NORTH DELTA — For it’s entire existence as an up-and-coming group of hoops wunderkinds, the Seaquam Seahawks have had a built-in motivation to carve a niche of their own in the B.C. girls basketball world.
Checks its roster from the B.C. junior champs of 2022 right through the B.C. senior Quad-A champs of this past season, and the Sunshine Hill ‘Hawks have always won with a core of players largely two years younger than the norms of its age group.
And that’s not to say that the Seahawks have gone all long in the tooth this season, because its roster still features three main rotation standouts in guards Callie Brost, Syra Toor and reigning TBI MVP and B.C. Top Defensive Player Camyrn Tait who are only now entering their Grade 11 years.
But for the first time in this ultra-talented group’s time together at both the senior and junior levels, they have arrived at the median with a largely Grade 11-12 group.
Ask Seaquam’s Lucky Toor about all of that and, not surprisingly, he has already sensed the ownership his roster has taken over its first few steps towards its season-long goal: Repeating as B.C. champs.
“I think maturity is the biggest thing I see with the group already,” he begins. “They are definitely self-starters, they’re self-motivated. They all know what they are looking to do. The level of focus is already inherently there. We’re not a young team. Now finally, they are Grade 11s and 12s, so it’s pretty exciting and like I said, I see that internal maturity kicking in for these players, especially my Grade 12s.”
Yet fresh off a 78-57 win over the No. 3-ranked Riverside Rapids of Port Coquitlam at the Victoria Invitational which wrapped up this past Saturday at Spectrum Community School, the Seahawks are only now entering their second week of competition after spending the first week waiting for six of its players to complete their season on a volleyball team which finished in the top 10 at the B.C. Quad-A championships.
“Even though we are running a high-level basketball program here is, they are just kids and this is their opportunity to experience different sports, different opportunities. If they don’t do it now they never will,” said Toor, who had both of his daughters, Priya and Syra, along with Brost, Tait, senior Neelum Sidhu and Grade 11 newcomer Anjali Dass all playing sets instead of quarters.
“I love having cross-trained athletes because I think everyone takes something away from every opportunity.”
With three-point ace Mackenzie Henderson and post Sydney Roufosse also coming back for their senior seasons, the roster is as deep and dangerous as any returning B.C. champion in recent memory.
One scan of the Super 16 field, of which Seaquam and reigning B.C. Triple-A champion Brookswood Bobcats of Langley are both a part of as its top two seeds, and Toor knows there is no time for a slip up.
The threat of Brookswood is omnipresent,
The two teams have not faced each other over the first two weeks because this week marks the first time they are in the same tournament. The Bobcats won The Big Ticket in week one, before the Seahawks placed first in Victoria this past week.
“With TBI here, it’s a strong field all the way through and we always preach that to our kids… that this is the best tournament we’re going to get all season,” said Toor. “More or less the 16 best teams in the province, regardless of tier are here, so you’re going to get everyone’s best shot every single night. We always say even though it’s December, nothing is going to prepare us for the provincials better than this.”
For the full TBI Super 16 and Select 16 draws, click right here.
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