In Canadian university basketball, no one game makes a season, and no one season makes an era.

That’s why Brock Badgers men’s basketball head coach Charles Kissi looks at the start of his team’s season this week as the continuation of a journey that started near the bottom of the rankings and — if all goes according to plan — will take Brock to a U Sports national championship.

The Badgers opened their 2017-18 season Wednesday night at Bob Davis Gymnasium with an 80-69 exhibition match-up win against the Binghamton Bearcats, an NCAA Division 1 team out of New York.

It was the first chance for Kissi to see how off-season training has gone and to shake the cobwebs off of his own coaching abilities.

“I’m excited about the work the guys have put in,” he said. “There are no summers off. These guys get better because they’re in the gym.

“These games give us a great chance to evaluate, to see where we’re at and get a different look at some of our guys. But it’s also good for our coaches and the staff to get back into it.”

The Badgers, who head into their fifth year with Kissi at the helm, are looking to build upon last year’s success where they finished with a 25-10 overall record and captured a bronze medal at the OUA Championships in Ottawa.

We want to play as well as we can and we want to get to the national tournament.

“We want to play as well as we can and we want to get to the national tournament,” Kissi said. “I think anything less than that, we won’t be satisfied with. That’s where our eyes are set.”

Brock returns four starters from last season, led by the duo of fifth-year Dani Elgadi (Waterloo) and fourth-year Johneil Simpson (Toronto). Last season, Elgadi averaged 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest to lead the Badgers offense while Simpson was second in scoring averaging 13.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Other starters include third-year guard Tyler Brown (Hamilton) and second-year Daniel Cayer (Montreal). Brown finished the 2016-17 campaign averaging 7.5 points and 3.4 assists per game while Cayer had a stellar rookie season adding 8.5 points and 5.4 rebounds earning him OUA All-Rookie Team honours.

Moving into a starting role this season will be Cassidy Ryan (Mississauga) who made his debut last season after transferring home from the U.S. In his first season at Brock, Ryan collected 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Other returnees include Micheal Asemota (Brampton) and Mitch Saunders (Oakville).

Newcomers for the 2017-18 season include seven-foot-one forward Donald Mims (Sacramento), six-foot-six forward Godsman Kwakwak (Montreal) and guards Igrahim Ngom and Djibril Ngom (Montreal), Kascius Small-Martin and Daniel Caldwell (Toronto), Noah Lapierre (Sudbury) and Patrick Pilato (St. Catharines).

“I think we’ve recruited fairly well. This is by far the most talented team in my time here, but it won’t be the most talented team because we’re building. The expectation is next year we’ll be better and the year after will be even better,” said Kissi.

After Wednesday’s pre-season opener, the Badgers will host a second exhibition game Sunday, Aug. 13 against Jacksonville at Bob Davis Gymnasium. Tickets are $10 for the 1 p.m. game.

Brock Badgers men’s basketball head coach Charles Kissi.

After that game, the Badgers men’s team will head to the U.S. Virgin Islands for a training camp that includes games against Vanderbilt (Aug. 16), Northern Colorado (Aug. 17) and James Madison (Aug. 20 and 21).

The trip follows similar excursions to Sweden in 2015 and Costa Rica last year.

“We hope this one will be our best one yet,” Kissi said. “I think these trips are just so valuable. It’s not just about basketball. It’s also a chance to talk about and solidify our culture and for these players to learn life skills.”