Jakerry Okot-Bitek and Burnaby's Byrne Creek Bulldogs kept their hold in the B.C. senior boys Triple A rankings. (Photo by Howard Tsumura exclusive property of VarsityLetters.ca 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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12.18.24: B.C. senior boys basketball rankings: Top fours hold the fort at all four tiers!

LANGLEY — Three weeks into the new season, and the province’s tier leaders looked to have settled into an early groove.That’s just another way of saying that last week’s top four in each classification remained the same, including the precise 1-2-3-4 order in Quad-, Triple- and Double-A.The lone change among that quartet?Vancouver’s SJS, swapped places […]

Jarrah Chadwick-Rupp of the Oak Bay Bays guards Dover Bay point guard Joe Linder during championship game action 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)
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B.C. Boys Basketball SRS ranking system formula Top 50 groups all four tiers for interesting new look

LANGLEY — The B.C. senior boys basketball rankings we run weekly here at VarsityLetters.ca has always been and will continue to be a staple of our coverage.From a personal standpoint, as a former provincial ranker myself for much of the last quarter century, it remains the traditional vehicle for giving basketball fans in our province […]

Prentice Lenz, who passed at the age of 53, is noted as the consummate family man, husband and educator by all who knew him. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of Varsity Letter 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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A Sunday Read: Remembering Prentice Lenz (1971-2024), a farmer for all seasons and a coach for the ages

By HOWARD TSUMURA, VarsityLetters.caABBOTSFORD — In the parlance of his profession, Prentice Lenz tilled every inch of a basketball court with the same level of discipline, ingenuity and faith he practiced every time he’d crouch to put his hands in the earth.Farmer. Family man. Father figure. He was all three of those in ways in which […]

Jarrah Chadwick-Rupp of the Oak Bay Bays guards Dover Bay point guard Joe Linder during championship game action 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)
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12.11.24 edition: BC Boys Top 10 Hoops rankings! Semi, Fox make 4A climb, STM takes over as AAA No. 1

LANGLEY — Here are the second set of B.C. boys high school in-season basketball rankings.BASKETBALLTOP 10 RANKINGSB.C. SENIOR BOYSQUAD A1 Spectrum Thunder (Saanich) (VI) (LW-1)2 Dover Bay Dolphins (Nanaimo) (VI) (2)3 Oak Bay Bays (Victoria) (VI) (3)4 Vancouver College Fighting Irish (VSS) (4)5 St. George’s Saints (Vancouver) (VSS) (5)6 Tamanawis Wildcats (Surrey) (SF) (6)7 Semiahmoo […]

St. Pat's Jericho Labrador (left) drives on Vancouver College's Lucas Tan-Ngo during 2024 B.C. junior boys semifinal last February at the Langley Events Centre. Both teams are back in the junior top 10 this week. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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B.C. Junior Boys Basketball Top 10: First in-season poll has St. George’s, Argyle, New West and Van College the early Final Four pick when JV fever hits LEC’s 32-team tourney Feb. 22-25!

The B.C. Junior Boys Basketball Association checks in with its first poll of the season.It’s the start of the run-up to to the 2025 B.C. invitational championship at the Langley Events Centre Feb. 22-25.Last season’s champions from Terry Fox Secondary in PoCo are now competing at the senior varsity level and opened some eyes this […]

Last season at TBI 2023, Brookswood's Jordyn Nohr (left) scored 44 points to lead Brookswood to an overtime win over Jenna Talib and the Mulgrave Titans. This season's she and Cats are back at the LEC, seeded on the opposite side of the draw from North Delta's Seaquam Seahawks. (Photo by Ryan Molag property of Langley Events Centre 2023. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI Girls 2024: Our strongest field ever is filled with schools from latest Top 10 rankings! It’s 9 of 10 AAAA, 5 of 7 AAA, 7 of 8 AA and 1A’s Top 2! Are you ready?

LANGLEY —The first potential showdown between the top two teams in the most recent B.C. senior girls high school Top 10 Quad-A rankings.(See full Top 10s for all four tiers below)A tournament weekend beginning its four-day run Wednesday with 23 of its 32 total teams occupying Top 10 spots between the province’s four tiers of […]

King George's Faisal Shawwa draws a trio of Collingwood Cavaliers including Tony Li (6) during TBI Select 16 championship final 12.07.24 at the Langley Events Centre. Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2024 Select 16 Final: How King George coach Darko Kulic topped No. 1 Collingwood with hoops game-plan designed around NFL’s 2013 Super Bowl champion Seahawks! Huh?

LANGLEY — Sometimes, you can’t help but think Darko Kulic is a genius.Quirky, unconventional and unapologetic are three other ways to describe the persona of the King George Dragons head coach, a guy who loves his players and truly uses the game of hoops to teach them about life.It’s all true.He won’t deny it.But about […]

Dover Bay's Frank Linder went on to be named MVP during TBI Super 16 finals 12.07.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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A Sunday Read: For Dover Bay’s TBI Super 16 champ Dolphins, why an honorary assist to Taylor Swift and a ‘no-cell phone’ policy symbolize a truly holistic hoops weekend!

LANGLEY — When the Dover Bay Dolphins senior boys basketball team prints up its final 2024-25 season statistics this March, they may want to add one new name to the box score even though she never played for the team.The name?Taylor Swift.The stat?One assist.Even though the pop icon had the nerve to no-show for the […]

After foul troubles dogged his teammate Zeru Abera, St. Thomas More guard Jacob Oreta (left) brought his physical style to the fore against Vancouver College and guard Lucas Tan-Ngo during TBI Super 16 semifinals 12.06.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2024 Super 16 Semis: So just how did underdog St. Thomas More upset Vancouver College? Here’s the empowering details!

LANGLEY — The St. Thomas More Knights of 2024-25 first gained their notiriety in the B.C. high school basketball world by winning the junior provincial title in 2023 as the No. 11 seed in the massive event’s 32-team bracket.As that tournament’s history will tell you, it’s not always a translateable guarantee of success at the […]

Dover Bay switched its philosophy from set offence to pure transition, and that suit point guard Joe Linder just fine as his team topped St. Patricks during TBI Super 16 semifinals 12.06.24 at the Langley Events Centre. (Photo by Ryan Molag property Langley Events Centre-TFSE 2024. All Rights Reserved)
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TBI 2024 Super 16 Semis: Hey, Joe it’s time to score! Dover Bay’s G10 Linder wins grand battle with St Pats’ Santa Juana!

LANGLEY — On a team filled with talent, being able to find the right player with that true point guard mentality is never a guaranteed thing.Go ahead, try to find that selfless playmaker you can trust to put the team’s overall well-being above any pursuit of individualism.But, in those times when schematics change and situations […]