DRIVE Basketball :: Retro MVP

"Playing with him, and against him everyday for three years taught me so many things about the game, because he is not only the quickest player I have ever played against, but he did everything at such game speed, something I thought I was doing in high school."

On Clemson's former All-ACC guard Will Solomon.

"I think young players in B.C. need to find guys that are older than them and have played the game at a high level to teach them some things and act as mentors for them as basketball players."

"Education is something that every player here in B.C. needs to take seriously and realize is going to be more and more important as they grow older."

Check out admission requirements and websites for the 6 CIS schools in B.C. come 2005.

UBC, SFU, UVIC, TWU, University College of Cariboo, UCFV.

"There is no reason why we don’t send more guys to University on a basketball scholarship."

"If you truly want to succeed at basketball, you have to play it all year long and seek out the right coaching, competition, and support."

PASHA BAINS: 1998 BC AAA MVP - Richmond Colts

Our second installment of Retro MVP features DRIVE’s very own Pasha Bains. Pasha won the 1998 AAA Provincial Championship as a member of the Richmond Colts. He averaged 35 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, while winning the 1998 AAA MVP. He then went on to play at NCAA Division I Clemson University in the ACC, and CIS Simon Fraser University. Next season he will suit up as a member of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in the CIS.

DRIVE: What is your greatest memory from High School?

PB: I used to think my greatest memory would always be winning the AAA Provincial Championships at the Agrodome. But as the memory distances itself a little bit, I’m starting to realize my fondest memories are not so much winning the championship, but what it took to win that championship. It was almost as if winning was just icing on the cake because no matter what happened we knew we had fully dedicated ourselves to being a great team and had put in hundreds of hours of work to get to where we were at. Definitely all the morning workouts with Coach Disbrow and friends like Atnas Maeko (St. Mary’s football) and Gil Cheung (Asst. Coach Brandon University) are lasting memories because I can remember how much we loved just being in the gym. Whether it was working on drills, playing tips, doing imitations of pro basketball players, or playing one on one cut-throat, we just spent most of our days playing hoops and this is why I think we were able to succeed in high school on and off the court.

DRIVE: Who are some of the best player’s you’ve faced?

PB: I’ve been lucky to go against some good player’s so far, but the player that completely sticks out is my teammate at Clemson, Will Solomon. Will basically taught me how to play basketball at a really hard level. Playing with him, and against him everyday for three years taught me so many things about the game, because he is not only the quickest player I have ever played against, but he did everything at such game speed, something I thought I was doing in high school.

This is one of the biggest things we try to teach kids at DRIVE, Chad and I both know first hand what kind of jump it is from B.C. High School basketball to University basketball, we try to let kids know the things we wish we knew before we got to University. I know for me personally, I think I was a completely different basketball player from the time I was at Clemson, to when I left, and now. There are so many things I wish I knew before I got to Clemson that would have helped me tremendously. These things are not all technically related, a lot of the psychological skills and things like taking care of your body and going hard in your extra work-outs, are attributes that we try to teach at DRIVE. We think by working with the younger fellas, we can teach them some of the things we learned in University so they can be one step ahead of the game.

DRIVE: What advice would you give young players growing up in B.C.?

PB: I always try to relate personal experiences instead of giving direct advice because I think it is the most applicable. I know for me personally, I don’t know where I would be without the game of basketball. Going to Richmond High in High School basically changed my life and taught me the value of hard work and how much commitment it truly takes to be good at something. I learned that playing basketball really helps your time management because the more I started playing basketball, the better I started doing in school, and the more confident I became in myself. Playing hoops really kept me away from a lot of things in high school, it was almost as if I was so busy, I had no time to do anything else. I am really proud of the “Breakfast Club” at DRIVE University because Atnas and I truly woke up every am at 6 o’clock to play 2 hours of hoops before school even started. On some days when we had a test or assignment, we would bring our schoolwork into the gym with us, shoot a little bit, then study a little bit; there was no way we were going to stay away from the gym.

Having people older than me helping me out in High School was something that I will be thankful for the rest of my life. I think young players in B.C. need to find guys that are older than them and have played the game at a high level to teach them some things and act as mentors for them as basketball players. I know for me personally, watching and playing with and against players like Andrew Mavis, Kyle Russell, and Gil Cheung, taught me more about the game than any other thing ever did in High School. This is why I think young players need to seek out opportunities to play with and against better players. Something that I realized when I got to University was that it doesn’t mean anything to be the best player in your school, city, etc, because there is always a bigger picture; there is constantly something you can and should be reaching towards.

Having older people to model is important off the court also. I was lucky enough to have an older brother growing up four years ahead of me. Seeing him and his friends go to University and get good jobs gave me people to model and try to emulate. This helped me see the logical steps of getting into University, etc. first-hand in High School. I truly don’t know if I would have realized University was even possible if I didn’t have guys a little bit older than me to ask questions to and try to learn from.

Young guys growing up in B.C. also need to realize that there are hundreds of colleges that will pay for them to go to their University or College and get an education. This is something that I really took for granted my first few years of University, but young players need to realize this is the key to their future. Not until the 3rd of 4th year of University did I realize how lucky I was to be getting paid to go to school. With the addition of a couple of CIS teams here in B.C. there will be six CIS teams in British Columbia. The profile of basketball is rising tremendously here in B.C. at the high school and University level, and we have to realize that there is going to be six CIS schools in B.C. alone that will be willing to pay players to get an education. In addition to this, there are hundreds of Colleges in Canada and the U.S. that will give basketball scholarships. Kids here need to realize that although the NBA would be great, you don’t have to go to the NBA or a huge school in the U.S. to get a free education. Once in University you have a chance to play in some really intense and exciting games, find coursework that really appeals to you, travel the world, and make some great friends playing basketball. In early Junior High, I didn’t even think I would ever make it to University, now I am in Graduate Studies and am a teaching assistant at UBC, playing, and helping coach basketball at the same time. All of these things would not have happened without the game. Education is something that every player here in B.C. needs to take seriously and realize is going to be more and more important as they grow older.

I definitely think young players also need to get their families involved in their basketball lives. There were times in Elementary school and Junior High where I would kind of hide my basketball from my parents, for whatever reason. Once I got my family involved and let them see how much basketball was changing my view on school, hard work, commitment, and my whole life in general, I started to fully realize how rewarding of an experience playing basketball could be. My parents began taking an invested interest in what I was doing and started coming out to all the games. It became a “family thing,” they were really involved in the game. They made my house a place where all my teammates could come play video games, watch basketball on T.V., or just hang out and wait for the next chance to get out on that court.

DRIVE: What can we expect from DRIVE and why did it start?

PB: DRIVE Basketball is something that Chad and I have been talking about for a couple of years now. Being at UBC together and both sitting out this season has really given us a chance to get involved in the grassroots development of the game in British Columbia. Coaching the kids in DRIVE is definitely the most rewarding experience I have ever had around the game of basketball. I was so fortunate to have people helping me out in High School that I felt like it only made sense to give back and get involved in the game here in B.C. I truly think that players growing up in B.C. have a chance to do some great things in the game of basketball. There is no reason why we don’t send more guys to University on a basketball scholarship. The game is growing tremendously around these parts and Chad and I just want to be part of it and share some of the knowledge we have gained through all the years of playing. For me personally, I am grateful to take things I have learned from such great coaches at Richmond High, Clemson, SFU, UBC, and the National Program, and really try to pass them on to our DRIVE campers. DRIVE is essentially a way for us to act as mentors to the new players coming up. We can share our thoughts on University and what it truly takes to get to the next level. We want to try to help players grow and get better, and try to receive a scholarship to play basketball and go to school.

I couldn’t thank the campers, parents and other supporters of DRIVE enough for their continued support and dedication to helping DRIVE grow. The feedback has not only been great, but it has truly made it all the more worthwhile. We have already met a bunch of amazing people who have helped get DRIVE off the ground and running. I sincerely want to thank TJ Johal from Sports Unlimited, Matt McKay from New Balance, Barry Kerfoot from Elgin Park, Jeff McFarland from Earl Marriot, the DeKoster’s, Mike McLean, Bill Disbrow from Richmond High, Aaron Mitchell from STM, Sean Stewart from SFU, Kyle Wilson, Tyrell Mara from WRCA, B.C. Lion Bobby Singh, and everyone else that is already offering such great support and becoming involved with the DRIVE program. Everyone we have met so far has been so supportive and have gone out of their way to offer help with DRIVE, it truly means a lot.

We are lucky enough to have a great Strength and Conditioning coach in Isaac Payne involved in our program. I truly believe Isaac has the potential to be a Tim Grover type around here in B.C. for helping young players in their strength and conditioning development for becoming a better athlete. The feedback that he received from the University was tremendous. We are very fortunate to have him in our program, hopefully more kids will be able to work him and realize the immense benefits of plyo-metric and strength training in becoming a better overall athlete.

DRIVE: You are now a T-Bird, how is it going and what should we expect for the future?

PB: UBC is just a very complete institution. Everything about the school from the facilities, to the campus life, and amazing support staff make it a special place to be. The basketball team has had great success the last few years and we just hope to come in and help build on the success and foundation that Coach Hanson and the fellas have already established. With DRIVE up and running and the team playing so well this year, we are very excited about the future of UBC Basketball. I am thoroughly enjoying this year’s run at a CIS Championship, and am ecstatic about getting the chance to play my last year of college basketball for UBC next year with Chad and the fellas. The support that the basketball team gets at UBC is unparalleled. I just consider myself very fortunate to be part of the program here. My long-term goal is to get involved in coaching the game, I couldn’t think of a better situation than working on my Master’s degree in Coaching Science and learning from Coach Hanson, both as a player and a coach.

DRIVE: Any last comments?

PB: I just want to encourage all players growing up B.C. to get actively involved in the game on a year long basis. If you truly want to succeed at basketball, you have to play it all year long and seek out the right coaching, competition, and support. There are some great club programs growing here in B.C. that offer the chance to play basketball all year long, I encourage players to get involved with DRIVE or other programs that offer kids a chance to grow both as players and as people.

Good luck to everyone as they prepare for their seasons..Go T-Birds!!!!!!!!

See the 1st installment of Retro MVP with Kyle Wilson (2001 BC AAA MVP) here.