Player Highlight: Bahaeddin Salma, Men’s Basketball
Lakeland has seen thousands of great stories of students going through their doors, but one of the most memorable for Ruslters men's basketball is set to begin one last season.
Bahaeddin Salma heads into his fifth and final ACAC campaign in the Border City. The Saskatoon native said while he previously contemplated transferring, he's glad he chose to stay.
"I was always going to come back, they got me on the wall here," he said with a laugh.
"I will never regret my decision to sign here, the community, school, team are great. I rember my first year, coach Sheray Thomas asked if I was happy and I wasn't sure. That first year was so tough. But I loved basketball and felt like I needed to grow. I'm so glad I came back."
That decision led to an increased role each successive season for the combo guard. Salma's rookie season saw the Rustlers in bronze at the ACAC Championships and his two-way play in his third year played a key role in another bronze medal victory, over perennial powerhouse SAIT. He's been named 2nd Team All-Conference in the North Division each of the last two seasons and this year takes on an increased role as the senior member of the leadership group, something he's embracing.
"You have so much responsibility, when things are not going right, you're always in the mix," he said. "You can never just get out and hide from it, bBut it's great, you get to help guys be better and make decisions for the team."
His time in the league has also made his on-court skillset more potent. Salma said he's starting to experience what other vets have talked to him about when it comes to the value experience brings.
"Mentally the way I see the game, it's starting to slow down," he said. "Not rushing my decisions, things off ball, it becomes a lot easier. It's really fun."
Because being a fifth year means the journey of collegiate competition is coming to an end, Salma has contemplated that senior athlete ceremony for some time.
"I think about it a lot, I'm not going to lie," he said. "When they had that ceremony for Asa Bray and Riley Rathwell back in February, that got me feeling sad, cause that will be me next year."
However, there are more pressing matters that occupy most of his time, such as working his team to get to a stage where they feel things running smoothly on the court. Chemistry remains critical.
"We really have to click," Salma said. "Defence has to be a key point, if we can do that, we will be really strong."
Bahaeddin Salma is in his fifth year, taking Bachelor of Science at Lakeland College. The men's basketball team host an exhibition game against NAIT Oct. 10, ahead of their home opener on Oct. 17.