Fourth-year guard Aaron Rhooms was very direct when addressing his goals for the 2024-25 TMU Bold men's basketball season.

"Being in my fourth year, it's just about leading the team. I want to win a championship and be the best player I can be, probably one of the best players in the country."

Rhooms, who enters the first round of the OUA playoffs leading the league in points per game, made his comments back in October–two days prior to TMU's season-opening victory over the Nipissing Lakers that set the group en route to a season-best 15 wins under Head Coach David DeAveiro. 

Four months later and the senior has hit on nearly every expectation he set for himself when colourful leaves scattered themselves around the Mattamy Athletic Centre's (MAC) doors. Rhooms made sure to be a leader on the team and an integral one at that, pacing the Bold in points a whopping 16 times through 21 appearances this season. 

Being one of the best players in the country became a weekly pursuit for the 2021 U SPORTS Rookie of The Year, who eventually vaulted himself in the country's record books for a second time following a career-best 43-point performance over the Brock Badgers on Feb. 5, becoming the first player in the nation to reach that milestone this season. 

The final component of Rhooms' objectives–winning a championship–is the only remaining piece left for the fourth-year to accomplish in his final season with the blue and gold. 

The veteran will get his first chance to complete his preseason aspirations this week, with the Bold opening up their pursuit of an OUA title on Wednesday night against the Guelph Gryphons. 

It is the second time the Bold will host the Gryphons in the OUA's preliminary round since 2020, having used their home-court advantage to take a decisive 109-63 victory in the teams' last postseason meeting. 

This time around, the Gryphons will pay a visit to the Bold having just snuck their way into the league's prized tournament, using four consecutive wins to dig themselves out of the basement of the OUA West and latch onto the division's final playoff spot with a 9-13 record. 

The Bold head into the postseason also winners of four straight and having served a beatdown to their opponents of 15 or more points in three of those contests. But outside of the unprecedented offensive production the group is getting from Rhooms, the Bold's defence has arguably been the program's hallmark trait this season and has helped shut the door on some of the province's elite competitors. 
DeAveiro labeled the win against No. 6-ranked Carleton, coming out of the holiday break, as "proof" of his side's ability to compete against the best programs in the nation and emphasised the potential of finding success when holding illustrious teams like the Ravens in check for four quarters. 

The task will be much the same, if not greater, when the Bold begin their bid for the Wilson Cup on Wednesday, with defence taking top priority against a Gryphons side with a variety of offensive weapons on the court. 

Eric Armstrong has stirred the drink for Guelph's attack all season long, pacing his side with 15.7 points per game and shooting nearly 32 percent from beyond the arc while crucially leading the Gryphons to a must-win victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks on Feb. 5 with 21 points. 

Guelph's Jack Tunstill enters the postseason with the hottest hand of all for the Gryphons, leading the offense in two of their final three contests and setting a season-high in points against Algoma this past weekend with 22. 

TMU's recent defensive history in the postseason however, has limited the group's runway in their pursuit of a league title, surrendering 70-plus points in each of their last two playoff defeats and failing to advance past the first round. 

Sporting the fourth-best defense in the province and holding teams to just 68.8 points a game throughout the regular season is a figure that bodes confidence in TMU's ability to use their greatest strength in their biggest moments down the road and will be necessary if they wish to exercise the demons that haunt them early in the tournament. 

The postseason for the Bold begins on Wednesday and offers a wide range of confidence towards TMU's claims of being a title contender and ending the eight-year drought of hoisting an OUA trophy. 

A clinical defense, a program-aletring talent in Rhooms and a supporting class featuring the likes of Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow and Maxime Louis-Jean, the Bold have all the tools they need to extend their season another month and be one of the last eight teams standing at the U SPORTS National Championship in British Columbia. 

Their journey begins at home against the Gryphons on Wednesday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. 

The Bold were decisive winners in their first and only meeting with the Gryphons this season, turning their opponent aside with ease in a 80-50 win and holding Guelph to their lowest offensive output of the campaign.