It is the dawn of a new era for the Werribee Devils.
A new coach, two exciting new imports and a brand new facility have the Devils jumping out of their skin to rip into a new Big V basketball men’s championship season.
The wait is almost over for the Devils, who will play their first game under coach Michael Czepil in the season opener against Hawthorn Magic at Eagle Stadium on Saturday night.
“I took the job in August and we started in early September with work outs,” Czepil told Star Weekly. “So it’s been a long six months and the guys are excited to finally get the season rolling.”
Czepil’s basketball career has turned full circle.
He got his start as a junior with the Devils. Then, in his late teens, he broke into the senior team, before making the move to the United States to play in college.
Czepil spent nine years Nicholls State University in Louisiana, first as a player, then as a coach.
He enjoyed his time overseas, but is happy to be home.
“I had a great experience with the Devils before leaving,” he said. “I’m excited to be coaching them now and to see how we can get things going this year.”
The big picture is not lost on Czepil.
Of course, he wants to lead the Devils to success in the men’s championship, but will also have one eye on the future.
He has plenty to work with at Werribee to usher in a period of sustained success.
“Growing sport, growing area, new facility,” Czepil said. “For us to be able to use all of that with the growing community and such a nice modern facility, we’ve got a real opportunity to make some great progress over the next couple of years.”
A big part of Czepil’s on-court plans will include imports Jeremy Smith and Evan Matthews.
Smith, an American, is a player Czepil is familiar with, having coached him at Nicholls State University.
An athletic wing, Smith is high volume scorer who will ease some of the burden on primary shooter Jordan Hughes, who has been the go-to man for the Devils in recent seasons.
“He likes to put the ball on the floor, use that athleticism and go to the basket to score,” Czepil said. “Last year playing in Adelaide, he extended his game to the mid range and a bit beyond, averaging about 22 or 23 points.”
Matthews, a Canadian, will not be pigeon-holed into one spot.
He is described by Czepil as the “Swiss Army knife” of the Devils team for his ability to hold down multiple positions.
“He’s a phenomenal athlete,” Czepil said. “He’ll do a bit of everything offensively and defensively, he can play inside and outside, he can play with the ball and without the ball. He can really help us create mismatches for our opposition.”
While Smith and Matthews will undoubtedly have an impact on the court, it is their work away from the team that could be long lasting.
Czepil will call on his imports to spread the message of basketball throughout the Wyndham community and have a positive impact on the young players at the club.
“They were strategically and carefully picked to come in and fill voids and areas we needed to address based on last year,” he said. “They’ve not only come to make an impact on the floor, they’re good players, but they’ll make an impact in the community as well. They’re going to be in positions where they’ll be able to influence the next influx of juniors to come through and it’s something we obviously take seriously.”
The Devils have welcomed back Dion Jewell, who was part of the Corio Bay Stingrays title-winning team last season.
Jonathan Sonda, Nick Morda and Anthony Luxford will have bigger roles after the Devils said goodbye to Andrew Johnston (retirement), Darcy Harding (SEABL) and David Cobb (US import returned home) last season.
The Devils have not placed any pressure on themselves leading into the season.
“All we’ve been talking about is being ready for round one,” Czepil said. “We’re just focused on Saturday. We want to get better day to day, from February to March, then March to April, we’ve just got to keep improving month to month.”
