Enriched by a basketball heritage which not only includes the game's inventor James Naismith, but also the likes of former SFU Clan star Jay Triano (left) and the late Handsworth Royals' icon Quinn Keast, high school basketball players in the province of B.C. have plenty of inspiration with which to work on their games despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19. (Photos property of Simon Fraser Athletics and Blair.photo (Blair Shier) 2020. All Rights Reserved. Photo graphic created by Gabriel Lynn)
Feature High School University

B.C. coaches say “…basketball is going back to being about you and a hoop” How to summon your inner-Naismith in a time of social distancing

NORTH DELTA — What defines a self-made athlete?As the 2019-20 B.C. high school basketball season was coming to an end last March, just days ahead of a province-wide COVID-19 shutdown, it was certainly not a topic I spent much time pondering.Yet some two months later, I can say with great confidence that it has emerged […]

North Delta Huskies boys basketball coach Jesse Hundal speaks about teaching and inspiring during this time of global pandemic. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

Varsity Letters PODCAST 05.06.20: ND Huskies coach/teacher Jesse Hundal on educating during a pandemic, the Class of 2020 and the late Brandon Bassi

NORTH DELTA — The Podcast is back. Apologies for our extended absence.   Today, we are joined by Jesse Hundal, a teacher and boys basketball coach at North Delta Secondary School.   Jesse chats openly and positively about the challenges facing both teachers and students these days as the 2019-20 academic year comes to a […]

King George's Nikola Guzina (left) is a 6-foot-8, 205-pound senior who comes to the UBC Thunderbirds as a true five-position player. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

Nikola Guzina: With a versatile game that hints at shades of Conor Morgan, UBC inks multi-skilled King George Dragons’ star

VANCOUVER — Ask Nikola Guzina to talk about his rise to prominence on the hardcourt, and the standout incoming recruit of the UBC Thunderbirds proceeds to do so with a nod of thanks to the basketball gods.

A force of nature over his senior season, Centennial Centaurs' forward Dominic Parolin announced Saturday that he will play college basketball next season in the Patriot Conference at Lehigh University. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball University Men's Basketball

Dominic Parolin: Despite the challenges of recruiting, Centennial’s superstar big man finds his fit at NCAA Div. 1 Lehigh University

COQUITLAM — The world changed virtually overnight following the completion of the 2020 B.C. senior boys basketball championships on March 7.And with COVID-19 world pandemic very suddenly the new reality, Centennial senior forward Dominic Parolin quickly realized that the recruiting process he had waited years to be a part of was going to be a […]

Longtime former Brookswood Bobcats' head coach Neil Brown saw superstar 2016 grad Aislinn Konig play live six times over the course of her MVP career with the North Carolina State Wolfpack. (Photo courtesy Neil Brown)
Feature High School Girls Basketball

Neil Brown: Brookswood’s legendary ex-coach on hoops retirement, Ace Konig and the path to hardcourt enlightenment

LANGLEY — If you followed Neil Brown’s Twitter feed this past season, then you know that in retirement, one of the most decorated members of the B.C. high school basketball fraternity is enjoying the full measure of connectedness that comes with mentoring hundreds upon hundreds of student-athletes over a coaching career that has touched parts […]

Burnaby South Rebels' rising Grade 11 guard Jimmy Zaborniak will try and help his preseason No. 1-ranked team to its third B.C. Quad-A title over the past four seasons this coming March at the LEC. (Photo by Howard Tsumura property of VarsityLetters.ca 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. 4-A 2020-21 rankings: No. 1 Burnaby South treading on historic ground, we break down each of AAAA’s top 15 teams!

It goes without saying that the issues and challenges we find ourselves facing on a daily basis are of a magnitude we would never have expected earlier this month as we sat together at the Langley Events Centre to watch two weeks of B.C. high school basketball championships.And certainly, there are a lot of things […]

Duchess Park's Caleb Lyons will return for his senior season as one of the most seasoned go-to scorers in B.C. senior boys high school basketball. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Gliding to the irons, St. Thomas Aquinas' rising senior standout Rory Goodwin was a key force in his North Vancouver team's battle with Prince Rupert's Charles Hays Rainmakers during the quarterfinals of the B.C. senior boys Double-A basketball championships earlier this month at the LEC. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

B.C. 2-A 2020-21 preseason rankings: It’s crowded at the top, but battle-tested St. Thomas Aquinas’ rising trio makes Fighting Saints our pick at No. 1

LANGLEY — A funny thing happened along the way to an inspiring season-ending string of 10 games for North Vancouver’s youthful St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints. They got better and better, even though they got a whole lot younger.

G.W. Graham head coach Jake Mourtizen finds his wife Sarah, the school's head girls basketball coach, for a post-game embrace after his team's win over the Duchess Park Condors. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

A Sunday Read: As G.W. Graham Grizzlies win first B.C. title, its emotional coach Jake Mouritzen admits: “…I still don’t really understand what’s happening”

LANGLEY — This is a story about reaching that moment in life where everything and everyone you love the most has come together with such dreamlike precision that no matter how hard you train your focus, all the edges remain a blur.“I can’t explain it,” Jake Mouritzen says with elated exhaustion in a voice so […]

Wading through a sea of Burnaby South fans who have stormed the court at the Langley Events Centre is Rebels' 6-foot-10 senior Sasha Vujisic. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2020. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Basketball

A Sunday Read: How Burnaby South’s Sasha Vujisic made the final game of his high school career his best, leading Rebels past Kelowna for a B.C. Quad A crown

LANGLEY — Sasha Vujisic walked into his team’s halftime locker room Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre and had a little talk with himself.“The truth is, I was just playing bad,” said Vujisic, Burnaby South’s 6-foot-10 senior forward in self-critique of the opening half of the final game of his high school basketball career.Considering […]