A big season is about to be underway for Thunderbirds men’s basketball team, coming off an undefeated preseason with new faces, new groove and a common goal: a national championship on home court.
“There's going to be some great basketball,” said head coach Kevin Hanson, entering his 25th season as head coach with a 0.770 winning record and 6 Canada West Coach of the Year awards to his name.
The Thunderbirds expectations are already set for them as UBC is hosting the U Sports 2025 National Championship. Running from March 13–16, the T-Birds have an automatic berth in the tournament. Even with the pressure of national eyes, Hanson isn’t worried.
“I told the guys from the first practice, begin thinking of the end: What do we need to do in March to be good, to be successful? And that's what we wanted to start with,” said Hanson.
Going into the offseason following being tipped out of last season’s Canada West playoffs early, Hanson and his staff focused on making the round one exit an exception, not the rule.
“We got together earlier this summer and built a lot of strong relationships,” said Hanson. Training camp commenced in mid-July with team bonding as a primary goal.
Fresh faces will be joining the team, including the highly-recruited Nylan Roberts. A First-Team Provincial All-Star in high school, the six-foot-seven Abbotsford native adds skilled three-point shooting and floor spacing to the team.
“He’s the future of our program, for sure. But right now, he's going to be a major contributor this year,” said Hanson, citing his exceptional IQ, physical prowess and ability to play each position as Roberts’ upsides.
Second-year transfer Jacob Antchak and fourth-year transfer Gus Goerzen will also join the ranks. Antchak, from University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, brings confident NCAA D1 playstyle while former UBCO Heat Goerzen provides tested leadership.
As Canada West All-Stars Brian Wallack and James Woods cycle out of U Sports basketball, a new era of T-Birds basketball is underway, and fans can expect Nikola Guzina to dominate the front court. Guard-forward Adam Olsen will be an explosive threat to the scoreboard, after refining his physical play with the Vancouver Bandits over the summer.
“He's capable of putting 30 points up on any night,” said Hanson. The coach said Olsen is expected to move into a starting role.
Behind the bench, new assistant Phil Jalalpoor has helped to reshape offensive and defensive philosophies. The T-Bird alumnus and former Olympian is anticipated to contribute European playing styles to the team, as he played six seasons professionally in Germany, Spain and Austria.
“He's young, he's keen, he brings a flavour — especially with the FIBA game — a real international flavour of some of the concepts,” said Hanson.
The team is looking sharp and Canada West coaches have taken notice, ranking the ‘Birds second in their pre-season poll.
“I'm loving coaching this group of guys. We certainly have a lot of the right pieces, and one of the deeper teams certainly we've ever had, if not the deepest,” said Hanson. “Now it's just a matter of gelling, staying healthy, and putting it all together at the right time of the year.”
The Thunderbirds start their season hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades on October 31. You can catch the T-Birds in their home opener on November 2 hosting the Trinity Western University Spartans at War Memorial Gym at 6 p.m.
“So far the games have been super physical, super fast paced, but I think it's going to be a very, very entertaining brand of basketball,” said Hanson.
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