Doing Denman Island Proud

Howard Tsumura, The Province
Published: Thursday, March 01, 2007


Young Adair a block party waiting to happen
What a prospect! Averaging almost a triple-double, young blocker
to join UBC.


Nick Adair is too young to be a legend, but when he graduates this spring from Courtenay's G.P. Vanier Secondary, it's going to be a long time before a more dominating rebounder and shot blocker graces the gyms of Vancouver Island.Adair, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound phenom who is averaging 21 points,16 rebounds and eight blocked shots per game this season, told The Province that he will join the Canada West powerhouse UBC Thunderbirds next season."He still doesn't know how good he is or how athletic he is," said Vanier head coach Larry Street, who remembers Adair getting so high off the court last season that he bruised his elbow on the rim while blocking a shot. Added UBC head coach Kevin Hanson of Adair, who will enroll in UBC's engineering department: "He had 19 blocks in a game last week. I don't care where you're playing, that is an amazing feat. He's almost averaging a triple double. The upside I see in Nick is incredible. You can use that old cliche about a diamond in the rough, but I call Nick a gem because he already does so many intangible things." Adair's primary focus is on getting his team to the Telus B.C. championships, a treacherous path that begins today (3 p.m.) at Victoria's Mt. Douglas Secondary when the Towhees face the Claremont Spartans. The top two Island teams advance to the provincials, so Vanier will be battling the likes of Dover Bay and Oak Bay for the coveted
spots.

As he prepared for his senior season of high school, Adair admitted that he has tried to develop more facets to his game, both to help the Towhees and to make him a more varied threat at the CIS level. But he can't help but admit he's most comfortable in the middle of the fray. "Last year I just played inside," he said. "This year I wanted to show I could score more and play more on the outside. I've worked a lot on my jumper. But it's frustrating because really, I just love to get in there and bang around inside." UBC is just waiting for the block party to begin.
© The Vancouver Province 2007