Windsor coach weighs in on Final 8

Head coach Chris Oliver's Windsor Lancers were one of the top 10 teams upset before making the Final 8 tournament, but he's a good quote and an even better basketball mind.

I caught up with him yesterday to talk a little bit about the event in the lead up.

"I think you’re going to see it with it being in Ottawa, you’ll see the excitement build a bit more," Oliver said while he was himself in transit from Windsor to the tournament. "It’s the right time, obviously with Carleton on a roll and with the success they’ve had over the years, you know bringing it to Ottawa, it’s the right time. I think everyone enjoyed Halifax and loved what they did for it, but at the end of the day, we’ve got a great product and we’ve got to bring it to the whole country."

He also talked about the possibility of expanding the tournament from eight to 16 teams.

"I’m not sure that’s the right thing. When you think about it, there’s only [43] teams playing right now and to think that almost half the teams go onto the next step — the percentage in the States is 65 of 300-some teams. I mean that’s a little bit different percentage. I’m not sure that’s the best way to do it, but somehow we’ve got to build the excitement of those playoff play-ins."

Earlier this month, Oliver was named OUA West coach of the year for the second season in a row, and he's going to be someone to watch in the future.
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