Opening tip '09-10: No. 5 Calgary Dinos

• Top 100 returnees: F Ross Bekkering (24th), F Robbie Sihota (38th), G-F Tyler Fidler (43rd)
  
• Other key returnees: G Jamie McLeod, F Jordan Flagel, G Lindsay Thouret, F Dustin Reding
• Newcomers: G Terrence Blake (transfer, SAIT), G Jarred Ogunbemi-Jackson, G Andrew McGuinness, G Dan Tilleman
  
• Coach: Dan Van Hooren (10th season)
  
• Offence and defence: 101, 86 (+15)
  
• Last year's results: 26-7 overall, lost to UBC in national semifinal, 4th in RPI
  
• Looking ahead: You watch Calgary in warmups and struggle to understand how they ever lose. The Big Three (formerly Big Four) of Bekkering, Sihota (aka Mr. Catch-and-Shoot) and Fidler are that impressive to watch. For pity's sake, Fidler, who plays the 2-spot, is taller than the centre on some CIS teams. All of them can run the floor.
  
  The Dinos' M.O. seems to be that the best defence is to get a lot of offensive rebounds. They hit the glass hard and play at a very fast pace (82.3 possessions per 40 minutes) and try to get 70-75 shots a game, with as many as possible being putbacks, layups and dunks. It's high-risk, high-reward, but Van Hooren has the horses to make it work most of the time. They can run into problems vs. disciplined teams with good guards (see UBC).
  
  The point guard position has been an issue the past couple seasons, especially in the playoffs. Calgary is cast in a different mould. They might look more at the point men (collegiate transfer Blake and freshman Ogunbemi-Jackson, hotly recruited out of Garden City in Winnipeg) to be tough on-the-ball defenders who force bad passes which lead to steals and fast-break points.
  
  Calgary returns 70% of scoring from last season. In terms of matchups, a Calgary-McMaster tilt at the Final 8 would be really awesome to watch.
  

Rob's explanation of Top 100 players by Player Efficiency Ratings (see last year's PER) and Net Efficiency may be found in the women's preview.