2011-2012 BCCAA Recruiting Classes
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BRITISH COLUMBIA- The follow are the current recruiting classes for each team in the BCCAA.
CAMOSUN
A.J. Beaudry (6-3 W Winnipeg-River East Collegiate); James Blandford (6-5 F Victoria-Stelly’s); Joe Jennings (6-7 F Airdrie, Alta.-Bert Church); Amit Khatkar (5-11 G Victoria-Claremont); Chris LeQuesne (5-10 G Victoria-Belmont); Jason Nenzel (6-1 G Parksville-Ballenas); Greg Partington (6-6 F Victoria-Spectrum); Demeko Simons (5-7 G Victoria-Mount Douglas); Desmond Slack (6-1 G Victoria-Claremont)
Camosun finished sixth in the BCCAA last season with a 8-10 record, and have revamped their roster by bringing in nine new players. The Chargers will be a young team this season, but have a solid group of recruits to work with. The Coaching Staff did a good job securing local talent by bringing in seven players from the island.
The two out of province recruits that Camosun is bringing in next season are A.J. Beaudry from Winnipeg and Joe Jennings from Alberta. Beaudry redshirted last season with Division 2 Mayville State University in the Dakota Athletic Conference. Jennings is an exciting player and can play both ends of the floor, he was also named to the England U18 mens basketball team in 2010.
QUEST
Dylan Kular (6-3 G Abbotsford-W.J. Mouat, Kwantlen); Piero Simovic (6-1 G Nanaimo-Wellington); Sunny Johal (6-8 F Abbotsford-W.J. Mouat); Justin Tryon (6-3 F Qualicum Beach-Kwalikum); Mo Dadfar (6-5 F Port Moody-Heritage Woods); Josh Beasley (6-1 G Abbotsford-W.J. Mouat); Gurminder Kang (6-3 G, Abbotsford-WJ Mouat)
Quest is looking to make its first BCCAA playoff appearance and should have a good chance to do so this season; they have a solid mix of veterans and young players. Last season Quest finished the season 6-12.
The Kermodes did a great job of recruiting three of the starting five of Mouats team that finished fourth at the 2011 AAA provincials. They brought in Mouats athletic forward in Sunny Johal, their versatile tough shooting guard in Gurminder Kang, and a hardworking guard on both ends of the floor in Josh Beasley. Quest also brought in another Mouat product who played last season at Kwantlen college in Dylan Kular.
This squad rounds out its recruiting with Piero Simovic, Justin Tryon, and Mo Dadfar.
VANCOUVER ISLAND
Greg Gillies (6-5 F Nanaimo-Dover Bay, SFU); Jason Mckee (6-5 F Nanaimo-Dover Bay); Jarryd Engevik (6-5 F Nanaimo-Cedar); Trevor Davidson (6-2G Nanaimo-Dover Bay)
VIU finished last season first place in the BCCAA with a record of 17-1, and brings in four new players to help the Mariners win a CCAA championship, a feat they came just short of last season.
VIU has brought in a big time impact player in Greg Gillies. Gillies had a good career at SFU and is now making a return to the game with the Mariners this season. Greg is a strong player who has a high basketball IQ and will be a force on both ends of the floor. Joining Gillies is Jason McKee and Jarryd Engevik who are both big kids and should also make a impact with VIU this season. The final recruit for the Mariners is Trevor Davidson who had a great high school career with Dover Bay. Davidson is a good scorer who has a tonne of experience playing in big games.
NORTHERN B.C.
Billy Cheng (5-7 PG, Richmond-R.C. Palmer); Kevan Madsen (6-10 F, Prince George-Kelly Road); Gabe Aubertin (6-6 F, Kettle Falls, Wash.-Peninsula College); Charles Barton (6-3 F, Vernon-Clarence Fulton, Thompson Rivers)
UNBC is also on a hunt for CCAA gold this season; they are coming off a great year where they finsished second in the BCCAA with a record of 16-2 and have brought in a very strong recruiting class.
The one true rookie that is joining the Timberwolves, Billy Cheng, comes from RC Palmer where he was the starting point guard, and floor general of a great offensive Palmer team. Cheng also won defensive player at the AAA provincials. Joining Cheng is three players who all have experience playing at the college level. Charles Barton is transferring to the UNBC program after playing two seasons with TRU. Barton is a great athlete with CIS level experience. One player UNBC will be happy to see back in action with the wolves is big man Kevan Madsen, he was BCCAA rookie of the year in 2010 and after a year off from playing basketball due to academic ineligibility he is returning to UNBC. Madsen is one of the biggest players in the CCAA at 6’10 and is a big time impact player. The final UNBC recruit is Gabe Aubertin.
LANGARA
Brody Greig (6-1 G Richmond-R.A. McMath); Ranjodh Hare (6-4 F Richmond-R.C. Palmer); Jitinder Lohcham (6-7 F Vancouver-David Thompson, UFV); Vince Tolentino (6-3 G/F Vancouver College)
Langara is hoping that their new recruits will be enough to push them into the elite teams of the BCCAA. Last season Langara fell a bit short of playoffs with a 7-11 record.
The Falcons are bringing in a strong class of players; leading this class are two big active players in Jotinder Lohcham and Ranjodh Hare. Lochham is a skilled big man who has experience playing at the CIS level with UFV, he is a very good offensive player who can score in a variety of ways. Hare is a rebounding machine, he is a very high energy player who has a real motor and goes hard all game. Hare comes off winning a AAA championship with RC Palmer where he was named a first team all star. The other two recruits for Langara are Brody Greig and Vince Tolentino.
DOUGLAS
Navjot Bains (6-5 PF Surrey-Tamanawis); Gagan Sahota (6-5 SF Surrey-Tamanawis); Karan Bains (6-2, PG Surrey-Tamanawis), Keith Nath (6-3 F Vancouver-Killarney)
Douglas had a 9-9 record last season and made the playoffs; they are bringing in four new recruits. The Royals are bringing in three players from Tamanawis high school who just helped lead Tamanawis to the AAA provincials. The three Tamanawis recruits all have good size and should be ready to contribute for the Royals right away. Royals also added Keith Nath who is returning to basketball after some time away, he last played with Capilano College.
CAPILANO
Wes Dekleer (6-4 GF North Vancouver – Argyle); John Leong (5-11 G North Vancouver-Handsworth); Rob Hougard (6-6 F Port Coquitlam-Terry Fox); Graeme McCallum (6-3 G Port Coquitlam-Terry Fox, Red Deer CCAA); Tyler Lutton (6-3 G Coquitlam-Pinetree, Acadia CIS); Omid Davani Pourmomen (6-4 G/F Port Coquitlam-Terry Fox, Victoria CIS); Sam Zhang (6-4 F, Douglas)
Capilano’s recruiting class brings a good mix of experienced CIS recruits and high school standouts. The Blues are looking to improve last seasons league record of 13-5
Capilano has added three players who have some great experience; two who played at the CIS level with Omid Davani and Tyler Lutton and also a CCAA standout in Graeme McCallum. Omid is a great athlete who has a lot of versatility and can guard and play multiple positions, he should thrive in Caps system and have a great season. Another player who should thrive in Caps system is Tyler Lutton; he is a big point guard who played with the national championship Douglas team in 2008, and played at the CIS level with Acadia. Lastly, the Blues added Graeme McCallum. Graeme was a huge contributor and leader on the Douglas college CCAA championship team, and is a great player on both ends of the floor. Graeme brings all the basketball intangibles, and he is a great competitor and leader; expect him to have a big season with Cap.
Other high school stars who are joining Cap in the fall are Wes Dekleer who also played with the basketball BC program and John Leong. The final two recruits of this strong group are Sam Zhang who is transfering from Douglas and Rob Hougard is returning to Cap.
COLUMBIA BIBLE
Kevin Ford (6-0 G Seattle-Kent-Meridian); Des O’Brien (5-11 G Kelowna-Mt Boucherie); Darrell Popken (6-4 F Abbotsford-Yale); Wilson Willock (6-1 G Hope)
Columbia Bible College is coming off a season where they finished tied last in the BCCAA with a 1-17 record. CBC hired a new coach in Dave Martens and brought in four new recruits.
Darrell Popken leads this class of recruits, he is a athletic active forward who won a AAA championship with Yale. The class of recruits CBC is bringing in are all entering their first year of playing college basketball, but still should help CBC improve their 1-17 record.
KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC
Aaron Ram (6-3 G North Delta-Seaquam); Chris Archangel (6-0 PG, Windsor, Ont.-Catholic Central); David Poole (6-6 F Southfield, Mich.-West Bloomfield); Gurpal Mann (6-4 F Surrey-Queen Elizabeth); Peter Mark Mitchell (6-2 G/F, Windsor Ont.-Catholic Central, St. Clair CCAA); Steven Adusei (5-8 PG North Delta-Seaquam, Douglas); Tristan Gruenthaler (6-6 F Abbotsford-Yale); William Takyi-Prah (6-3 G Vancouver-St. George’s)
Last season for Kwantlen was one to forget as they finished tied last in the league with a record of 1-17. This season Kwantlen has brought in 8 new recruits and a new coach in Stefon Wilson who was an assistant with SFU last season. The Eagles have brought in two players from out of province and one from out of the Country to help improve the team.
David Poole is from Detriot, Michigan and has good size and athleticism. From what I have read and heard, Poole is a very versatile player who is expected to have a big impact on the team immediately. The two out of province players the Eagles have brought in are Chris Archangel and Peter Mark Mitchell. Kwantlen also brought in some solid local talent in Aaron Ram, Gurpal Mann, Steven Adusei, Tristan Gruenthaler and William Takyi-Prah
