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“Willie was one of our best players all summer. By the time Nationals came around he was playing his best ball. When you have the ability to knock down open perimeter shots, put the ball the floor, and finish everything above the rim you have you self a pretty good basketball player. I think that when Willie learns how to play the game then he’ll pretty much be impossible to stop.”
- U-17 Coach Chad Clifford
(Pictured: Willie Galick brings the ball up the court during AA action at the provincials last season.)
“I couldn't have asked for a better, or more experienced coaching staff. Coach Allen constantly pushed me to play to my full potential at every moment of the game. Coach Goulet demonstrated his amazing teaching skills, and passion for playing the game the right way...
- Willie Galick, Sr. Cedar
Willie Galick is on our 1st team All BC Team Selection. He recently commited to Pepperdine University which competes in the highly competitive West Coast Conference (WCC).
"BIG WILLIE" - WILLIE GALICK: SENIOR FORWARD CEDAR HIGH
We would like to introduce everyone to Willie Galick, the phenom basketball player from Cedar high school. When you look at this physical specimen it’s easy to see that he’s man among boys. When you watch him play on the court he’ll amaze you with his shear athleticism and fierce put back dunks. His numbers are outstanding when you consider he averaged 33 and 15 last season as a junior. So why has it taken so long for people to recognize Willie Galick as one of the premier players in BC this year. It may be because he plays at a small AA school (Cedar High), or may be it’s because he’s from a small town on the island. One thing is for sure however, Division 1 schools have taken notice of this man child. “Off the top of my head the schools that have contacted me recently are Santa Clara, Utah, UC Santa Barbara, Eastern Washington, Pacific, Idaho State, University of Michigan, Northern Colorado, Pepperdine, and Cornell. I quickly narrowed that list down to 3 schools, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, and Idaho State.”
Big Willie is known as a bruiser with impressive physical skills. He is also an emphatic rebounder that displays tremendous quickness off the floor on the second and third hop. He demonstrates a lot of touch
for a big man on offense, and has an improving jumper. All of these skills were evident when he played for team BC this past summer. We asked Chad Clifford the U-17 assistant coach what he thought of Willie and he simply said. “Willie was one of our best players all summer. By the time Nationals came around he was playing his best ball. When you have the ability to knock down open perimeter shots, put the ball the floor, and finish everything above the rim you have you self a pretty good basketball player. I think that when Willie learns how to play the game then he’ll pretty much be impossible to stop.” Big Will knows he has a lot of room for improvement and he’s always trying to work on his game. The ultra athletic big man knows what it takes to get better. “I work on my game all the time. I'm constantly playing 1 on 1 against the guards on my team so I could work on my foot speed. I'm in the gym 5 days a week, at least 2 hours a day. To help my game I weight lift 6 days a week, I also Stretch almost everyday, to help my flexibility and overall athleticism.” Willie is a determined kid with the passion and desire to get better.
Willie credits much of his success to his coaches that have worked with him over the years, especially his coaches from the under 17 team. “I couldn't have asked for a better, or more experienced coaching staff. Coach Allen constantly pushed me to play to my full potential at every moment of the game. Coach Goulet demonstrated his amazing teaching skills, and passion for playing the game the right way. Then Coach Clifford, he’s a player’s coach, we related to him well because he played at such a high level and is still a really good player. It really made me realize how good I have to be to play at the next level, and then some. With this deadly trio of coaching we weren't just 12 kids on a provincial team, we were a force on the court that couldn't be stopped.” The under 17 team only lost 3 games all summer and only one of those games was against Canadian competition.
We asked him what the craziest antic that a school has done so far to show how interested they are in him. He grins and says, “ Well I think it's crazy that these 
coaches’s are coming up on just day trips to visit me. They are coming up in the morning on a 7am flight, and then leaving later in the evening. Especially since I’m from the Island, I don't expect people to make those kinds of trips to see me. It just shows that those coaches are willing to go the extra mile to recruit me. It makes me feel good.” Willie just gave a verbal commitment to Pepperdine and he explains why he chose them over the other schools that were so interested in his services. “There were so many reasons to pick Pepperdine, what it really came down to was the Education I was going to receive, and how the team looked for the future. The team is really what it came down to between the schools. The guys were just awesome, they are such a tight nit group of individuals. They all just got along so well and really accepted me while I was there. A couple even have sent me E-mails to me in the last week to see how I was doing and how the trip went for me. Just felt right with those guys.” Now that the recruiting process is over Willie is ecstatic about this upcoming season and he’s looking forward to bringing the provincial championship back to his hometown. Building from his awesome summer experience where he was a 1st team all-star at nationals, Big Willie can’t wait to show the rest of BC that he’s the real deal.
We want to wish Willie the best of luck this coming season and in the future at NCAA Division 1 Pepperdine University.
