AUSTIN ARVAY

Sports Editor 

After back-to-back trips to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final 8, the Huskies bolstered the future of their program with the additions of guard Chan De Ciman and forward Devin Wittow.

Wittow, a Leduc, Alta. product, stands at 6-7 and his size will be an immediate help to the Huskies. He spent this past season playing for the Leduc Composite High School Tigers where he led them to a second place finish at the Alberta 3A provincial championships. He has also spent time playing with Team Alberta and the Swoosh D1 Elite team that travelled to tournaments across North America.

Wittow is excited to commit to the University of Saskatchewan.

“I look forward to playing at the next level, it’s something I’ve been working towards since I first picked up a basketball,” he told Huskie Athletics. “The Huskie program has a history of success with great coaching staff and facilities. When I came to visit, I immediately felt welcome and very comfortable. The university has great academics and overall, it seems like a perfect fit for me.”

Head coach Barry Rawlyk was also thrilled to sign Wittow to the Huskies program.

“We are really excited to sign a high quality student-athlete like Devin,” he said to Huskie Athletics. “He has demonstrated an enduring work ethic throughout his high school career, and that will serve him very well in reaching his full potential as a student and as a basketball player at the CIS level. On his visit to the U of S, he immediately fit with our players and we feel that his strong character will be a great addition to our program. As he physically matures and adjusts to the speed of the CIS level, we feel he will become a major contributor to our team.”

It will be a homecoming of sorts for the future Huskie, as Wittow was born in Saskatoon before his family moved west in 2007. Returning to Saskatoon is something he is looking forward to.

“It’s going to be great to be around a group of guys that are all dedicated and focused on basketball. I’m simply excited to come back to my birthplace.”

The more decorated of the two recruits is De Ciman and with the graduation of guards Ben Baker, Dadrian Collins and Andrew Henry, he could log some minutes this season. The 6-2 point guard finished up his high school career with the Regina LeBoldus Golden Suns by capturing a third straight Saskatchewan 5A provincial title. Not done there, De Ciman also helped the football team to three straight provincial championships as quarterback.   

Rawlyk was very pleased with the signing of De Ciman.

“We are thrilled that Chan has selected the University of Saskatchewan to continue his education. He is an exceptional student, a young man of outstanding character and an elite level athlete. We are expecting that he will immediately make a significantly positive impact in the classroom, in the community and on the court,” Rawlyk told Huskie Athletics.

De Ciman will be enrolled in the College of Engineering for the 2015-16 academic year and is up to the task of the hectic student-athlete life.

“I am really excited and am already looking forward to next fall,” said De Ciman to Huskies Athletics. “There is a really good group of players and coaches in the locker room here. Being in Saskatoon gives me the opportunity to learn to live on my own, while still having my family close enough to watch me play. I look forward to the challenge of balancing my academics with the challenges of CIS basketball.”

De Ciman’s older brother, Joe, is currently attending Colorado State University to play basketball for the Rams, so he definitely has the pedigree to be a great player for the Huskies.

Rawlyk knows that too and is very impressed with him.

“We became very familiar with Chan’s family and close circle of family friends throughout the recruitment process, and are very impressed with the solid background and character formation Chan has been surrounded by in his upbringing,” Rawlyk said. “We know we are welcoming a young man into our community who will be a cornerstone of our program for the next five years.”