The UNBC Timberwolves have landed one of the city's top high school athletes.
Colburn Pearce of the Duchess Park Condors has committed to UNBC and will join a T-wolves basketball roster loaded with returning talent for the 2018-19 U Sports Canada West season.
Pearce, who turns 18 in May, had several universities interested in recruiting him as a football player and until Christmas he was still intent on sticking with that sport. But he started thinking about basketball with the T-wolves after UNBC head coach Todd Jordan made him an offer midway through the high school season. The chance to play at home in front of his family and friends made UNBC a logical choice for Pearce.
"I took some time after basketball season ended and thought about it and just felt more comfortable staying here," said Pearce. "There's no (university) football up here and also I just thought for the next five years I'd rather play basketball because I was having more fun playing basketball than I was playing football.
"I was having a good year getting to play with a bunch of good players and practices with all your friends."
The Condors' season was stacked with highlights. They won the city championship and triple-A zone title (Pearce was the MVP in both), then went to the provincial tournament in Langley and finished sixth with a 2-2 record.
The five-foot-11 Pearce is fourth on the UNBC depth chart at guard, and the next two weeks of recruiting will likely determine whether he will red-shirt (as a practice player only) or not. James Agyeman is coming back for his fifth year of eligibility and Vova Pluzhnikov and Prince George secondary school alumnus Tyrell Laing are both returning for their third university season.
Whether Pearce plays next season or not, Jordan is elated to have him coming to a team loaded with talent from last year's team which made it to the second round of the Canada West playoffs. Jordan admitted he was surprised when Pearce came to him and told him he'd picked basketball over football.
"We are excited to have Colburn join us," said Jordan. "Any time you can get local kids that can play at our level it's a bonus and we're glad he made the choice to stay home and play for us at UNBC.
"Obviously, with our guard situation, it's probably not going to be until Year 2 that he makes a major impact. Next year is going to be a big learning year for him and he has guys like James and Vova who will be there to help guide him through.
"Tyrell was our rookie of the year his first year and he started quite a few of the games but our team is in a much different place now than when it was when Tyrell came in. We have a pretty heavy core of returning guards so we don't want to put too much pressure on a freshman guy coming in, but he's going to have every opportunity to come in and practice for the first few weeks and prove himself.
"He's a good athlete with an athletic pedigree and it will be a big jump for him, because everybody's athletic and strong at our level."
Pearce plans to study finance at UNBC. Academically, he should have no trouble making the adjustment to university life. His marks at Duchess Park have been good enough to perennially place him on the president's list as a high school student.
"I'm just looking forward to learning a lot of new things," said Pearce. "UNBC will be a good place where I come in and through the years grow and learn lots from the good players who are returning this year, so that I become really involved in the offence of the team in my second and third year."
For four years, Pearce was considered one of the top high school football players in northern B.C., playing as a running back/safety/kicker for the Duchess Park Condors. The son of former Winnipeg Blue Bombers fullback Matt Pearce led the Condors to the P.G. Bowl Northern Conference title in 2016.
Colburn Pearce played six games in the B.C. Junior Football Conference as a receiver for the Langley Rams last summer and returned to Prince George hoping to play his senior year with the Condors but the team folded due to a lack of players.
"I knew there was a possibility of them not having a team but I took a chance and hoped they would and it was disappointing when they didn't," he said. "I'd played there since Grade 8."
On the basketball court, Pearce played last Saturday in the B.C. high school all-star game for the provincial triple-A team in a 96-92 loss to the quad-A provincial team in Richmond.
"We lost by four but it was kind of what you want from an all-star game - it was pretty competitive back and forth, it was a close game," Pearce said. "It was really cool to be recognized and get chosen to go down there. There were only 10 players from the whole province (on the triple-A team) and I'm sure they looked at a lot of guys."
Pearce was the first Prince George player picked for the provincial all-star game since Laing made the triple-A list in 2016.
UNBC recruit Spencer Ledoux, a six-foot-seven forward who led the Westyde Whundas of Kamloops to the double-A provincial semifinals, scored 12 points Saturday for the double-A team in a 132-83 all-star win over the single-A provincial team, also in Richmond. Ledoux averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Whundas this past season.
Also coming to the T-wolves next season is Christopher Ross of North Vancouver, a six-foot-three wing who just capped off a successful career with the Seycove Seyhawks, winning provincial double-A bronze. Ross played with Ledoux last summer on the B.C. provincial team and they were teammates on the victorious double-A team at the all-star game.
