DRIVE Basketball :: Boys of Summer

(Pictured: The 2004 BC under 17 team was one of the most successful in BC history. Coached by Scott Allen (above left) the team only lost 3 games the entire summer and only 1 of those was to Canadian competition.)

BOYS OF SUMMER

This past summer was one to remember for our Under 17 boy’s provincial team. If you ask anyone who had the opportunity to see them play this summer, they will tell you that they were an absolute joy to watch. The teams beautiful ball movement coupled with fierce interior play and their ability to knock it in from downtown was a deadly combination. In the prestigious Las Vegas BIG TIME tournament the team went an unprecedented 4-1, the best showing of any U-17 team in the last 10 years. The team ended up losing only three games the entire summer, and two of those were to top ranked AAU programs in the States. DRIVE was fortunate enough to have a chance to talk to a few of these players and ask them how their experience was representing British Columbia this summer.

Sean Burke, the head smart point guard from Argyle talked about his summer experience. “It was an amazing experience to play for the Provincial team. This summer I learned a lot playing at a very high level with constant competition.” When we asked Brett Leversage, the dynamic combo guard for Delta what he enjoyed most from the provincial team he was quick to answer. “Of the 4 provincial teams I’ve played on, this past summer was the best. It was nice that we only lost 3 games all summer, but it was a good group of players and coaches that made the summer as good as it was.” Both of these guards were key contributors to the team’s success this summer.

A major factor in this team’s success this summer was the versatility of their big men. Willie Galick and Jacob Doerksen were both capable of knocking down the outside shot and their toughness inside around the hoop, gave them the edge on their opposition. (Galick is currently being heavily recruited by many NCAA Division 1 programs such as Pepperdine, Santa Clara, Eastern Washington, and more.) We asked him what he learned this summer from playing with BC’s best and he responded with a mantra that all young basketball players should take to heart, “I learned that I must play every second on the court with passion and heart, when you watch a whole team play with that, they win, simple as that.”

As these talented players enter their senior years, they are looked upon by the next generation of players coming up in BC. So we asked Burke if he had any advice for the up and comer's playing ball. He responded with a very informative quote. “The best advice I could give upcoming b ball players would be - Don't settle for what you have, there’s always room for improvement. You could be the best player in your school, city, or even province, however, there’s always someone who is going to be quicker, smarter, faster, more athletic than you are, and if at anytime you settle for what you have, there’s someone else out there who’s going to beat you.”

This year’s Under 17 provincial team was one to remember. The young, talented group of twelve worked hard and came together as a team, not a group of individuals. They bought into the philosophy of team first mentality, giving up personal gratification for the betterment of the squad. This mentality jolted them into one of the best Provincial teams that BC has produced in many years. Look for these young superstars in a gymnasium near you this upcoming season.