defensively, he mentioned that “Steven Levnaic was huge for us on that weekend.” Levnaic was able to shut down top players on other teams.

Ultimately, the discussion with Coach Vernon was great, and we are thankful he took the time to give us some insight into the team's success this season.