CTA West’s — Jacob Antchak is a man amongst boys.

Josh Millican: Big fan of your game. I’ve been watching your highlights for a long time. I haven’t got the chance to see you in person yet. But I’ve been a big fan of your game for a couple of years now. And we’ll get right into it. I won’t take up too much of your time. Jacob Antchak, 6’8, CTA West, one of the top dogs in Canada right now. A top 10 prospect in my books. No doubt. Can you tell everybody about a little bit about your high school career, their journey so far? Where you’ve played? What are keys to your development? Just speak on your high school career a little bit. So everyone have a little bit of context before we get into the interview?

Jacob Antchak: Yeah, for sure. So a lot of people that are close to me know that I’ve kind of gone around a little bit. I started at Walnut Grove, which is like just down the road for me, you know, you go down, take a right take a left and you’re there. And I went to LBA, which is close to you guys. Right. So I played under Angelo, and then Tiki was there and all that Cam was there. So that was a lot of fun. Even like, Deng, you know, those kinds of guys. And then I went to Wasatch. And that was down in Utah in the middle of Mount Pleasant, Anthony. For other people in Canada. They’d know, Anthony. Anthony Wrzezcz. Yeah. He’s a great guy. He’s down at Sam Houston right now. And then I went up to CTA West. in Calgary, right from there, actually, same year. So the one year, I was at three spots, but I’m happy where I am now. I’ve got a great coach and Adam Huffman. And so that’s kind of where I’m at. Right.

JM: What was the experience like going from London, Ontario, to Utah. Now to Calgary? You’re born in Langley? BC correct?

JA: Yeah, no, I’m born in Abbotsford. But I grew up in Langley.

JM: Abbotsford BC. So like, you’ve been around the map and back. What’s that been like traveling around for multiple years of high school. Most kids go to high school for four years at the same school. What’s it been like? traveling back and forth like that?

JA: It’s actually been a pleasure. Because I went to London. I went prep like, 16 years old, right? So I went like kind of young. Most people go for their post grad year to prep or whatever. But actually, the person who really pushed me towards it was Elias who used to work at North Pole groups, obviously he helped me and he said, Angelo was a great coach and the Tiki was there and everything. I can’t turn this opportunity down. Went there, great family feeling, great program. It was everything it was said to be right. But then I had an opportunity arise. Wasatch. Like, okay, I’ll head there. Went there kind of off of a whim. And it was, I don’t know, like, it was interesting. You go from one of the biggest cities in you know, Canada, you go from like Vancouver to London. That’s not that big of a change. It’s pretty urban, right? And you go, like, the bushes. Like it was weird. And the elevation change. Like I’m used to like sea level stuff, right?

JA: Yeah, so Anthony will tell you this too, right? Like the elevation when you first get there. Like I puked. Like, we ran lines. But first time I was there. Like as soon as my dad left, we started, just like they were doing conditioning. And then I just was like, like, I passed out. Like, I looked like, it was bad. I looked like I was completely out of shape. It was horrible. Because just the elevation was so bad, you know? But yeah, you’re in the middle of nowhere. Basically, just ball. You’re in this like little dome. Like you can’t see Salt Lake City. You’re surrounded by mountains, and there’s this little overpass that just goes over the mountain just like that. So that was Utah left there went to Calgary, another highly elevated place. But when you’re coming from Utah, I was like it wasn’t so bad. Just really cold. Basically, you’re over the mountains and then you can kind of see the prairies start to flatten out a little bit. So geographically I was kind of used to it, you’re near the mountains, whatever. But the basketball culture, I was completely new to it. I came in and I was like, I had no idea what to expect. So even now, I think it’s more of a growing culture. I’m not too involved with a lot of Calgary basketball, but no, I’ve loved it so far. I feels like a second home with the people that are there. So like Ian and Lance are two trainers there. Those are like brothers to me, man and even our team, like last year with CTA West. I won’t lie that it wasn’t like when I went there last year wasn’t the like we weren’t great. But it was one of the best group of guys I’ve been with and then this year, we got a lot better. 

JM: That’s great, man. It’s it’s crazy having a journey like that, because it’s a very different journey from a lot of different high school players. And you seem to be doing really well. And like you said, the trainer’s are like your brothers. And you can tell by the way you’re built right now your your brick shithouse. So just next next question I got for you is what’s the hardest part about being a Canadian prospect trying to get recruited? What are some of the challenges you’ve overcome? Like you see kids in the States, you’re at Wasatch, you probably see multiple coaches in the gym and your practices, high level, high major, mid majors, low majors, all kinds of coaches, all different walks of life, coming through to Wasatch gym. And then you come up to lunch LBA or a CTA West. And I know it’s those are very accredited schools, but they’re not, they’re not getting the recruitment that you would in the states. 

JA: Yeah. Man, the hardest part about being a Canadian kid is just that, like any international player, like I’ve met guys from Europe, too, is that you don’t get the same shape. Like guys that are local, like, so imagine this right? Like even when I go to runs locally, and you go to like, let’s say like a USports school invites you out like UBC invites you out or whatever, you get a chance to perform in front of these schools, whenever right? So for these American kids to even when they’re just working out in the summer, and they know this player, this player, their brother played at some university, it’s like, okay, you’re sitting next to these university coaches, you get to go scrimmage and go to these runs. And you might get an offer from a run. You know, I mean, like stuff like that happens.

JA:  Like, you can just be doing anything and there could be a coach in the gym when you’re down in the states, like, those opportunities kind of arise. Whereas in Canada, it’s like, okay, well, now they have to come up and then if they did come up, and then man, if you have even like, like, you can’t have a bad day, if they’re up there, like you can’t because they won’t come back. If they don’t come back, then you’re screwed. Right? 

JM: So sometimes they’re there to see you specifically. So the pressure that you must have on your back is is is immense. And it must be just a whole different lifestyle being a like being a Canadian recruit and trying to get recruited by these D1 schools. But the next question I got for you, Jacob, you get it up here. What separates you from every other Canadian in 2023? What makes you different? What’s something that you can hang your hat on? Night in and night out? That you can bring to the table for a post secondary.

JA: Yeah, well, the first thing that obviously stands out is what everybody points out is my physicals. Like there’s not that many guys that are 6’8, 245 and are as athletic as me. Like there’s guys that are like 610 and are true centers that can like do that kind of stuff like Michael Nwoko is like, you know, I mean, that guy’s a stud he’s down at Prolific but you know, I mean, that’s, that’s a different kind of athlete.

JM: Have you had any Canadians really give you a hard time?

JA: Not really. Usually there’s something that like, another kid, there’ll be some sort of weakness, you can kind of attack you know, I mean, you just got to find it, and a weakness doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad at it, it just means the thing that they’re the worst at. You know, I mean, so, no, I haven’t really had too much trouble with other Canadians, I usually find it’s a little more trouble when you go down the states and then I can deal with one guy like me even two, but when you have to go up against like a forest. It can be tough, right? Especially with you know, like, because you get like four guys that are like built like the same as me. You know, it can be tough.

JM: Especially when the guys built like you playing the playing the two or playing a three, you know what I mean? Because you’re six foot eight and you do really well for yourself as a four man, as a stretch four, you can really do a lot of stuff on the court, but you go down to the states and there’s guys built like you that are dribbling the ball like they’re playing the one so it’s, it’s crazy. 

JA: Yeah. The officiating is different. I prefer playing in the states that way. But yeah, I do because they let you play a little bit more. It’s not as like ticky tacky. I find.

JA: I prefer it that way. Right. But other than that, like, the thing that even got me here was just the the work ethic, man. You know, even from my first North Pole Hoops camp I went to because Elias came out and whatever, the first thing he noticed, was just that I wanted it, you know? So that that’s one thing is people don’t see that as much. Because obviously work ethic happens when people aren’t watching, right. So. But that’s something that you know, anyone that works with me can can testify to I do work my ass off when it comes to this stuff, because it’s my dream. So and then as a result of that, I don’t feel like I have any glaring weakness. I think I can switch between all kinds of positions. Like, I might might not necessarily guard a one to two guard all all game. But if I get switched on to them, it’s not like you know, I mean, it’s fine. Yeah and even on offense, if you asked me to do my job or a certain job, I can get that job done. So, you know, and then also, I have good grades for a prospect. I think my size and stature. And I can talk someone’s damn a year off man. I’m kind of marketable that way. So I think those are kind of the main things that make me stand out. 

JM: Yeah, for sure. So like you’re speaking about the officiating. I wanted to just speak about what’s the biggest difference between playing in the States playing and Calgary playing? Maybe Ontario even? What do you notice? What’s the biggest difference between playing at home and then playing on the road?

JA: Yeah. Playing at home. It’s like, I mean, Western Canada has a reputation for being kind of soft, right. And I think in BC it is the softest like when I played in BC and I watch BC basketball they call very questionable kind of, like what was that calls? in Calgary, not so much. They’re a little more like, they look for like very by the book calls. But it can make for a little bit of like, like mayo bread kind of games is very stale. Whereas like, they won’t let you play as much as in the States, right? Like, it’s just very, like everything gets kind of called. Ontario, Ontario is a mixed bag. I don’t know what to think of Ontario, like it’s like, very up and down. Some games, some atmospheres are amazing. And some of them are like what was going on? I can’t speak a ton on Ontario, because we didn’t play a whole lot. That was mainly as mainly there during COVID. With LBA, we went down to Florida, so I can’t speak a whole ton on that. But what I can say is in America, I think they officiated the best. Even being a Canadian guy and knowing that you’re Canadian, they might call some stuff against you, but it’s pretty minimal for the most part.

JM: Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And then I was gonna say, you got a 3.5 GPA, which is incredibly impressive, even if you’re just straight doing school, but you’re doing basketball on top of this. And not only are you doing basketball, you’re very, very high level prospect. What’s the most difficult part about being a high level prospect, juggling your schoolwork, your basketball, your training, social life, whatever, you have to have a balance right so how difficult has it been for you? Traveling to multiple different schools each year? How difficult has this journey been or has it been? Not difficult for you really at all?

JA: I think it doesn’t get easier you just like, like, it sounds so corny and by the book, but like, you genuinely do get so much stronger and better at what you’re doing. That starts to not feel as hard just because you’re doing it all the time. You know, I mean, first time you pack your bags, you’re leaving. It’s tough, right? Like, you’re leaving my parents, leaving all my friends have to go make new buddies, you know, but wasn’t so bad. LBA was the second family, I think it was the best transition I could have had. That’s the hardest part. Actually, that leads me into that point. The hardest part about being a student athlete to this day, is you miss out on some holidays, you miss out on time with family, friends, all that stuff, right? Like, a lot of my time now you spend responding to coaches or responding to like, it’s more like the business side of basketball. And then it’s all of a sudden, it’s like you get a text from your Dad or text from your Mom, or you try and call them and it’s like, okay, well, I have to go do this. Or by the time you’re done practice, you’re like, man, I gotta rest up, or I gotta head to bed early, or I gotta eat. And then it’s like, you’re eating. You’re trying to talk to him. Like (chewing noise) while you’re trying to frickin talk to him, and it’s not proper, right? So it’s tough. And the other time it’s like, okay, well, I gotta do this, something happened to my car. And so then all of a sudden, it’s like, it seems like the only time you call them is when you need them. And then that’s the wrong thing. Because obviously you love your family. Right. So that’s the toughest part. 

JM: No, that hits close to home for sure. But that’s, that’s good. That’s very good. . What’s it like play for a Canadian coach legend like, like Adam Huffman at CTA West, what’s that been like for you?

JA: I love that guy, man. He’s like, he is my favorite coach I’ve ever had. Like, he got me to learn how to accept a role. He taught me how to buy into a team. He taught me all that kind of stuff. I’m sure you can ask some coaches. I’ve had in the past, I was very stubborn, incredibly stubborn. I was known for that I actually kind of feel bad. Like if I went back to some coaches, I would apologize for how stubborn I was being. Huff presented it in a way or he did it in a way where I could, I just learned like, he just connected with me in a way where he could teach me that stuff. And obviously now if I go to anywhere else, now I apply the same stuff that he taught me. But he’s just instilled values, concepts, all this type of stuff that I would have never ever learned if I never had gone to him. So he’s a legend, man, we put together a good team of guys.

JM: Yes, he does year in and year out. Going off of that, I’d just like to speak a little bit on your recruitment. How’s your recruitment been going? Has Adam helped you with your recruitment at all? Or obviously he has that’s a rhetorical question, but I mean, how has he helped you? What’s going on with your recruitment? Can you speak on a couple of schools that have reached out or interest that you have, if you don’t mind?

JA: Yeah, for sure. Um, so after playing like, there’s the one and the last one I remember was, and I’ll mention some other schools along the way. But the last one I remember is we finished playing some team in California can’t remember which team but the list of schools that had like messaged in like the span of a couple of days, or like two days, three days, it was like Clemson, Wyoming, UC San Diego, Montana State, South Dakota, North Dakota, Merrimack.

JM: what’s going through your head when you get these kind of messages. Man, you’re sitting there. Like after a couple of games you played well, what’s going through your mind when you see these kind of messages rolling?

JA: Those were messages to my coach, they weren’t all to me, but I did get a bunch of stuff on Twitter, like, you’ll see coaches that will like message them they’ll like follow you or whatever. They’ll like something.

JA:. But for the most part, he gets most of the messages. And then they’ll ask for my number and then call me afterwards. But when I get those kinds of messages, it’s like it’s kind of like, man, you know, your work is kind of paying off. But what I do remember is what happened when I pressed off the gas, I do remember when I got my first offer, and then I don’t know it kind of went a little slow. It slowed down a bit. Yeah. And I never forgot that. So now I’m just like, I’m always like striving to be successful. You have to have that fear or kind of like you strive off of the fear of not being successful. You have to almost have a little bit of anxiety like when you get those, so just now it’s not like, okay, I’m done.  

JM: All you’re working for right now is to get this offer to get a go to a school next year. And then you get to the goal school next year, you cannot kick your feet up here. I mean, you know better than anybody that work is way more intensified. And it gets way harder. Now you’re in a University, you’re doing the University level courses, you’ve got all kinds of other distractions and you’re playing at a high level division one school. There’s no, there’s no end destination. It’s got to be every day, like you said, day in and day out just the journey of it, right? There’s no end goal. Unless you’re retired after a 20 year NBA career, whatever it may be, whatever your goals are, but it’s like, it just got to be constant work, right.

JA: And I want to say this too, is the mistake I made when I was first come into Prep and stuff was I wanted to stay at home as long as possible before I had to go. That’s a huge mistake, what you should do is you should actually go down as fast as you can and get to know the coaches get to know the players get to know everybody, because other players are doing that. And they have an advantage over you what season starts all of a sudden coaches cracking a joke with a player and it’s like, oh, it happened before you got inside your preseason, right? And they already have a developed relationship. And you’re like, Okay, well, now I’m coming in. I’m just getting started and all that right? Yeah, you got to develop that relationship as fast as you can. So that’s ultimately what I recommend. Probably what I’m gonna do as soon as I commit, be like when can I get down there? Yeah, you know.

JM: 100% Yeah, get down there, get in the mix, be a part of the culture and the ecosystem and getting that atmosphere. So I’ll wrap it up here. I don’t want to take too much of your time. If you could play on an all Canadian NBA team, you are starting. Who are the other four starters that are going to be on your five on your run? Who would you pay?

JA: I actually had to I write this one down. Obviously, like at PG. Yeah, this one was like no thought, Shai at the one. And then at the two I got Jamal at the three, it was tough, because Wiggins has been hooping obviously. But I love Barrett like I love RJ. So it’s between them. And then I got myself at four. I got Kelly Olynyk at the five because he’s from BC.

JM: I love that Kelly Olynyk pick, that’s good, a solid five man.

JA: I had to pick Kelly too, though, because he’s from BC.

JM: Yeah. And he’s a stud. He’s got the big mop. He’s been in the NBA for like, he’s been in the NBA for over eight, nine years. Yeah, I love that. And then so we’ll just wrap it up here. With about halfway through the season, your high school season, your last year, your senior year, what are your expectations for the rest of season for yourself? And for CTA West, what do you guys think you’re gonna do?

JA: Um, I think that, you know, we’re a team that’s gotten a lot better with time, actually exponentially better. We weren’t very good at the beginning. I just think that the second half of the season. Were pretty good right now. And I think by the end of the season, we’ll be one of the top teams in Canada. That’s kind of the expectation. I think we can do that. like everyone eats and everyone’s playing their role and doing their job like you know, I’ll eat too. So that’s kind of my expectations. Try and be one of the top teams