A Message from the Coach
We've had an extremely busy Spring and I am very proud of the work our staff has done all year with recruiting. Building relationships with young players and their families is important. We will build things the right way, with the right people. Recruits have to know the expectations at this level and players want to know they can help and be a part of something special in their university careers. Coach Shook and Coach Macdonald have done an outstanding job finding some of the best student-athletes in our region and we are pleased to announce these additions to the SFU Men's Program in this newsletter.
Special thanks to Howard Tsumura of Varsity Letters for his write-up on our National Signing Day. Go HERE to read Howard's article on our 2017 recruiting class, and since then, his write-up on Oregon's Matthew O'Brien from Clackamas High School.
With a full recruiting year under our belt, a talented incoming class, and our current players more experienced and stronger, I am very excited to hit the ground running in September. I hope you will join us in supporting and watching these players develop over the upcoming season.
We welcome these players and their families to SFU family and for out out-of-town players welcome to beautiful BC!
All the best,
NATIONAL SIGNING DAY > We Welcome Our 2017 Recruiting Class..
SAM BAILEY > 6'7 PF Vancouver College (Hometown: North Vancouver)
Sam Bailey, pictured with his high school coach and mentor Lloyd Scrubb, will join the SFU Men's Basketball team as a Power Forward next season. Sam has tremendous upside. At 6'7 with lots of room to improve on his strength, Sam is an uncanny rebounder who tracks the ball down from all over the floor. He has very good footwork in the post and can knock down the mid-range jumper and is expanding his range outside the arc. Coming from Vancouver College, Sam knows the meaning of on-ball defense and has the ability to shutdown multiple positions. Sam played under Coach Scrubb who was a CIS All-Star in 1986 and won two National Championships for Ken Shields at the University of Victoria. Sam's been a part of the Basketball BC Provincial team program for 3 years at U15, U16 and - last summer - as a member of the U17 program that won bronze at the National Championships in Winnipeg. We look forward to his growth and development as a player at Simon Fraser University. Welcome Aboard!
Sam Bailey High School Highlights
KEEGAN KONN > 6'0 PG Holy Cross Regional High (Hometown: Surrey)
Keegan Konn will join the SFU Men's Basketball roster as a Point Guard in 2017-18. Pictured here with his high school coaches from Holy Cross are Matt LeChasseur, Anthony Pezzente and his father Mark Konn. Keegan will enter the prestigious Beedie School of Business at SFU in first year which is a great accomplishment. Known for his tremendous shooting ability in Grade 10 and 11 at Holy Cross, Keegan has really developed at the point guard position this season and has been a leader on and off the court for the Crusaders. In mid-January of this year, Keegan suffered a torn ACL. For any athlete, that diagnosis is devastating news. Keegan took this as another challenge, another reason to prove people wrong. Watching Keegan on the bench during his injury said a lot about him. He led, coached and cheered on his team - he was always present. He showed character and I believe if anyone is going to rehab hard and come back it is this young man. Howard Tsumura wrote a nice piece on Keegan's journey here. Keegan will have a chance to work with the best Athletic Therapy staff in the business at SFU. With Keegan's desire and worth ethic, I am certain we will see his return in the very near future. Welcome to SFU Keegan!
Keegan Konn High School Highlights
DREW BRYSON > 6'2 SG Arlington High (Hometown: Arlington, WA)
Drew Bryson signed with SFU on Wednesday, April 12th - pictured here with his mom Tracy and dad Jeff in the Arlington High School library on National Signing Day. Drew was a Washington All-State selection, the 2017 AAA Wesco Player of the Year, and finished his high school career with 1190 points averaging 23 ppg, 6 rpg and 3 apg this past season. After earning a 3.66 GPA in high school, Drew will pursue his Business degree at Simon Fraser and also has interests in Education. Having a talented "lefty" brings a different element to our offense and with added strength, Drew will be a solid two-way player. His ability to shoot the deep 3, coupled with his athleticism getting to the rim, is a deadly combination we are very excited about. Check out Howard Tsumura's write-up on Drew HERE. We welcome the Arlington All-Star to SFU!
Drew Bryson High School Highlights
MATTHEW O'BRIEN > 6'9 F Clackamas High (Hometown: Happy Valley, OR)
Matthew O'Brien signed with SFU on Wednesday, April 19th adding another big piece to the talented 2017 recruiting class. Matthew starred on the Clackamas High team that played in the 6A State final in March. Getting to the final was no easy task as Matthew and his #3-ranked Clackamas squad dethroned four-time defending state champs West Linn 78-71 in a packed semifinal at the University of Portland's Chiles Center. Although they didn't win the ultimate prize, Matthew's experience playing great players has given him confidence as he enters the next stage of his basketball career. At the NCAA level, having the height, length and athleticism he possesses creates match-up problems for any forward defending him. It was evident in his workout at SFU, that Matthew's ability to shoot the ball will be a huge asset along with his ability to post-up and rebound. We are excited to help Matthew grow into the player he wants to be and he is excited to be a part of team hungry to make an imprint on the GNAC in 2017-18. Varsity Letter's Howard Tsumura did another great write-up on Matthew's commitment to SFU HERE.
RECRUITING CLASS > 2017
F - 6'9 Matthew O'Brien - Business (Clackamas High)
F - 6'7 Sam Bailey - Business (Vancouver College)
SG - 6'2 Drew Bryson - Business (Arlington High)
PG - 6'0 Keegan Konn - Business (Holy Cross Regional)
RETURNING PLAYERS > 2017-18
F - 6'8 Tyrell Lewin - Computer Science (Bill Crothers), Junior
F - 6'7 Aleks Vranjes - Computer Science (Centennial Secondary), RS Sophomore
F - 6'7 Graham Miller - Computer Science (Charles Best Secondary), RS Sophomore
G/F - 6'7 JJ Pankratz - Math & Kinesiology (Yale Secondary), RS Senior
G/F - 6'4 Iziah Sherman-Newsome - Kinesiology & Sociology (NYIT/Laramie CC), Senior
G - 6'3 Kedar Wright - Kinesiology (Edmund Campion/UBC), Senior
G - 6'1 Othniel Spence - Sociology (Bill Crothers), Sophpmore
G - 6'1 Bowen Bakken - Criminology (Delta Secondary), RS Junior
G - 6'1 Bongani Moyo (St.John's College), Junior
G - 6'0 Michael Provenzano - (High Point Christian/Lake State), RS Sophomore
Westwood Plateau is booked!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS > Friday, August 25th
The 6th Annual - SFU Men's Basketball Alumni Golf Tournament is set for Friday, August 25th at prestigious Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club. This is a great chance for OUR PLAYERS to meet the people that support them - ALUMNI, FANS and FAMILY all together this Summer. Beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club will host us again with 100% of funds raised going to our players. Golf starts at 1:00 PM and the Banquet for Dinner Only guests starts at 6:00 PM. We look forward to seeing you there!
BASKETBALL SUMMER CAMPS > July & August
COMMUNITY
