By Andrew Nowel, contributor
The men’s basketball team won their second game of the season this past Saturday, with senior guard Tana Kopa leading the way towards victory. As Kopa’s four years of collegiate basketball are coming to an end, his journey will be remembered as an inspiration for young basketball players from around the world.
Kopa graduated from Grace Baptist Academy in 2021 before attending Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama for two seasons. At Spring Hill, Kopa averaged 13.9 points per game and 3.5 boards per game. Being from Australia, he had to adapt in his first three years in the United States to a different style of basketball.
“It was a big adjustment; all the guys were bigger and the pace was faster,” said Kopa after practice on Wednesday.
Kopa attended Long Island University in the 2023-24 season where he had to make the jump to Division 1 collegiate basketball. Kopa hit the ground running when he entered the world of D1. In 29 games, Kopa made 24 starts where he averaged 12 points per game, ranking him third on the LIU roster and 15th in the NEC.
“It comes down to working hard,” explained Kopa. “Getting the reps, getting in the gym. When I started college basketball, I didn’t get a lot of minutes, but I thought I deserved to be on the court, so I worked to prove that I should be there.”
Entering the 2024-25 season, Kopa came to Buffalo looking to be a major factor in the Griffs’ revamped offense. Canisius had gone through a complete overhaul in their look during the offseason, and by bringing in Kopa, junior guard Paul McMillian IV and other shooters, the Griffs were ready to focus on winning the offensive aspects of the game.
“I think the guys are playing better; shots are going in,” said Griffs Head Coach Jim Christian after Wednesday’s practice. “We’re not the most powerful team, where guys can drive you and get you in foul trouble, and we’ve done a good job of taking care of the basketball, so we’ve got to make shots; that’s the key to our success.”
As the season has progressed into the new year, the Griffs have been led by McMillan IV and Kopa to produce a 2–3 MAAC record, improving their overall MAAC record to 2–5. After falling to the Iona Gaels last week, the Griffs found victory on the road against the Fairfield Stags by a convincing 11-point margin. Coach Christian knew that the Griffs needed to keep consistent heading into their final 13 games of the regular season.
“Guys are starting to find more consistency,” explained Coach Christian. “The games, we’ve been playing well; everyone contributes. The games that we’ve played spotty, guys have tough stretches, so for us developing and adding quality depth is important to us.”
As for Tana Kopa, the 6-foot-6-inch guard will continue to climb statistical categories such as points, threes and defensive rebounds as he looks to and continue the count of 21 made threes in his last five games. The Griffs continue MAAC play on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Marist in the Koessler Athletic Center.
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