A Hoops Journey

Episode 79 - John Mills

We have proud Vancouver Irish alumnus and former UBC Thunderbird John Mills. A long decorated basketball career both as a player and off the court as part of Canada Basketball and various boards in president, executive director and co-chair positions, we sit down with the former teacher to chat about his past. We chat all things Vancouver College, UBC, Canada Basketball and how to fix Canada Basketball as an institution. A fantastic episode featuring Hawkins' Cheezies, Gordon Thorogood, and so much more!
 
Article on Bill Russell by Howard Tsumura: "It’s no fable! In 1952, before his 11 NBA championship rings, a 17-year-old Bill Russell toured B.C. high schools and discovered his hoops identity!"

Episode 78 - Kyle Russell

We welcome you back from a brief break with some absolute heat: former Richmond Colt and 2003 Mike Moser Award Winner (Most Outstanding Player in the CIS) Kyle Russell. A small list of his accolades: Canada West Player of the Year, Canada West First-Team All-Star, First Team All-Canadian; an outstanding resumé. Talk about A Hoops Journey - we sit down with the former Thunderbird, Dino, Lumberjack, Snowbadger, Torero - you name it! A wild journey that has roots in the Lower Mainland with some familiar names such as Bill Disbrow and Jonny Lee, we chat with Kyle about his life, how he fell in love with the sport, and so much more! Plus, a tough first minute for accountants, Cory Russell, Frank Ocean and Whoppers!

Episode 77 - Brendan Graves

We have former Santa Clara Bronco and Junior/Senior National Team Player Brendan Graves joining us for Episode 77 of A Hoops Journey. He was a member of the 1994-95 and 1995-96 Santa Clara teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds, respectively. His team advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament with a 20-9 record in 1995-96. He graduated Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering and received the WCC Scholar Athlete of the Year Award in 1996. 
The former Lambrick Park Lion and Vancouver Island Native recaps a storied high school, university, national team and professional career with insight on Vancouver Island basketball in the 80s and 90s, Ed Somers, the recruiting process in the 90s,  playing with two great point guards in Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, his time overseas and much more!

Episode 76 - Mike Katz

We have former Humber College and Toronto Blues Men's Basketball Head Coach Mike Katz joining us for Episode 76! Prior to joining the Varsity Blues, Katz led the Humber College men's basketball team for 19 seasons (503-175 overall record). During that time, he led the Hawks to the Final Four every year, winning seven provincial championships and five national titles while also producing seven All-Canadian players. Katz is also a four-time OCAA coach of the year and a three-time CCAA coach of the year award winner and was inducted into the Humber Varsity "Hall of Fame" in 2004. We talk about his journey into the game of basketball, how he got his start in coaching, and his time learning about the game. We also touch on his Olympic journey being an assistant alongside Ken Shields and Jerry Hemmings, and more!
 

Episode 75 - Sefu Bernard

Episode 75 of A Hoops Journey features current Washington Mystics Director of Player Development: Sefu Bernard. Another wild hoops journey, he sits down with us from the Caymans to talk about his story. The Toronto native talks about his upbringing as an inner city kid, his time playing as Windsor Lancer, his internship in Detroit and how a couple VHS tapes started his path to the WNBA. Prince, Bad Boys Pistons, the rise of Jama Mahlalela and much more on this amazing episode!

Episode 74 - Alex Devlin

We welcome another Canada Basketball legend - former Burnaby Central Wildcats player and SFU Men's Basketball great Alex Devlin joins us for Episode 74 of A Hoops Journey. The former All-American and NAIA all-star played for Team Canada for four years, helping Canada finish 4th in 1976, and later coached at SFU. We get into the legend of Billy Robinson, Bill Disbrow, shooting mechanics and a lot more stories from this BC and Canada Basketball Hall of Fame inductee!

BONUS - Bruce Enns continued with Perrie Scarlett and Gerald Cole

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! With Perrie Scarlett and Gerald Cole's answers on Coach Bruce Enns accidentally missing from his episode, we thought it was right to release their answers as a bonus episode!

Episode 73 - Roy Rana

We welcome former Ryerson University Men's Head Coach and current Sacramento Kings Coach Roy Rana for Episode 73! We sit down with the Toronto native and former Canadian Senior National Team coach to chat about his time at CW Jeffries and Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute, the transition from high school to U Sport, the transition from U Sport to the NBA, his time with the National Team and the German National team, and  a lot more! James Brown, the rise of Canadian coaches in the NBA, missing hairlines, we got a great episode for you today!

Episode 72 - Greg DeVries

For Episode 72, we welcome two-time First Team All-Canadian, 1995 CIAU championship MVP and a member of the first two University of Alberta Golden Bears CIAU Championships: Greg DeVries. The Nelson-native sits down with us to chat all things basketball, and the renowned sharpshooter goes through his background starting off in Nelson, and his path to the University of Alberta, where he helped lead the Golden Bears to their first two CIAU championships. We touch on Aaron's first time meeting Greg, Derek Welsh, Don Horwood, Greg's scoring prowess, getting a B in basketball class, and so much more!

Episode 71 - Bruce Enns

We have another Canadian Basketball coaching legend - former longtime UBC Head Coach Bruce Enns joins us for Episode 71 of A Hoops Journey. We touch on his early beginnings starting in Chilliwack, to Manitoba, his time as the face of UBC Basketball and life thereafter. A different flavour of the podcast, we have recurring guest Dominic Zimmermann and Ross Tomlinson helping out as narrators, as well as a roundtable of former players/managers and coaches -  big shoutout to John Mills, Stan Wong, Eric Butler, Gerald Cole, Kevin Hanson, Brady Ibbetson, Kevin Keeler, Sean Mitchell and Perrie Scarlett - a call filled with Bruce Enns stories and anecdotes. A great episode about a great man, and a must-listen!