Making like Bandits

There are no guaranteed job interviews in professional basketball after university. So the fact that Winkler’s Dante Dyck has already landed two before turning 20 could be telling of just how high his ceiling is.

The talented Manitoba Bisons guard is one of nearly 40 student-athletes from post-secondary programs across North America who will head west this weekend to take part in the Vancouver Bandits’ inaugural university combine at the Langley Events Centre.

Dyck will take the court with Bisons teammate Brandt Lenz for the invite-only combine, which is the first of its kind in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. Select players will be invited to run in the Bandits training camp, beginning May 5, where they will have a chance to make the team’s active roster.

Although Dyck, coming off a redshirt freshman season, could be one of the youngest in the crop, he might also be one of the most comfortable in a professional setting.

“I’ve seen how much different the environment is when people are paying for their livelihoods compared to university,” Dyck said. “And I think they also value that, when I’ve been talking to them. And so I think it’s definitely been advantageous for me to have that experience behind my back going into this.”

Dyck, who was named the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s AAA Player of the Year in his Grade 12 season at Garden Valley Collegiate, moved to Paraguay after graduating to play professionally for one season with the Olimpia Kings of the National Basketball League. It’s where his dad, Werner, played, and where Dyck was born before moving to Winnipeg when he was two years old.

While he was only 17 when he played his first professional game, Dyck’s citizenship in Paraguay helped pave the path to more playing time. His time spent overseas allowed him to grow his game around men, which he believes has set him up to excel during this chapter of his career.

“It was definitely a big cultural shock. To be able to go over there and learn the way they play just kind of fed my maturity in my game. It was a great experience,” he said. “I mean, obviously it’s so much different, playing games against players that are playing to put food on their family’s plate, so it was definitely a shock, for sure.”

Dyck is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the Bisons program going forward. An elite scorer, the 6-4 guard averaged over 30 points, 8.4 rebounds per game, six assists per game and 2.8 steals per game in his senior year at Garden Valley, and holds the school record for points in a game with 56.

Still unknown to most of U Sports, Dyck impressed the Bandits during a private workout earlier this month. He received an invite to the combine a short time later from head coach Kyle Julius, who was originally put on to Dyck by Bandits’ assistant coach Tony Scott, a Winnipeg native.

As for Lenz, a fifth-year guard who grew up in Chilliwack, B.C., Julius has had him pegged for a while as a player worth looking at closer.

“I was super impressed, first of all, with his size and physicality at his position,” Julius said of Dyck. “He was physical. He was tough. The next thing that really impressed me was his offensive aggression. He was playing with university players and a few pros, and he was not shy at all. And then I thought he was really good in the pick and roll.

“I could tell that he has some pro experience, just the way he kind of handled the ball and got to his spots. Overall, I was super impressed with him, and it made me want to take more of a look at him. He’s definitely on our radar as worth investing in.”

Julius said he expects anywhere from one to three players to separate themselves this weekend and be invited to the Bandits’ camp.

Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp said it’s a significant opportunity for both of his players at this point in their respective careers. Dyck will have a great chance to carve out a sizeable role in the Bisons’ lineup this fall, so this could serve as a launching pad. As it relates to Lenz, Schepp said the veteran guard has come a long way since his days as an unheralded recruit, and this marks a well-deserved opportunity.

“In our experience, the guys who play CEBL, it really depends on the club that you go to, because different people do different things with their U Sports developmental players,” said Schepp.

“I do know that the Vancouver program has done a really good job with their player development program. They’re quite well known for it. Kyle Julius has done a great job building the grassroots, a little bit of the program, and he’s got a very holistic view of bringing people along from the low levels up, and from player development. So I’m optimistic that it could be a really good situation to get involved in, even if it is for a weekend. And if it’s for the whole summer, then great.”

Dyck and Lenz make the second and third Bison players to land an opportunity with a CEBL franchise this year. Graduating guard Mason Kraus signed with the Winnipeg Sea Bears last month.

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