VANCOUVER — There is so much that Grant Audu can do on a basketball court, that for his entire university career, he’s been cast in a series of demanding roles.The UBC Thunderbirds’ rising fourth-year forward has not only made each of those his own, in the process of doing so he’s shown himself to be […]
Tag: Kevin Hanson
A Sunday Read: Why Dec. 1, 1990 – the day the UNLV Rebels came to town – was the day Vancouver came of age as a basketball city!
VANCOUVER — I can still remember the day that the late, great Jim Taylor, the newspaper sports columnist of my youth and later a co-worker at The Province newspaper, invited me over to his Vancouver home so that I might conduct an interview for a feature story I wanted to write on him for my […]
A Sunday Read: How the storytellers of UBC men’s basketball wrote their own history and strengthened bonds in a time of disconnect!
VANCOUVER — In these most disconnected and fractured of times, when our most basic instinct of reaching out to others in an act of the heart is so often compromised by the frustration of new realities, here is a story about finding connection.“Early in COVID, I would be out on my walks… I was doing […]
UBC men’s basketball: Pandemic may have nixed UCLA Bruins visit to War Gym, yet despite uncertain times, ‘Birds plan with hope!
VANCOUVER — The Canada West’s winter conference seasons had a start date late enough to dodge the hammer of COVID-19 cancellations which fell hard last week on its fall sports cousins in football, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey and women’s rugby 15sYet with the deadline for official word on a best-case Jan. 1 conference […]
Bill Stebbings 1949-2020: The architect of Seaquam Seahawks boys basketball always saw the big picture first
NORTH DELTA — He was a basketball coach who wanted the world for his players.And in the end, Bill Stebbings helped them find it by showing them that their commitment to the game was redeemable in later life in the form of wisdom and a deeper appreciation for the value of family and friends.On Tuesday, […]
Garrett Rooker: How the UBC Thunderbirds found a Texas 6A-tier football/basketball standout in time for the 2020-21 season!
VANCOUVER — UBC reputation as one of the world’s great universities is certainly no secret to academia’s global community.On Friday, however, that same reputation not only earned the the school a top-flight entrant into its kinesiology program, but a blue-chip high school senior from Texas with the ability to be a difference maker both barking […]
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.
U Sports Final 8 preview: Kevin Hanson, a former UBC point guard, steps out of his coaching box to bring out best in ‘Birds floor general Jadon Cohee!
VANCOUVER — There is a little part of Kevin Hanson the player, who still remembers what it was like, some 33 years ago, to be part of a team which was able to catch lightning in a bottle.Today, he’s 20 seasons into his journey as the head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds, but back in […]
A Sunday Read: How UBC played its two best fourth-quarters of season on back-to-back nights to punch its tickets to U Sports’ Final 8!
There was a moment during the final time-out of the UBC Thunderbirds’ 88-77 Canada West men’s basketball quarterfinal win over the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday night which seems especially relevant this morning.
UBC men’s basketball: Thunderbirds’ head coach Kevin Hanson weighs the pros and cons of new Canada West playoff format
VANCOUVER — The eight remaining Canada West men’s basketball teams have no margin for error under the conference’s new and radically-revamped playoff system.