Boys high school hamper
Howard Tsumura, The Province
Published: Saturday, January 27, 2007
Larry Street agrees that it’s phenomenon, that what is happening with his star player shouldn’t really be happening at all.Just by basketball’s very nature, with bodies converging in the paint and free angles so easily denied, there is no reasonable way to explain what 6-foot-8 Nick Adair of Courtenay’s G.P. Vanier Secondary School is doing as a shot blocker for his No. 9-ranked Towhees this season.
Let’s be honest. Under the ultra-critical eye of say, the stat crew assigned to Houston Rockets’ games, Adair’s eye-popping statistical line score might shrink somewhat. But even that much scrutiny couldn’t do too much damage to what is one of the most incredible statistical seasons the B.C. prep game has ever seen.G.P. Vanier's Nick Adair is averaging a triple-double this season for the No., 9-ranked Towhees.Consider that after Tuesday’s 65-58 win over North Island rival Highland of Comox, Adair was actually averaging a triple-double of 23 points, 20 rebounds and 10 (actually 10.1) blocks per game. Against the rival Raiders, he was credited with 21 points, 19 rebounds and 17 blocked shots.“What amazes me is how many guys keep going at him,” laughed Street on Wednesday. “We have had guys that were so good in the post. I can remember (Nanaimo’s) Gerald Kazanowski was good at blocking shots (in the late 1970s). But Nick is one of very few.” Street admits those numbers won’t likely happen in a post-season atmosphere like the Telus B.C. championship tournament at the PNE Agrodome in March.“That won’t happen in playoffs,” says Street. “But Nick has done this against some very good teams. But even if he doesn’t block their shots, I can tell you that the opposition will be thinking about it when they get in there, and that is the key.” Yes, the ability to alter the opposition’s game plan just based on your presence on the floor. It’s enough of a tease that at least two dominant CIS programs -- the Victoria Vikes and UBC Thunderbirds -- have gone up-island to see for themselves, so often doubling up on the Vanier-Highland games to also see the Raiders’ outstanding guard Ryan MacKinnon, who in the loss to the Towhees registered 27 points and according to Street, more than 10 steals.
The move to FIBA rules next season at the university level means a quicker-paced game and a 24-second shot clock.Yet Adair is athletic and is the kind of player that you can anchor a defence around. Add him alongside Victoria’s Tyler Hass, Mitch Gudgeon and Jacob Doerksen and you’d been hard pressed to get to the rim.
Same thing at UBC where Bryson Kool, Matt Rachar and Cody Berg would love the help.
Yet perhaps the most interesting would be at SFU. With all-everything big man Aaron Christensen set to leave the program after this season, Adair would look great in conjunction with bruisers Nolan Holmes and Greg Wallis.“I think he can be a force right away,” says Street, “because he can rebound with anybody and he is a defensive presence. He’s also better than an 85 per cent student.”Adair’s Grade 11 year saw him adopt the bull-in-the china-shop approach to scoring in the paint. He still needs to extend his shooting range for the CIS game, but Street says it’s improving and that he had added a hook shot to his arsenal.And the rest of the Towhees, who last year were led offensively by the explosive Calvin Westbrook, currently in his first year at NCAA Div. 2 Cal State-Stanislaus?Well, part of the reason that Adair is allowed to freelance offensively is that the Towhees boast three other players that average double-digits in scoring.Mike Greer and Simon Nessman man the two guard spots and each stands at 6-foot-4. Nessman is known for his toughness and Greer has given Vanier enough ball handling ability that the Towhees are able to use their solid overall height to beat pressure defence and traps. And, 6-foot-8 Jay Valeri, who has adapted his game to compliment Adair, often brings the ball up court and is the team’s top three-point shooter. Grade 11s Will Palmer and Graham Peterson are among the players that have alternated in the rotation at the third forward position this season.
