Coming off a successful 2007-2008 season, Mike Katz, head coach of the Varsity Blues’ men’s basketball team, believes there could be a gaping hole at the point guard position.

“Last year, this team, I wouldn’t say it overachieved, I think it just surprised some people, including the coaching staff. But I think a lot of that had to do with the play of [point guard] Mike DeGiorgio,” Katz said. “The point guard is so important and that’s where we’re going to struggle.”

DeGiorgio, who has played out his eligibility, will now watch the games from the sidelines as the Blues assistant coach. Katz said fourth-year guard Nick Magalas has assumed the role as the team’s new floor general.

“Hopefully he’ll improve at it. It’s not his natural position. He’s a very, very gifted scorer, but he’s going to have to be able to do it from the point as well as direct the offence…it’s going to be tough,” Katz said.

He also hopes that Anthony DeGiorgio, Mike’s younger brother, will be able to give the team some quality minutes as Magalas’ back up.

“Obviously [our point guard play is] our Achilles’ heel right now,” Katz said.

As for the overall makeup of the team, Katz says it will be a combination of veterans and less experienced players.

“There are guys who played a lot of years, lots of minutes. We’ve got some who are returning who have not played a lot and brand new people who have never played. It’s an interesting mix,” Katz said.

Over the Labour Day weekend, the Blues had a chance to play together as a team for the first time this season, albeit against some formidable opponents, as they tipped off against three NCAA Division I schools in three days.

Toronto nearly defeated Mercer, Raptors’ head coach Sam Mitchell’s alma mater, losing 67-63, but got blown out in their other two games losing to East Tennessee State and UNC Charlotte.

Katz, however, doesn’t put a lot of stock into those games, considering his team only had their first official practice on Monday.

“First of all, two of the three teams we played were very good. I thought they were better and we probably weren’t going to do a hell of lot better than we did,” Katz said. “However, having said that, some of our guys only practiced one day. [For] other guys, [Monday was] their first time practicing.”

Katz realizes that he and his staff have their work cut out for them, with rookie players such as forward Jahmal McQueen and centre Junior Toby. However, they can rest easy knowing the team will be solid up front with both Nick Snow and Ahmed Nazmi returning for their fourth year.

“[Snow and Nazmi] have been around…so we’ve got some experience there,” Katz said.

Katz also sees second-year centre Drazen Glisic carrying some of the big men minutes. Fourth year guard Rob Paris will also be back to help take some of the scoring load off Magalas.

According to Katz, the preseason, beginning Oct. 5, is a better way of gauging how prepared his team will be for the regular season.

“As far as I’m concerned the Labour Day games are done. [The preseason] is when the season starts,” Katz said. “I was happy with the way things went [in practice on Monday]. We’ll see if we continue to improve.”

However, one good practice didn’t seem to be enough to keep Katz’s mind from reverting back to the loss of his star point guard.

“It’s going to be quite a challenge because I know that Mike’s play over the last two years, especially last year, really put us in a position to win,” Katz said. “It’s going to be a big void that will ultimately determine our fate this year.”

Find out if the Blues are up to this challenge when they begin their regular season October 31 at Ryerson.