British Columbia high school basketball stars tried to get scholarships

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Effects of COVID-19 Shutdowns: “You have no play tape … this year. You have to rely very much on what you can say to the coach. ‘

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Steve Ewen

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February 12, 2021 • • 22 hours ago • • 3 minutes read NORTH VANCOUVER, BC.  Aiko Williams, one of the best 12th grade players in the province who doesn't have a scholarship yet ..................... (Photo credit: Francis Georgian / Postmedia), Vancouver.  Vancouver Reporter:, (Contributor to Francis Georgian / PNG [PNG Merlin Archive]Aiko Williams, 12th grade security guard at Argyle Pipers, had to develop a solid, verbal sales pitch for post-secondary coaches to receive a basketball scholarship. “It’s different for people than it has been in years past,” she says. “You want to be able to show them what you’re doing on the pitch. You still have to find a way to connect with them. ‘ Photo by Francis Georgian /.PNG

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Aiko Williams has been trying to get a college basketball scholarship for the past few months and that means she needs to speak.

“You don’t have a play tape for her this year. I think you have to rely very much on what you can tell the coach, ”said Williams, a 12th grade security guard with the Argyle Pipers in North Vancouver. “I think they rely on these conversations. It’s different for humans than it has been in years past. It kind of sucks. You want to be able to show them what you’re doing on the pitch. You still have to find a way to connect with them. “

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university sports were limited to practicing. The football season and other fall sports were canceled entirely, and BC School Sports announced on February 2 that the winter season’s provincial championships – which include all BC basketball – have been canceled.

There is hope that some limited game action between regional rivals in high school basketball could take place in the coming months, but it is far from certain.

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The 12th grade still wants to play at the next level in the next season. There are players who have shown enough in the past to be eligible for scholarships. The Semiahmoo Totems Trio by Deja Lee, Izzy Forsyth and Tara Wallack comes to mind as the ones who managed to cement this. The next levels after them have been looking for what they can get.

Williams recently said she felt like she was about to land something. She didn’t go into details. It doesn’t sound like it was easy.

“We practice almost every day. It’s just drills with no contact. You can’t play defense, ”she says. “I miss the feeling of competing with someone else.

“I think the knowledge that I could potentially play college basketball got me pretty motivated. I want to keep training and get better and better. “

NORTH VANCOUVER, BC.  Aiko Williams, one of the best 12th grade players in the province who doesn't have a scholarship yet ..................... (Photo credit: Francis Georgian / Postmedia), Vancouver.  Vancouver Reporter:, (Contributor to Francis Georgian / PNG [PNG Merlin Archive] For Aiko Williams, senior high school in North Vancouver, this basketball season meant daily hands-free practice. “You can’t play defense. I miss the feeling of competing with someone else. ‘ Photo by Francis Georgian /.PNG

It’s difficult for high school players just as it is difficult for college coaches. Canadian universities are not allowed to visit recruits on campus under U Sports rules. It’s often the final point of connection for players and coaches, says Scott Clark, the bank chief for the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s basketball team.

“Without the visit, you might do a little bit in the dark and maybe I’ll do a little bit in the dark,” says Clark. “Both parties are innocent enough in this. It’s nobody’s fault. That’s what we’ve been looking at this year. “

UBC Thunderbirds basketball coach Deb Huband claims that the fact that we can’t have campus visits “forced us to find new ways”. She talks about virtual on-campus recruiting visits and “lots of interactions with Zoom”.

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Dominic Parolin, a former Centennial Centaurs hoop star who is currently in his first season with the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, visited his campus there via video conferencing woman camera work. It was unique when Parolin told this story last spring. It’s becoming the norm.

“I hope we can all take advantage of the technology,” says Huband. “I think it shows us that you don’t have to be face to face to make a connection.”

UBC Thunderbirds basketball coach Deb Huband is two wins less than 300 for her coaching career at the West Canada conference.  (Bob Frid, UBC Athletics) [PNG Merlin Archive] Deb Huband, UBC Thunderbirds basketball coach. (Photo: Bob Frid, UBC Athletics Files)

Also in the game is the fact that the university leagues are granting the current senior classes additional years of eligibility for this missed season. So there will surely be some teams where the players will play again in the fall that they had not planned even six months ago.

“It’s hard. Where are they all going?” SFU women’s basketball coach Bruce Langford says of this year’s high school players.

Huband says recruiting could be even more difficult at some level over the next year. University coaches would have been given information about this year’s grade 12, which they had considered grade 11 last year. With probably no games this season, the high school class will have a lot of unknowns for college coaches next year.

“There were all skills and no opportunities to compete. It will be interesting to see how that affects the players in the future, ”said Huband.

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