Justin Hinrichsen doesn’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about it.“It just happens,” the 6-foot-3, 165-pound Grade 10 guard/forward with Victoria’s Spectrum Thunder admits when asked how his rare combination of athleticism, talent and instinct has managed to intersect in such a timely fashion just weeks into his first season of senior varsity hoops.“I’ve […]
High School Boys Basketball
TBI 2022: Burnaby Central boys, Pitt Meadows girls draw into the fold after late cancellations, latest draws now available
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP – There have been a pair of late changes to both boys and girls Tsumura Basketball Invitational eight-team draws, prompting us to re-publish those affected brackets.In the boys TBI, Langley Secondary has dropped out of the Langley-Surrey region eight-team draw. Taking their place will be the Burnaby Central Wildcats, who will now oppose […]
Quad-A No. 1 Semiahmoo brings Seattle-area’s Eastside Catholic Crusaders and top prospect Cofie to the LEC! 35 years after Richmond-DeMatha, the B.C.-U.S. tradition continues!
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — The players on B.C.’s No. 1-ranked senior boys Quad-A basketball team likely aren’t aware of it, but when South Surrey’s Semiamoo Thunderbirds take to the court later next month at the Langley Events Centre, they’ll be paying a bit of a tribute to one of this province’s pioneering programs: The 1980’s-era Richmond […]
B.C. boys high school basketball 2022-23 pre-season rankings have arrived! Semiahmoo, St. Pats, STA and Unity Christian each earn No. 1 status!
LANGLEY — With the 2022-23 B.C. boys high school basketball season just days away from official tip, it’s time to unveil the new Top 10 rankings for all four tiers.As a note to Varsity Letters’ readers, I have previously (for the past 20 years or so) ranked the boys largest tier of play — from […]
BOYS Tsumura Basketball Invitational 2022: This season, the TBI enters its second decade with a 32-team field in three separate brackets!
LANGLEY TOWNSHIP — Welcome to the countdown to the 2022 Tsumura Basketball Invitationals!We’re back bigger than ever as we start our second decade at the home of B.C. High School Basketball: The Langley Events Centre.The dates to mark on your hoops calendar?The boys tournament gets us underway with four days of the competition from Dec. […]
Buchanan Cup 2022: UBC hoops notes include the return of Jadon Cohee, our look at three rising ‘Birds in Luka Lizdek, Nikola Guzina, Triston Matthews and more!
VANCOUVER —Kevin Hanson loves the fact that his 2022-23 Thunderbirds are getting a great taste of post-season atmosphere before the conference season even gets a chance to tip off.On Friday, a little over two months after the ‘Birds kicked it all off in front of a near-capacity home crowd of 2,103 on Aug. 16 with […]
Buchanan Cup 2022: For UBC’s James Woods, a career defined by beating the odds makes ‘Boy Wonder’ a well-earned nickname!
VANCOUVER — Deep down in his basketball soul, James Woods has always been Boy Wonder.It’s the nickname he picked up before he was old enough to shave, before he even started to play high school basketball for Langley’s Walnut Grove Gators.And on Friday night (7:30 p.m.), when he pulls on his No. 11 UBC jersey […]
Buchanan Cup 2022: “Coach, you’ve got a lot of new guys…” Simon Fraser Red Leafs face host UBC Thunderbirds on Friday with a new-look team intent on finding some instant karma!
BURNABY — A reporter takes a seat last week in the Burnaby Mountain office of Simon Fraser head men’s basketball coach Steve Hanson, offering an apology ahead of what must be the most obvious observation of all.“Coach, you’ve got a lot of new guys…”Willing to indulge his inquisitor in the playful manner in which the […]
A message from Howard: After 40 years, I’ll bring a new writing direction to Varsity Letters for the 2022-23 high school and university sports season!
NORTH DELTA – Heartfelt greetings to all of you, my loyal, longtime readers.It’s been five months since I decided to take a break from my writing life.As was the goal from the very start, my decision to take sabbatical after 40 years of daily practice — first from my typewriter, and of course later, in […]
Tsumura Basketball Invitational 2022: The TBI has grown to 64 teams! Check out the new format as we unveil December’s boys and girls fields!
LANGLEY — The 2021-22 B.C. high school basketball season may be but a month in the rearview mirror, yet the journey to a new campaign’s tip-off is already well underway.While Varsity Letters is currently on an extended sabbatical, the one piece of news we did promise last month was unveiling the boys and girls entrants […]