Muskie basketball standout Evan Woodland can do little wrong as his days at Fort High end and his academic and athletic career at the University of Manitoba stand three months away.
For instance, when asked to name the U of M’s parading school mascot, the OAC student shook his head.
“Billy the Bison?” he guessed. “I couldn’t tell you.”
He guessed right–or should we say “hit nothing but net.” And if that correct answer is a sign on how his varsity playing career will shape up, this 6’3” forward/guard should have a smooth transition from the high school courts to the university ranks.
Woodland has been promised at least a spot on the roster this fall, with half of his first-year courses to be paid for at the end of the academic year.
His other choices had been Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and the University of Winnipeg but when Bisons’ head coach Rick Suffield gave him the offer last month, the decision was an easy one to make.
“[The U of M] was my first choice. School at that level is really expensive so [the scholarship] is a help,” he remarked.
Woodland said this past season has been the most memorable of all his high school years. The Muskie senior boys’ team dominated the region in capturing the NWOSSAA crown–and won the school’s first-ever game at the all-Ontarios back in March.
They wound up finishing in the top eight there.
Playing basketball with fellow graduates Gary Wager, Mark Mercure, and John Sivonen since they were in grade school was another reason this year’s Muskie squad played so well together, he added.
The first time the Muskies qualified for the all-Ontarios in boys’ basketball was in 1972, when a young Mike Busch led his team to the tournament.
Busch, now a co-coach of the team, said the thing which gave him the most pride was lending Woodland the confidence needed to excel.
“He has the natural ability and the mental ability to do it. What I tried to teach him was more the mental part of the game,” said Busch.
Woodland now will join a Bison team that finished 9-11 in league play and lost to national powerhouse Brandon University in the Great Plains Athletic Conference final.
Woodland attended a game between the Bisons and the University of Winnipeg earlier this year and was impressed by the fan support and atmosphere. It was a stark contrast to the relatively quiet setting at the gym here.
The U of M held two mini-camps for new recruits during the selection process this spring. Woodland was taken aback at the high skill level of the other players but remained undaunted, adding that coming off the Bisons’ bench as an 11th or 12th man is a challenge he is anticipating.
“In my first year, I just want to improve,” he said. “I look at it as a two-year program and in the next year, I’ll worry about getting some playing time.”
Busch played one year for Lakehead U as a walk-on and helped them to the national finals in 1976. He said it will take time for Woodland to get used to the university game but knows the ability is there for him to be a top player down the road.
Woodland, who was named co-MVP of the boys’ basketball team this season along with Sivonen and Wager by Busch and co-coach Paul Noonan, had high praise for all his peers and mentors.
“They’ve all done great things for me. I couldn’t do anything without them,” he stressed.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
