Janda makes history as first Griffin to be named Canada West men's basketball player of the week
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – It's fitting that following a weekend where they posted a landmark victory over Brandon for their first regular season win in five years that some history would be made for the MacEwan men's basketball program.
Job Janda has been named the Canada West men's basketball player of the week, marking the first time in program history a Griffins MBB player has received weekly recognition from the conference since MacEwan joined U SPORTS in 2014.
Janda had the best weekend of his career to date, scoring 51 points in a two-game series against Brandon, including putting up 29 in Saturday's 90-88 win – MacEwan's first regular season victory since 2019.
"Job has worked hard the past three years developing his offensive game to suit his niche," said Griffins head coach Mike Connolly. "Job has always been a great rebounder and defender; that is why we recruited him. But he has worked on his offensive game hard and this year he is seeing the rewards. He is more consistent in his offensive output, which is helping the team."
Janda recorded the fourth double double of his career with 22 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 84-80 loss to Brandon.
Then on Saturday he went 9-for-13 from the field, and 11-for-15 from the free-throw line to amass a team-high 29 points in MacEwan's memorable victory. That's tied for the seventh-most by a Griffins player in a Canada West regular season game, while his free throw mark is sixth-best in in the program's CW history.
And then there's his defensive play.
"Job has the toughest role on our team," said Connolly. "He is expected to lead our team rebounding. He guards the opposition's best players or is a major part of our defensive game plan. And for him to be scoring like he has been is very difficult physically and mentally. There is no time for Job to relax on the court.
"I'm so proud to see Job grow and develop not only as a player but as a leader and a man."
