Last season, Men’s Basketball team captain and point guard Jodick Moudiandambu was named to the Atlantic University Sports (AUS) second All-Star team. This season, he is hoping for even more success in his fifth and final year with the squad.
Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Moudiandambu began playing basketball in the fifth grade, saying he got into the sport “naturally with friends.”
This year marks his fifth season with the MUN Sea-Hawks. Moudiandambu says that him joining the team was a result of recruitment four years ago, explaining that the Sea-Hawks coaches gave him a good pitch and that the team “felt like home” for the Hamilton native, crediting the team and school community for cementing the feeling that this was “the right decision” for his career.
Moudiandambu’s love of the game is fuelled by the thrill of competition, saying “I feel like [basketball] is such a fast-paced game, you really don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
He also draws inspiration from the “shorter” players in the NBA, including Jalen Brunson and Payton Pritchard. Moudiandambu admires their approach to the game and their ability to play at such a high level despite their size, saying “As a shorter guard myself, I kind of look at them as inspiration.”
Along with playing basketball for the university, Moudiandambu is also approaching the end of his degree.
“Coming into my first year was a bit tricky,” he told The Muse, as the jump from high school to university often is. However, he credits his success to learning different time management skills, “when you just get a good routine, that helps you going forward.”
For him, the best part of being a part of the team is the camaraderie. The Sea-Hawks are more than just a team — they’re a close knit group who make memories both on and off the court.
“We just have such a good team chemistry,” Modiandambu says, “always having a fun time with the guys, I’d say that’s the best part.”
Moudiandambu’s pre-season preparation is “a lot of training,” but he also focuses on staying joyful throughout the off-season, saying “keeping that joy at the centre of [training]” is the main takeaway of getting ready for the upcoming season.
He has found the last few years to be a success, as the Sea-Hawks have made the playoffs every year during his tenure. The team has been doing well, but for his last year with Memorial, a championship title is the biggest goal.
The Men’s Basketball team opens the season at home on November 6th at 8:00PM and November 7th at 3:00PM at the Fieldhouse. Admission for students is free. Moudiandambu tells The Muse that the team had been “fighting for this for a long time.”
The players want the school community to come and support the team, and hopefully removing the cost barrier will encourage students to support university athletics. Moudiandambu encourages students to “make some noise, have a good time” and says that the team will “put on a show” that students will not want to miss.