Thirteen years ago, the UNBC Northern Timberwolves basketball teams played their first-ever home games in the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association. In a packed CNC gymnasium, the UNBC squads took on the University College of the Cariboo Sun Demons of Kamloops and lost by scores of 77-62 (women) and 67-63 (men).
Even at that time, then-UNBC president Charles Jago was talking about the Timberwolves one day competing in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union, the forerunner to today's Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
"I don't know when that will be," Jago said. "We do regard ourselves as a university with a national reputation of operating at a national level in every other respect so it would stand to reason that in time our sports program would reflect that."
Last weekend in Kamloops, the Timberwolves began life in the Canada West conference of the CIS when they battled, coincidentally, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack -- the current incarnation of the Sun Demons. And tonight, the T-wolves teams will suit up for more milestone contests. Tonight, they'll play their inaugural home games in the CIS, with the Trinity Western University Spartans of Langley as their opponents.
CNC won't be the host venue this time. The Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre, which opened five years ago and has become a jewel on the local sporting landscape, will provide the backdrop for the arrival of CIS basketball in Prince George.
Basketball fans will be whistling in their showers this morning. Tonight, and for a total of 24 home games (women and men) this season, they'll get the chance to see basketball played at its highest-ever level on local turf.
A word of caution though.
In the past five years especially, the Timberwolves did a heck of a lot of winning at the B.C. college level. The large crowds in the Northern Sport Centre seats rarely witnessed anything but home-team celebrations after final buzzers had sounded. The UNBC women were playoff champions twice and so were the men. The men's team even claimed a Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national title in 2010.
But this season, there will be losses. The female T-wolves already own a 0-2 record, while the men have gone 1-1 thus far. The level of play in Canada West is simply much higher than it is in college ball. The players are bigger, more athletic and have a more impressive repertoire of skills.
The UNBC women in particular will be in for some tough nights. They are short on bodies, with only 10 players on their roster. So, when they get into foul trouble, they'll be in danger of being overwhelmed by deeper clubs. And heaven forbid they run into injury problems.
Their most veteran player, fifth-year forward Kady Dandeneau, already missed the pre-season because of a bad knee. In fact, knee injuries have been dogging her ever since January of 2010 when she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, damaged her medial collateral ligament and fractured her femur all in a collision with a player from the Kwantlen Eagles.
From a personnel perspective, the female Timberwolves will also face some challenges at point guard and post. They became thin at the point position after Saskatoon product Jenn Knibbs decided not to return this season. With Knibbs back at home and focusing on school, a lot of pressure lands on the shoulders of new recruit Jordyn Rabbitt, a third-year player from Salmon Arm who is a Canada West rookie. Down low, meanwhile, the Timberwolves have just one true post player, Jasprit Nijjar, and she's straight out of high school.
The UNBC men are in a better position as they try to keep their heads above the CIS waters. They are blessed with four fifth-year players (guard/forward Sam Raphael and guards Francis Rowe, Joel Rybachuk and Jose Araujo) and two fourth-years (forwards Charles Barton and Gabe Aubertin). The male Timberwolves, however, could use some more size in the post. Their tallest tree is six-foot-eight Joshua Jebose but the second-year man didn't even play in the team's opening two games in Kamloops. The Timberwolves originally thought they'd have six-foot-nine Kevan Madsen in uniform. However, for the second time in his career, he was deemed academically ineligible to play.
Against the WolfPack last weekend, most of the T-wolves' points came from their perimeter players, not their inside guys, and that's probably going to be the case all season. If the shooters go cold, there could be problems.
For the Timberwolves clubs, top-four finishes in the eight-team Pacific divisions are required to make playoffs. For the women, that will be exceedingly difficult, especially because three Pacific rivals -- the University of the Fraser Valley, UVic and UBC -- hold top-10 national rankings. UFV is No. 2 in the country, while UVic and UBC are seventh and 10th respectively. As for the UNBC men, they'll have a decent shot at the final playoff berth, with the top two spots likely to go to CIS powers UBC (No. 2 in Canada) and fourth-ranked UFV. UVic will also be strong, which will leave the T-wolves fighting with clubs like Thompson Rivers and Trinity Western for the last berth.
For the UNBC basketball program, the road ahead is a long one.
But hey, Prince George sports fans, at least we can all enjoy the ride.
