Oak Bay's Simon Wiwcharuk-Burr defends Dover Bay's Van Suiter in the championship final of the Kodiak Classic in November at Port Moody's Heritage Woods Secondary. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

From Nanaimo-Oak Bay 1978 to the hoops madness of 2025: As an epic Vancouver Island 4A tourney tips Thursday, Ken Shields and a cast of others reflect on bookend similarities almost 50 years apart!

LANGLEY — Vancouver Island’s trio of Quad-A senior boys Top 10-ranked basketball teams in this, the 2024-25 season, are the single most dominant such bunch from one top-tiered zone in the entire history of the boys game in B.C.There… I said it.Not than anyone ever yells at me any more, but I think I can […]

South Kam's Cruz Parsons (left) and Yeseong Cho of Fleetwood Park meet in the half court during Day 1 action in the TBI Select 16 bracket Dec. 4, 2024 at the Langley Events Centre. Fleetwood Park sits at No. 21 in the latest SRS 50 provincial ratings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Last season, there was not an empty seat in the house when the 2024 B.C. senior girls Quad-A final tipped off between Seaquam and Riverside. This season, as the tourney turns 75, Saturday's championship[ final will move to the 7,000 seat Arena Bowl. (Photo courtesy Langley Events Centre 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

Happy, happy birthday… it’s Sweet 75 for the BC girls high school basketball championships! We re-visit a 1994 newspaper article that looked to the future as our girls step onto brightest stage yet!

LANGLEY — In keeping with its date of publication, the hue of its newsprint has begun its fade to yellow.Yet like a perfectly-launched fadeaway jumper, the feeling you get re-reading a pair of articles from the March 8, 1994 edition of The Province newspaper, some 31 years later, seems the same as hitting nothing but […]

Deven Johal (left) of the Kelowna Owls looks to avoid the outstretched shot block attempt of Vancouver College's Ashton Wong during third-place clash at the Kodiak Classic Invitational hosted 11.30.24 by Heritage Woods Secondary School in Port Moody. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.12.25 edition: Kelowna tops Oak Bay, St. George’s edges Van College as B.C. Quad-A Top 10 boys emerge from shape-shifting week with eight spots swapping hands!

LANGLEY — About face.Maybe everything we thought we knew about the stretch-drive finish in B.C. senior boys Quad-A basketball was a myth?Not quite.But in one of the most active, topsy-turvy weeks in recent memory, the province’s largest-school tier switched up eight of its top 10 spots from seven days ago.The Kelowna Owls have been taking […]

Brookswood Carly Taylor does her best to affect the three-point shot of Argyle's Sadie Danks during TBI Super 16 Day 3 action 12.13.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

02.11.25 edition: B.C. senior girls basketball rankings: Topsy-turvy tumult hits Quad-A! Top five of largest tier thrown for a loop as Argyle Pipers climb to the top of the heap!

LANGLEY — Everyone wants to peak at the right time, especially with provincials tipping off in two weeks.While the rest of B.C.’s tiers remained relatively static since the last polling period, the Quad-A ranks have undergone some mighty upheaval and as the dust clears, coming off Tessa’s Tournament, North Vancouver’s Argyle Pipers are standing tall […]

Zeru Abera (left) of Burnaby's St. Thomas More Knights drives on Dover Bay's Frank Linder in the championship final of the TBI Super 16 invitational Dec. 7 at the Langley Events Centre. Next season the two will be rookie teammates with the UBC Thunderbirds. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

UBC Thunderbirds’ recruit Zeru Abera has been clutch when it counts! Now, the STM Knights senior is embracing the challenge of bringing his intangibles to the Canada West!

VANCOUVER — Ask Kevin Hanson what he finds most special about his most recent high school recruit and he instantly captures the essence of St. Thomas More Knights’ senior Zeru Abera.“It’s a tough thing to teach anyone how to be clutch in a basketball game, especially at the end of the game, and then to […]

While Burnaby South defenders including Leo Milanes step up on defence, West Vancouver's Felipe Schmitz-Manseck prepares to put up a fade-away jumper during Day 1 action in the TBI Super 16 bracket Dec. 4, 2024 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.10.25 edition: West Vancouver, Dr. Charles Best top climbers in the latest edition of the all-tiered SRS Top 50!

LANGLEY — Post-season basketball has arrived and as the games that matter most continue to ramp up in intensity, we’re back with the latest edition of the SRS Top 50 from B.C. Basketball Metrics.This week’s four biggest climbers: Dr. Charles Best of Coquitlam (44-to-36) and West Vancouver (32-to-27) improved eight and five spots respectively, while […]

C.J. Zuno and the Spectrum Thunder topped rival Oak Bay in league action to reclaim No. 1 in the B.C. Quad-A rankings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.05.25 edition: B.C. Boys Top 10 ranks see Spectrum and Wellington notch huge tourney title victories!

LANGLEY — Last week’s No. 1 teams in the two largest tiers of B.C. senior boys basketball suffered invitational tournament championship game losses, yet another indication that we’re in store for four unpredicatable days of fun when the provincial tournament tips off in exactly one month’s time at the Langley Events Centre.In Quad-A’s three-team musical […]

UBC's Nikola Guzina drives to the basket against the Trinity Western Spartans in Canada West action Nov. 3 at War Memorial Gymnasium. After losing the 2023-24 season to a brain injury, the 6-foot-10 standout is playing a huge role in UBC's drive to the Final 8 national championships this March. (Photo by Richard Lam property of UBC athletics 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature University Men's Basketball

Bright lights, brighter future: After losing last season to concussion, ‘Birds 6-foot-10 standout Nikola Guzina can see clearly now as UBC gears up to host 2025 U SPORTS Final 8 nationals!

VANCOUVER — Nikola Guzina’s basketball dream had always been to play under the bright lights at UBC’s hallowed War Memorial GymnasiumAnd coming off an amazing two-season stretch at nearby King George Secondary School, where over his Grade 11 and 12 seasons combined (2018-20) he averaged an NBA 2K-like 30.7 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists […]

Wellington Wildcats' star forward Grayson Ritzand leans in for a lay-up against Vancouver College during Day 1 action in the TBI Select 16 bracket Dec. 4, 2024 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

02.03.25 edition: The SRS Top 50 returns with its take on B.C.’s top 50 senior boys teams regardless of tier!

This week’s SRS Top 50, brought to you byB.C. Basketball Metrics is here!Mark Isfeld of Courtenay is the biggest climber, the Ice moving up five spots from No. 36 to No. 31.Victoria’s Lambrick Park enter the Top 50 at No. 50.(Note — the SRS Top 50 has been updated as of 10:30 pm on Feb. […]