Jackson Kuc remembers all too well that feeling of being kicked in the gut and getting robbed.
So do his Duchess Park Condor senior boys basketball teammates who were with him on the court at the Langley Events Centre last March.
They’ve had nine months to think about that buzzer-beater in the triple-A provincial championship semifinal and how they lost their chance for B.C. banner when the North Delta Huskies beat them with a three-point shot off the backboard with nine seconds left.
Time heals wounds and the Condors have moved on from that devastating defeat but there’s no denying it’s in the back of their minds fueling their drive to end the high school season on the winning side of the ledger.
“Our goal all last year, everyone said it, was to win provincials, and to get that close and lose off something like that it was just super-sad,” said Condors Grade 12 forward Connor Lewis. “That was a one-in-a-million shot. Hopefully this is the year it all culminates together.
“We have lots of skill and lots of talent and we can push it. I think we’re one of the fastest teams in transition in the province.”
The Condors made an impressive showing two weekends ago when they finished fourth at the Howard Tsumura Invitational tournament in Langley, which featured 20 of the top quad-A and triple-A teams in B.C.
“We really got our confidence that weekend, everything started clicking,” said Lewis. “We really saw how good we can be and we contended with some of the top teams in the province.”
After wins over Walnut Grove and Holy Cross (No. 7-ranked quad-A), the Condors blew a halftime lead and lost in the semifinals 83-67 to Centennial of Coquitlam (the top-ranked quad-A team). They ended up with an 81-63 loss in the bronze-medal game to South Burnaby (No. 3-ranked quad-A).
That raised Duchess Park’s ranking up a notch to No. 2 among triple-A teams in B.C. and they now sit No. 4 in the power ranking, which includes all teams. That gives the Condors some swagger in their hightops as they prepare for the two-day Condor Classic, starting today in their home gym.
“That’s the best we’ve ever done at that tournament,” said Condors assistant coach Joe Luong. “The boys went into it treating it like a mini-provincial championship. Some might even say that tournament is even tougher than the actual provincial championship because you’re playing against all tiers. It was a good test for us to see where we rank against other top-tier teams.
“They never backed down. Some games we had slow starts and some games we had amazing starts and they always found ways to dig deep. Our team is quite deep this year and on any given day we’ll have a different leading scorer.”
Chances are Jackson Kuc will be one of them. The senior Condor guard knows how to find the open court and gives the Condors a dependable scoring threat and he can’t wait to get back to Langley for another shot at the provincial title.
“I think we’re doing great here and I’m excited for provincials and all the tournaments we’ve got going here,” said Kuc. ”Our defensive intensity really helped us win those games (at the Tsumura tournament), that was big for us. We’ve got a bunch of young guys, too, and everyone’s competing and working hard and we’re looking good so far.”
Six seniors are on the team, including Kuc, Lewis, Ethan Wood, Benjamin Dyck and twins Tony and Emir Zejnulahovic. The Grade 11s are Tanner Cruz, Caleb Lyons, Logan Schlick and Aedan Aksenchuk. Aiden Lewis and Cole Laing cracked the roster as Grade 10 rookies.
“We’re feeling really good about our game coming into this weekend,” said Connor Lewis. “It’s our last Condor Classic for a lot of us and we want to come out and play well and have a good time. This is one of the most fun things we get to do, having the whole school out.”
The Condors don’t have a dominant big man like Centennial Centaurs’ six-foot-eight, 250-pound giant Dominic Parolin, who keyed the second-half comeback against the Condors. What they do have going for them is group of hard-working hustlers who average well over six-feet tall, somewhat taller than Condor teams of the past couple years.
Aiden Lewis and Schlick are pushing six-foot-six, while Cruz isn’t far behind at six-foot-four but the Condors know their physical limitations and will try to make up for that with athletic ability and basketball smarts.
Laing, the younger brother of UNBC T-wolves point guard Tyrell Laing, will be one to watch this season and the word is the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Both have explosive ability to be gamebreakers and a tremendous work ethic.
“Tyrell is just a gritty basketball player who just never stops and that’s what Cole is too,” said Luong. “Our first weekend in Vancouver (for preseason games) you could see moments in the games where our Grade 11 and 12 s would shy away and you put Cole out there and he doesn’t care. He just kept going and gave us little energy boosts when we needed them.”
Luong grew up in Prince Rupert and was head coach of the PGSS Polars last season and now teaches at Duchess Park where he’s replaced the retired Al Erricson as an assistant to head coach Jordan Yu. Former O’Grady Totems high school star Lee Wei-Yu, Jordan’s brother, and former UNBC T-wolf Sam Zhang are also helping coach the Condors.
“We’re so blessed to have these great coaches who know basketball so well,” said Kuc.
Luong and Jordan Yu coach together at the Northern Bounce Basketball Academy, where all 12 Condors work on skills practically year-round competing against their age-group peers from all schools in the region.
Their last games of 2019 the next two days won’t be any cakewalk for Condors. Their crosstown rivals, the D.P. Todd Trojans, are the third-ranked double-A team in B.C., while the Cedars Christian Eagles are ranked No. 10 in the single-A rankings that came out Tuesday, with the Northside Christian Northstars of Vanderhoof earning honourable-mention status.
The Condors open against McBride Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and will be heavy favourites to advance to at 1:45 p.m. Friday semifinal against the winner of Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. PGSS-College Heights game. D.P. Todd takes on Nechako Valley Thursday at 6:15 p.m., while Kelly Road and Cedars meet at the same time on the adjacent court. The winners of those two games play each other in the other semifinal Friday at 1:45 p.m. The boys final tips off at 6:45 p.m. Friday.
The Duchess Park senior girls could emerge as a contender for the provincial triple-A crown. They’re ranked No. 10 in B.C. and will open the Condor Classic Thursday at 1 p.m. against the Prince George Polars. Northside, an honorable mention in the coaches’ single-A poll, will take on Kelly Road Thursday at 8 p.m.
Other girls matchups today include: D.P. Todd vs. Kelly Road, 2:45 p.m. and Charles Hays of Prince Rupert vs. College Heights Seniors, also at 2:45 p.m. Charles Hays and D.P. Todd clash at 8 p.m.
The girls tournament does not include playoffs. Friday schedule is as follows: 10:15 a.m. – Charles Hays vs. PGSS; College Heights Juniors vs. D.P. Todd; noon – Duchess Park vs. Northside; Kelly Road vs. College Heights Seniors; 3:30 p.m. – PGSS vs. College Heights Seniors; Northside vs. College Heights Juniors.
