A Hoops Journey

Chris Cheng's coaching rise runs through Ontario, Nipissing, Windsor and Team Canada. He won back-to-back national titles as head coach of Ontario's U17 boys in 2011 and 2012, and was named Ontario's Men's Elite Coach of the Year in 2011. In 2013, he joined Canada Basketball and was hired as the first head coach in Nipissing's history. The Lakers went 0-19 in their first OUA season in 2014-15, but his culture-first, five-year plan paid off in 2017 with a playoff berth and a quarter-final appearance. 

He left for Windsor in 2019 and made the playoffs in five of his first six seasons there. With Team Canada, he was a 2022 U17 World Cup assistant, then took over as head coach and won silver at the 2023 U16 AmeriCup. His U17 team finished eighth at the 2024 World Cup, took silver again at the 2025 AmeriCup, and finished sixth at the 2026 World Cup.

Coach Cheng is full of so many great insights and views; you have to stick with the episode to see what “CRAP” is all about. Another Canadian coach making waves; make sure you tap in!

#ahoopsjourneypodcast

Chris Cheng  - Guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-cheng-826b68354

https://www.instagram.com/coach_cheng

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Episode 193 of A Hoops Journey features coach John Campbell, whose love for the game started as a kid coaching at basketball camps. Leading drills and working with younger players planted the seed for a lifelong passion for teaching the game, and it's a thread that runs through his whole career.

John played all five years at Laurentian, then coached the women's team after spending a year in Victoria with the NCI program under Guy Vetrie. From there, he took over the programs at Dalhousie and the University of Toronto, and he also served as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the FISU Summer Universiades, earning silver in 2011. Recently coach decided to walk away from the game altogether.

That break didn't last. 

In August, John was hired as the men's basketball coach at Lakehead, and we talk about what pulled him back, what he learned along the way, and what he hopes to build in Thunder Bay. It's a great conversation about a coach whose path has run through U SPORTS and onto the international stage.

Tap in!

#ahoopsjourneypodcast

John Campbell  - Guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/campbelljohndavid

https://thunderwolves.ca/general/2026-27/releases/20260914k0iz5l

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Episode 192 has us go international with big man Duncan Reid!  The 6'9" Reid learned the game in Hong Kong on the city's outdoor courts, has a crazy story of making it to Canada and playing at Guelph, and broke into the A1 Division in 2007. Duncan spent most of his prime with South China AA across two stints, winning five A1 Division titles and two league MVPs, and in 2017 became the first Hong Kong-born player picked in the CBA draft, going third overall to the Zhejiang Golden Bulls before a stint with Nanjing Tongxi.

Along with his great Pro career Internationally he's represented Hong Kong at the FIBA Asia Cup since 2013, standing out at the 2015 Asia Championship, and continues balancing club and country duty.

Off the court, he's built a media presence to match, co-hosting the (SHOUTOUT) hi low podcast and coaching youth basketball in Hong Kong. We appreciate Duncan and his story, lots of great takeaways on this one with a crazy journey!

Duncan Reid - Guest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_Reid

https://www.instagram.com/duncanreid33

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Bryson Johnson’s path runs through Waterloo, Ontario’s St. David’s Catholic High School before landing at Bucknell University, where he became a four-year standout and two-year captain under head coach Dave Paulsen. He helped lead the Bison to two NCAA Tournament appearances (2011, 2013) and an NIT trip (2012), finishing 11th in program history with 1,384 career points and earning Second Team All-Patriot League honours.

After college, the 6’2” guard played professionally with the Fraport Skyliners in Germany and spent a season with the Orangeville A’s in Canada’s NBL, before pivoting to coaching. His coaching career has run almost entirely alongside Paulsen: a graduate manager stint at George Mason, an assistant year at Brown, a return to George Mason, then two America East Championship seasons at Vermont, where he helped coach two straight America East Players of the Year. When Paulsen took over at Holy Cross in 2023, Johnson followed as associate head coach — a role he still holds, with Paulsen calling him the best assistant in his 33-year coaching career.

Bryson Johnson - Guest

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryson-johnson-33589596

https://gomason.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/bryson-johnson/699

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Alex Newson is making history as the first player from Prince Edward Island to reach NCAA Division I women’s basketball. The Stratford, PEI native built her game representing Team PEI at national championships for four straight summers before moving to Ontario ahead of Grade 11 to play at King’s Christian Collegiate, where she averaged 16.8 points and 5.6 rebounds a game and earned All-Canadian recognition.

This past summer, Newson started at shooting guard for Canada at the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup in Mexico, helping the team to a silver medal with a semifinal win over Argentina before falling to the U.S. in the final. She was also named flag bearer for Team PEI at the 2025 Canada Summer Games, a nod to her standing back home.

Her recruitment has its own twist — Newson originally committed to the University at Albany in September 2025, the first D1 commitment in PEI basketball history, before flipping to the University of Rhode Island, where she joins the Rams’ 2026-27 freshman class as they defend an Atlantic 10 title. It’s a story that hits a lot of the show’s recurring themes: small-market roots, the Ontario prep pipeline, and a Canadian breaking new ground for her province.

Alex Newson - Guest

https://www.instagram.com/alex.newson4

https://bvmsports.com/2026/08/22/discover-alex-newson-first-pei-player-in-ncaa-d1-basketball

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Let’s go! Summer is still sizzling, and we have a banger for you today! Danilo Djuricic, a 6’8” guard from Brampton, Ontario, and of Serbian and Montenegrin descent, joins us on the eve of the CEBL finals for his home team, Brampton! 

Once choosing hoops, Danilo attended St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, where he was ranked among the top players in Canada’s Class of 2017, before committing to Harvard. Over three seasons with the Crimson (2017–2020), he developed into a steady frontcourt contributor, posting a career-high 20 points against Rhode Island as a sophomore. His senior season was wiped out when the Ivy League cancelled its 2020–21 season due to COVID-19, so he used his final year of eligibility to transfer to Santa Clara in 2021.

He turned pro in 2022, signing with BC Brno in the Czech NBL, and has spent multiple seasons splitting time between Europe and the CEBL’s Scarborough Shooting Stars, re-signing with both organizations more than once (And now with Brampton). On the international stage, he represented Canada at the U16 Americas Championship (silver), the U17 World Championship, and the gold-medal-winning U19 World Cup team in 2017, where he averaged 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds a game and led the squad in threes made.

Beyond basketball, Djuricic has spoken openly about facing testicular cancer while simultaneously trying to build a pro career — framing it as part of a broader conversation about planning for life after sport. That dual focus — competing at a high level while thinking ahead to what comes next — seems to be a recurring thread in how he talks about his journey, which is exactly why you don’t want to miss this Episode!

Danilo Djuricic - Guest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danilo_Djuricic

https://www.instagram.com/3danil0d

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Episode 188: Florida Prep to March Madness and the CEBL — Transfers, Breakthrough Seasons, and the Rise of Josh Omojafo 

Episode 188 brings you one of the more slept-on stories; a guy who has quietly gone about his business carving out a great career and has pretty much just getting started,  Josh Omojafo!

The Hamilton native found football and basketball to be his things, but eventually he made the choice to stick with hoops, and his journey is a good one. 

After leaving Hamilton to go play high school in Florida he came back for his senior year and signed with D2 Gannon University. After a solid year he then transferred to Robert Morris where his team earned a tournament spot and almost upset Alabama. In 2025-26 he transferred to USF for 2025-26, where he started 32 of 34 games, averaging 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Now playing in the CEBL for Brampton this young man is on the rise! Tap in!

Josh Omojafo - Guest

https://www.instagram.com/josh.omoo/

https://www.cebl.ca/canadian-guard-omojafo-signs-with-brampton-honey-badgers

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Happy Summer to all our listeners! We hope the next two months create memories and you get the chance to relax! We kick off July with Mitch’s former teammate and roommate on the road, Winnipeg Wesmen Head Coach and current Winnipeg Sea Bears Head Coach AND General Manager Mike Raimbault!!

Mike’s story is a unique one; a Brandon native who grew up watching the Bobcats from a young age, eventually trying to get in off-season runs with the actual team, and cracking a roster spot…..which happened!  A story of adversity and hard work through the game, grinding as a coach and carving out a solid career.

After hoops was done, Mike jumped right into coaching, first alongside Barnaby Craddock at BU, and then onto UNBC where he developed a national championship team and was CCAA Coach of the year. 

Mike was settled in at UNBC but it was a phone call and push from mentor Dave Crook that had him apply for the Wesmen job. Fast forward 17 years and Coach is still at it! What a fun episode to go back and catch up on! Tap in!

Mike Raimbault - Guest

https://wesmen.ca/staff-directory/mike-raimbault/8

https://www.seabears.ca/bio--mike-raimbault

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-raimbault-a186b3251/

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

This episode is all about a young up-and-coming hooper on the women’s side, but someone who has been with our National teams since she was 17, Merissah Russell!

What a fun episode, the energy Merissah brings to this one is so good, and you can see why she is a do-it-all type on the court! 

Once basketball became the focus (and not volleyball like her big sister), Merissah pursued the next level and traveled North America to see the best. In the end, she committed early to the Louisville Cardinals program, a storied program that made two Elite 8’s and one final four! That, plus national team experience with two World Cups (U17 and U19), is why it feels like Merissah has been around so long!

The Ottawa native found herself on a recent new adventure, hoopin' up in the 3x3 with our legendary Women’s team! This episode has it all, don’t forget to tap in!

Merissah Russell  - Guest

https://www.basketball.ca/athlete/merissah-russell

https://www.instagram.com/mruss15

https://www.linkedin.com/in/merissah-russell-9b52b2309

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/

Today we go back with a guy who used to coach summer camp with Mitch, current pro player in Hong Kong coming off a championship run, one of Kits finest, Tommy Nixon! 

Mitch and Tommy have a bit of a story about how they met each other, and they enjoy reminiscing on those times. Tommy recently just completed a playoff run with is SCAA pro team, a club that has been around for over 100 years. After an outstanding high school career where lots of growth and development took place, under the guidance of people like Jeff Gourley, Randy Coutts and Mel Davis. 

Tommy was a self admitted slow starter, and shy, but once he got the love for the game he continued to expose himself to the best players and levels, training alongside the likes of Kelly Olynyk and more. A decision to attend UBC, a solid five year career and now being in HK for ten years are what make this story great! Best to Tommy and his family, as usual don't forget to tap in!

Tommy Nixon - Guest

https://www.instagram.com/tommynixon7

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommy-nixon-03a44bb5

Aaron Mitchell - Host

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/