Tahj Staveskie primed for big year at Canisius

Opponents better look out — Tahj Staveskie spent his offseason focused on making his shot more consistent. The Sandusky graduate, known for his anywhere-in-the-gym range, doesn't plan on missing his open looks this winter. "It's a long season in college basketball, and I was doing a lot of extra work on the side, so I'd go into games and I would shoot all upper body," Staveskie said. "I just really honed in on getting under the basketball." That bodes well for Canisius University, which relied on Staveskie in his first season on the court last winter to the tune of 12.4 points and 2.8 assists per game. He was a unanimous selection to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie Team. Last year marked Staveskie's second with the Golden Griffins after he missed his first season due to a foot fracture. The sport management major has two more years of eligibility after this one. "You learn more just going in the fire," he said. "What I learned the most is what works for me, how I can be most effective out there and how I can help my team win." Canisius, which went 10-20 last winter, opens the season Wednesday night at Syracuse in the JMA Wireless Dome, formerly known as the Carrier Dome. "I'm very excited," Staveskie said. "It's iconic. What more could you want in college basketball?" Staveskie, who was chosen preseason second-team All-MAAC, is aiming for a conference title and conference player of the year award. "First of all, we've got to win," he said. "Just want to be a team leader. Points and all that will come if I just play my game. Just gotta be myself out there, do all the little things right." They're big goals under head coach Reggie Witherspoon, but Staveskie put in the offseason work to reach them. Having gone through the grind of the college basketball season for the first time, Staveskie added six or seven pounds through offseason work in the weight room. "It'll definitely help me not wear down and keep me more durable and keep me more sturdy," he said. The Griffins have also adopted a more up-tempo approach heading into the season, which should only boost Staveskie. "It definitely helps with my game," he said. "That's my play style." Staveskie had some huge outings last winter, but he wants them to come more often. He dropped 26 points on Feb. 10 against Iona, then 21 on efficient 7-for-11 shooting a week later at Rider. He also had a 24-point outing in early March against Niagara. Some ups and downs led Staveskie to an overall 39.6 percent shooting percentage, including 30.1 from beyond the arc. "I've got a year under my belt and a year to get adjusted," Staveskie said. "I got adjusted to the physicality, the speed of the game and just what college basketball is about." Staveskie will have one game pretty close to home this season, and it's soon. The Griffins play at Cleveland State on Nov. 15. Staveskie had a similar experience last winter when Canisius traveled to Toledo. "Definitely gonna have a couple people come to that game," he said. "I had a lot of people come to the Toledo game last year." And as far as Staveskie's range goes? The weight room work won't hurt his cause, and neither will the time spent on shooting mechanics. He may not need to let fly from any further than he has, but he plans on making sure more go in, too. "I think it got more consistent, for sure," Staveskie said. "It'll probably seem like it did get further. I had a couple shots last year, but I'm definitely gonna take more this year." ----- Tahj Staveskie 2022-23 stats Points per game: 12.4 Rebounds per game: 3.1 Assists per game: 2.8 Steals per game: 0.9 Field-goal percentage: 39.6 3-point percentage: 30.1 Free-throw percentage: 87.3