Nevio Marzinotto returned for his fifth season at the helm of the McGill basketball program that was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first intercollegiate basketball game in Canada. That inaugural contest took place in Kingston on Feb. 6, 1904, when McGill defeated Queen’s 9-7 in overtime!

Despite the centennial karma, the Redmen posted a disappointing season. With a lineup featuring 10 of 14 players in their first or second season, the Redmen were a very young squad and ended up with a 4-21 record overall. They finished at 4-12, fourth in the expanded Quebec league, which featured a new team at UQAM.

Laval won the league pennant with an impressive 15-1 record, followed by Concordia 13-3, Bishop’s (5-11), McGill (4-12) and UQAM (3-13).

The Redmen did qualify for playoffs but were beaten 87-63 to first-place Laval in the sudden-death conference semifinal. Bishop’s upset Concordia in the other semifinal but were easy pickings for Laval, which advanced to the Final 10 CIS tourney in Halifax.

McGill’s unfortunate loss of starting forward Pawan Sidhu to a serious, non-basketball related head injury in January appeared to have a negative impact on the squad. Derek Armstrong, a transfer student from an American college and veteran point-guard Denburk Reid finished second and third, respectively, in the league scoring race, to spark the Redmen offensive end. But despite their one-two punch, the Redmen were under-sized and out-rebounded in most games and struggled defensively. Reid made the all-tourney team at three tournaments and earned conference all-star honours, while Armstrong was named to the QSSF second all-star team.

Reid reached a number of career milestones, including his 1,500th point, 500th basket, 400th assist and 100th three-pointer. He also set a McGill single-game scoring record for point-guards with 36 points and broke the school’s single-season assist record with 140 overall.

The Redmen are expected to lose the services of as many as six seniors, including Armstrong and Reid, who finished second and third, respectively, in the league scoring race. However, they both have collegiate eligibility remaining. Certain losses include seniors Kevin Boyle of Lachine, Que., Craig Clare of Kingston, Jamaica, Greg Kennedy of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Nick Landry of Ottawa.