Whether it's in basketball or football, Montell Lindgren's ability to make smart decisions under fire and react with a dynamic play to set up a teammate have taken him far in his sporting career.
Last weekend in Vancouver, those ingrained traits cleared a path for Lindgren to the B.C. provincial boys under-16 basketball team.
Lindgren developed that sporting sense early on in his basketball career and his work ethic and athletic ability did the rest, leading to a spot a spot last year on the U-15 team. He was a relative unknown when he joined Team B.C., but by the end of the summer had emerged as one of the leaders.
Now on the U-16 squad, Lindgren is one of only 12 players in the province to make it, having survived a round of cuts the past two weekends at the super camp in Vancouver.
"I went there the year before so I was calm and I knew what I was doing," said Lindgren, a Grade 10 student at Duchess Park secondary school. "It was a good experience last year playing with all the best kids in B.C. We went down to the States, in Seattle and Las Vegas, and that was even better."
As good as he is as a point guard in basketball, some observers think Lindgren is even better as a quarterback in football. Last season his 64.3 pass completion percentage was tops in the Northern League and ranked fourth in the province. The fleet-footed Lindgren was sacked only once in five games, leading the Condors to a third-place Northern League finish.
"I'm a passer in both positions," he said. "On the basketball court I have good vision and I like to find my men, for sure. Athleticism is pretty much my main thing and sports smarts come after that.
"I got offers to go to some [football] camps in Seattle and Vancouver but I had to pick one sport and basketball is primary right now."
At a shade under six feet, Lindgren lacks height for basketball but makes up for it with his speed and reflexes.
"Playing bigger guys is fun," he said. "Since I'm smaller I have to be better than most of the guys out there. My team averages six-foot-four."
UNBC men's head coach Todd Jordan heads the U-16 team and he's looking forward to working with Lindgren.
"He has a real natural sense for the game and a lot of natural athleticism which is a big part of the reason he made the team," Jordan said. "He's definitely got the potential to be a good leader and that's something I'm looking forward to seeing develop in him over the next couple months."
A year ago, Lindgren was a kingpin on a Duchess Park Condors junior boys team that won the zone title and went on to finish 13th provincially. This past season, while Lindgren's senior team ran into stiff competition from College Heights and D.P. Todd, the Condor juniors repeated as zone champions. Under coach Dave Holmes, he's been practicing lately with the players who will form the senior team at Duchess and Lindgren is optimistic that team will be a successful in his last two seasons of high school basketball.
Lindgren will be traveling to Vancouver for practices every two weeks for the next two months. He'll spend the month of July living in Richmond with U-16 teammate Jamie Madewan. who played together on the U-15 team last year.
The U-16s start with a tournament in early June in Kent, Wash., then will play at bigger events in July in Seattle and Las Vegas.
