Ethan Boag will be a big man on campus next season at the University of Victoria.
Literally.
At six-foot-nine, he can’t help it.
He could have been the same on the UBC, Thompson Rivers or other U Sports campuses in volleyball after leading the Claremont Spartans to third place last fall in the B.C. high school championships.
Instead, the heavily recruited, dual-sport threat chose hometown UVic in basketball. Several of his future Vikes hoops teammates lined the wall behind the baseline Tuesday night as part of the overflow crowd in Claremont gym watching the future UVic player lead the Spartans to a 90-57 victory over the Nanaimo District Senior Secondary Islanders in the play-in game for the B.C. Quad-A high school championship next week at the Langley Events Centre.
The Spartans will join the Island-champion Oak Bay Bays as the region’s representatives in the provincial tournament.
As to his choice of game for his U Sports career, Boag described volleyball as his “fun, crossover sport” and basketball as his “calling since I was young.”
Good thing for the hoops Vikes the next five years. UVic has a lot of traditional post-type big men inside but not that European-type forward who can do it all with knife-like precision.
“Ethan is very athletic and can take on that stretch-forward position because he can play inside and outside,” said UVic head coach Craig Beaucamp.
“His skill set will be unique on our team.”
Boag said, indeed, he feels comfortable “playing everything from the 1 to 4 positions.” In other words, everything except point-guard.
“Ethan has to get ready over the summer to start playing a man’s game next season in U Sports,” said Beaucamp.
That means an off-season of working out and bulking up.
“I need to build up more muscle from high school but not to the point of it getting in the way of my athleticism,” said Boag.
But that’s next season. The remainder of this season will be occupied by helping take Claremont to heights at the B.C. basketball championship, as he did in volleyball in what has been a memorable Grade 12 year.
