The sweetest moment! Richmond's Louis Johnson, the 1991 MVP, shears the nylon at one end of the PNE Agrodome court after the Super Colts topped Burnaby Central for all of the spoils 29 years ago. (Photo used through the permission of the BC High School Boys Basketball Association 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Quad A: Inside the diamond jubilee regionals! It’s Super Colts x 2, plus Raz-ama-Kaz, the Mikes and more

NORTH DELTA — Welcome to Quadrant A of our 75th anniversary All-Time B.C. High School Boys Basketball Tournament Bracket.

We have posted the complete bracket featuring all 32 first round results right here at VarsityLetters.ca, and we will include that same bracket with each of our in-depth looks at all four quadrants. (See bottom)

VarsityLetters.ca did not take part in the team selections nor the fantasy outcomes.

Next week’s second-round results will like run either Tuesday or perhaps Wednesday. Stayed tuned for further details on the actual release date.

QUADRANT A

SUB-REGIONAL 1

(at North Surrey Secondary)

No. 1 Nanaimo District (1978) No. 16 Ladysmith (1995)

The skinny — First off, what a thrill to watch this game at the home of the Spartans, who through the 1970s and into the early 1980s seemed to churn out great teams and classic players. There may have been 17 years separating these two worthy champs, but they each took to the floor for our fantasy clash with the same gritty, blue-collar mindset.

The Nanaimo Islanders, nicknamed Raz-ama-Kaz, were an all-time power in 1978, going 42-1 with its only loss coming to a touring Australian all-star team. The Isles, ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire, were led by 6-foot-6 Gerald Kazanowski, who scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half of a 71-62 title-game win over Oak Bay, the Isles’ third win over Victoria’s Bays that season. Brothers John and Greg, as well as Mark Spees and Paul Davis were big parts of the team coached by John Levering.

The Ladysmith 49ers, hailed by many as the tournament’s ultimate underdogs, remain one of the most enduring favourites in the 75 year history of the event, and all because of the play of MVP Tony McCrory, who in 1995’s 74-70 win over the MEI Eagles set a standard as far as being a team’s go-to engine which may never be surpassed.

Yours truly can remember chatting with new Vancouver Grizzlies’ GM Stu Jackson after the game, and Jackson saying to me that he had never seen a game at any level in which one player was counted on to facilitate success more than McCrory.

Said McCrory to me after the game: “This is a dream right now. All summer long, it’s all we thought of doing. No one thought we could do it.”

McCrory finished with 34 points, including 13 of his team’s final 17 that day, and in the process passed Richmond’s Al Tait for most points in a single tourney with 150.

Nanaimo District, however, was too powerful in this fantasy clash. Too fine-tuned, too lethal.

FINAL SCORE: Nanaimo 89 vs. Ladysmith 62

Brentwood College’s Brendan Sullivan was chosen MVP of the 2018 B.C. Boys Double A championships. (Photo by Wilson Wong copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved)

No. 8 Brentwood College (2018) vs. No. 9 Prince Rupert (1964)

The skinny —Brentwood College’s 2018 season was among the most dominant in non-top tiered provincial history, and it’s run to a second-straight B.C. Double-A title was so decisive it came as if by predetermined appointment, led by the play of tourney MVP Brendan Sullivan and Best Defensive Player Bruno Chan and title game POG Somto Dimonachie.

Yet this is one of those games were seedings get thrown out the window, because the 1964 Prince Rupert Rainmakers might just have been the most tough-minded and mentally unflappable team to ever claim the title.

The Rainmakers, led by the likes of Skip Kronk, Brian Specht, Wayne Haldane and of course, former UVic and national team head coach Ken Shields, used a 14-1 spurt in the second half to top the Abbotsford Panthers 43-41 in the 1964 final.

And in this fantasy clash, the Rainmakers use that same second-half resiliency to come back and beat Brentwood College.

FINAL SCORE: Prince Rupert 52 Brentwood College 44

MEI Eagles Phil Harder (40) and George Bergen (45) accept winning hardware after helping their school to the 1970 B.C. boys basketball title. (Photo used through the permission of the BC High School Boys Basketball Association 2020. All Rights Reserved)

SUB-REGIONAL 2

(at Terry Fox Secondary)

No. 5 Oak Bay (1965) vs. No. 12 MEI (1970)

The skinny — When seedings were put together, this one became an instant classic. The 20th anniversary champion Bays from Victoria, and the 25th anniversary champion Eagles from Abbotsford.

This time around, as the players entered the Fox gym in PoCo, head coach Gary Taylor had his Bays ready. Just as they did in their actual 1965 title-game 48-34 win over Alberni District, MVP Bob Burrows and fellow first-team all-star Brian MacKenzie were in control from the outset, despite excellent play from the Eagles’ vaunted duo of Rudy Siemens and George Bergen.

FINAL SCORE: Oak Bay 72 MEI 67

Vancouver’s Kitsilano Blue Demons claimed a second straight B.C. top-tiered senior varsity title for head coach Randy Coutts in 1997. (Photo used through the permission of the BC High School Boys Basketball Association 2020. All Rights Reserved)

No. 4 Kitsilano (1997) No. 13 South Kamloops (2009)

The skinny — Reporting on Kitsilano’s actual 62-52 title-game win over Maple Ridge 23 years ago, veteran Province scribe Steve Ewen nailed it when he wrote “The Kitsilano Blue Demons won the slow-down showdown.”

Just the fifth team to ever repeat as champs in tourney history, that Blue Demons’ team was a tourney-tested bunch, coached by Randy Coutts and led by MVP Sandy Bisaro, as well as Keith Bustard and Etienne Orr-Ewing.

Our panel of experts took that into consideration because Kits needed everything they had to edge a South Kamloops’ team led by the most dominant single-tourney performance in the first 74 years of the provincial top-tiered classic.

Before heading off to Gonzaga and later the NBA, South Kam big man Kelly Olynyk led the 2009 tournament in scoring (36.5 ppg), rebounding (15.5 rpg), and assists (7.2 apg). He also tied for first in blocks shots (3.5 bpg), numbers we cherish with thanks to Mike Stoneburgh, who back in those days set a standard for tournament stat keeping and allow us, all these years later, to truly appreciate what Olynyk accomplished, despite the fact his team lost that season in the B.C. semifinals.

In the end, the elders chose the Blue Demons to win this fantasy clash in overtime.

FINAL SCORE: Kitsilano 89 South Kamloops 87 (OT)

SUB-REGIONAL 3

(at Vancouver College)

No. 6 Victoria (1959)  vs. No. 11 Richmond (1991)

The skinny — As physically tough a Richmond team as veteran coach Bill Disbrow had ever fielded on Lulu Island with point guard Justin Padvaiskas and forward Brian Scales. Add the sublime tourney MVP Louis Johnson and our panel of experts decide to go against the seedings here.

It was no easy decision, as all concerned stressed the respect they had for the Totems, and their head coach, the former Oregon Ducks standout player George ‘Porky’ Andrews.

The Totems, led by the trio of 1959 MVP Dave Black, Dave Nelson and Darrell Lorimer, built a big early lead in the fantasy clash, only to have Johnson astound with his knife-like cuts to the basket and his fast-break finishes.

FINAL SCORE: Richmond High 55 Vic High 47

No. 3 North Surrey (1976) No. 14 Pitt Meadows (2000)

The skinny — When the North Surrey Spartans beat Oak Bay 52-48 in the actual 1976 title game, B.C. boys high school basketball had reaching something of a golden era. Some 6,800 fans jammed the Pacific Coliseum for the final game, and even though the Spartans and head coach Robin Arden were without their 6-foot-10 superstar Kirk Randa, they still had enough to finish the season a near-perfect 39-1.

The 2000 vintage Marauders experienced the same dilemma on a smaller scale when its star big-man Aaron Christensen fouled out with five minutes remaining in its title-game.

Pitt, however, came through with a 74-68 win over the Terry Fox Ravens to give head coach Rich Goulet his second top-tiered B.C. title.

Our panel, however, like the overall depth of the Spartans, including MVP Charles Olsen, and fellow first-team all-star Dave Reich, a little bit more.

FINAL SCORE: North Surrey 68 Pitt Meadows 56

SUB-REGIONAL 4

(at New Westminster Junior High)

No. 7 Richmond (1987) vs. No. 10 Carihi (1994)

The skinny — We highlighted on Tuesday the vintage and quality of Campbell River’s 1994 Carihi Tyees, led by the unflappable Eric Hinrichsen, and how the selection committee felt they warranted a spot in our final 64 despite the fact they lost in the semifinals to 1994’s eventual champions from Terry Fox.

Their fantasy foes, the 1987 Colts, are so often forgotten and overshadowed by the 1988 Richmond team, which was selected B.C.’s best-ever team as part of the BCHSBBA’s 60th anniversary festivities back in 2005.

Yet in many ways, the ’87 Colts are more impressive in that they started four Grade 11s and went undefeated against B.C. competition on their way to a 75-70 win over MEI in the 1987 title game.

Grade 11s Ron Putzi, Brian Tait, Joey deWit and Bryan Wevers were the core of the team, and after they won it all, one of the team’s seniors, Warren Mathews told Vancouver Sun reporter Harold Munro: “It’s hard to explain right now. It’s like getting a hole-in-one on a 400-yard hole. Those of us in Grade 12 knew this was our last kick at the can, and we talked about winning it every day.”

In the fantasy world, the team that spawned the 1988 Colts had just enough to stop Hinrichsen and the Tyees in a gymnasium which played host to the 1950 B.C. high school championships.

FINAL SCORE: Richmond 91 Carihi 88

No. 2 Lester Pearson (1956) No. 15 Vancouver College (1946)

The skinny — As we referenced earlier, back in our 2005 60th anniversary fantasy bracket, Richmond 1988 was the winner. The team they beat? The first super-power of B.C. high school basketball, the Lester Pearson Mikes of New Westminster.

Playing in their home town in its 75th anniversary opener , the Mikes, led by the high-flying likes of MVP Don Krego, Ken Winslade and David McDonald, are able to beat the 1946 champion Vancouver College Fighting Irish, led by their MVP Maury Mulhern.

FINAL SCORE: Lester Pearson 58 Vancouver College 43

If you’re reading this story or viewing these photos on any website other than one belonging to a university athletic department, it has been taken without appropriate permission. In these challenging times, true journalism will survive only through your dedicated support and loyalty. VarsityLetters.ca and all of its exclusive content has been created to serve B.C.’s high school and university sports community with hard work, integrity and respect. Feel free to drop us a line any time at howardtsumura@gmail.com.

If you’re reading this story or viewing these photos on any website other than one belonging to a university athletic department, it has been taken without appropriate permission. In these challenging times, true journalism will survive only through your dedicated support and loyalty. VarsityLetters.ca and all of its exclusive content has been created to serve B.C.’s high school and university sports community with hard work, integrity and respect. Feel free to drop us a line any time at howardtsumura@gmail.com.

One thought on “Quad A: Inside the diamond jubilee regionals! It’s Super Colts x 2, plus Raz-ama-Kaz, the Mikes and more

  1. Great idea to run a fantasy tourn featuring 75 years of thrilling high school basketball. I started watching in 1958 at War Memorial gym. That tournament inspired me to get involved in coaching and later the executive level. A lot of wonderful memories have been relived as I go thru the draw and match ups. My prediction is the 1988 Richmond Colts vs Kelowna Owls(2016) will meet in the final game. Keep up the good work. You’ve been a real supporter of High school sports.
    Thank you!

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