Claremont's Izzy Helman (left) has enjoyed a tremendous senior season for his Victoria-based Spartans, averaging just shy of 30 points per game. Pictured here at the 2021 TBI on Dec. 11, he drives against St. Thomas More's Marcus Morales. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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“Be quick, but don’t hurry!”: Claremont Spartans’ dynamic guard Izzy Helman runs his hardcourt race at a different pace!

Look at Izzy Helman’s scoring numbers over his last four games, and the natural reaction is to imagine that the Claremont Spartans’ point guard has somehow shifted his game to yet another gear.In-between dual 37 point outings in tough losses to first Mark Isfeld, and then Brentwood College, the 6-foot-3 senior poured home 35 and […]

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The latest B.C. junior boys basketball rankings. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. junior boys basketball rankings 01.25.22 edition: Surrey’s Fleetwood Park climbs to No. 3, Vancouver’s Lord Byng debuts at honourable mention in latest Top 10!

LANGLEY — The Byrne Creek Bulldogs of Burnaby and Surrey’s Tamanawis Wildcats have each moved into the Top 10 in the latest B.C. junior boys basketball rankings.While Vancouver College and Walnut Grove remain a steady one-two punch atop the polls, Surrey’s Fleetwood Park Dragons step up into the top three this week.Here’s the latest, and […]

Handsworth's Tate Christiansen has his North Vancouver-based Royals in the thick of the B.C. Quad-A boys Top 10. (Photo by Blair Shier property of Blair.photo 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. boys high school basketball rankings 01.25.22 edition: Semiahmoo, North Delta, G.W. Graham are Top 10 teams on the rise!

LANGLEY — Parity at the province’s two highest tiers is helping to bring a fever pitch to the B.C. senior boys basketball Quad-A and Triple-A festivities this week.Surrey’s Semiahmoo Totems, enjoyed a second straight signature week at Quad-A, while, the North Delta Huskies, along with Chilliwack’s G.W. Graham Grizzlies at Triple-A, each made substantial leaps […]

Towering above the competition, Centennial Centaurs' centre K.C. Ibekwe skies for a rebound this past December during the Tsumura Basketball Invitational at the Langley Events Centre. Over 20 universities and colleges have shown interest in the Coquitlam native. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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A Sunday Read: The amazing rise of Centennial’s K.C. Ibekwe, and how the Centaurs’ centre became the King of the City!

COQUITLAM — Ask K.C. Ibekwe about the origins of his abbreviated first name, and the Centennial Centaurs’ towering senior centre tells a story every bit as big as his 6-foot-10, 275 pound frame.“My parents have said to me that K.C. is for King of the City,” begins Ibekwe, the son of Nigerian immigrants who was […]

Reaching ever higher, Duchess Park Condors' senior point guard Cole Laing plays with an edge that is hard to match. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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Duchess Park’s Cole Laing: Unflappable and focused, “…he has that dog mentality” says head coach Jordan Yu!

Cole Laing is on the phone from Prince George, chuckling at a reporter’s dogged line of questioning, one clearly aimed at getting him to acknowledge that every time he steps between the lines, he plays like a mean piece of business.“Yeah, I play angry,” the Duchess Park Condors’ 6-foot senior point guard finally offers. “My […]

A take-charge leader on the floor, King George point guard Max Astak (left) drives past Burnaby's South's Zach Chan during the 2021 TBI championship final Dec. 11 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Wilson Wong protected image of photographer via Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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The inner fire of King George’s Dragon king! Basketball gave Max Astak the voice to become a leader in tough times!

VANCOUVER — Growing up as the son of immigrant parents, Max Astak admits it wasn’t always easy to traverse cultures and make the kinds of social connections so important in the lives of young people.“But for me, basketball united me with others,” the senior point guard with Vancouver’s King George Dragons explains.“My parents came here […]

Abbotsford's Jahvon Maksymiw (right) and the rest of the Quad-A Panthers have moved up to No. 5 in the latest B.C. Top 10 rankings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. boys high school basketball rankings 01.18.22 edition: Top 10’s top climbers include Abbotsford, Pacific Academy, Mark Isfeld and Unity Christian!

LANGLEY — Cancellations seemed to rival actual games played over another tough week in the B.C. boys high school basketball week.Teams of the week?Quad-A’s Abbotsford Panthers and Semiahmoo Totems of Surrey, Triple-A’s Mark Isfeld Ice of Courtenay, the Double-A Pacific Academy Breakers of Surrey, and the Single-A duo of Chilliwack’s Unity Christian Flames and Maple […]

On a team filled with talented Grade 11 players, St. Thomas More point guard Tarrence Booker is one of the big reasons that Burnaby's Knights sit at No. 6 in the B.C. Triple-A rankings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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St. Thomas More’s Tarrence Booker: Through his basketball bloodlines & Knights’ hoop traditions, Grade 11 point guard gains deeper appreciation for the game!

BURNABY — At the age of 16, you could say that the pages of Tarrence Booker’s basketball life are just now being written.Yet engage the St. Thomas More Collegiate Grade 11 point guard on any number of topics, both on and off the court, and it becomes pretty clear that he’s already a few chapters […]

Burnaby South big man Karan Aujla goes to the glass to score two of his 19 first-half points Saturday in a win over host Vancouver College. (Photo by Burnaby South media team of Shamira Alberts and Sarah Lewis property of Rebels Athletics 2022. All Rights Reserved)
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In front of empty gym, No. 1 Burnaby South gets its toughest test yet, but 16-0 Rebels let guards roam free in 77-64 win over No. 2 Van College Irish!

VANCOUVER — It was likely the quietest top-tiered No. 1 vs No. 2 senior boys basketball game in B.C. high school history.Yet the No. 1 Burnaby South Rebels’ 77-64 win over the host, No. 2-ranked Vancouver College Fighting Irish on Saturday night, played in front of an empty set of stands at the host site […]

KIng George Dragon senior guard Palmer Currie (right) looks to try and slow McMath's 6-foot-10 centre Kyle Christofferson Dec. 9, 2021 at the Langley Events Centre during the Tsumura Basketball Invitational. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letters 2021. All Rights Reserved)
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“Just encourage the coaches to get their schedules to me!”BCboysbasketball.com’s Tom Tagami asks B.C. boys coaches to keep site’s content as reliable as ever!

LANGLEY — B.C. boys high school basketball has the website that is the envy of the entire B.C. high school sports world.Voluminous and complete, it has for years been the lifeline of information for its teams, coaches, players and just as important, its fans and the media, providing not only complete schedules, but scores updated […]