Owls stars to be reunited as UBC rookies
Thunderbirds add ‘franchise-type players’ from Kelowna high school powerhouse
Mason Bourcier was one of the first people to retweet word of the UBC Thunderbirds men’s basketball squad inking a commitment from Grant Shephard for next season just over two weeks ago.
Excuse us if we see a little foreshadowing in that now. UBC coach Kevin Hanson announced Tuesday that Bourcier, a 6-foot-4 guard who helped lead the Kelowna Owls to the past two quad-A provincial championship finals, is joining former high school teammate Shephard with the T-Birds for the 2017-18 Canada West campaign.
Bourcier was named player of the game in March’s title tilt after producing 29 points, five rebounds and eight assists in Kelowna’s 78-65 loss to the Walnut Grove Gators at the Langley Events Centre. He was named to the tourney’s first all-star team.
Shephard, a 6-foot-10 forward, just finished his Grade 12 season at Montverde Academy, a Florida prep school, but he was player of the game in Kelowna’s 2016 championship triumph, an 87-72 victory over the Tamanawis Wildcats. He recorded 31 points and 22 rebounds that night.
Shephard was later named the tournament’s most valuable player and a first team all-star, while Bourcier earned a spot on the second team. That Owls side held the No. 1 ranking in the provincial poll all season and were 23-0 against B.C. competition.
“We have been recruiting Mason for a long time,” Hanson said. “And, once we signed Grant, I think the opportunity to play with him again made Mason realize even further that UBC would be a great option for him.
“These are two franchise-type players that have played together and won together.”
Both had NCAA interest. Shephard was linked to the University of Richmond, but Hanson has said 10 American schools were considering him, including the likes of Columbia and Bucknell. Hanson said that Bourcier recently went on a recruiting visit to Grand Canyon.
“Mason had lot of options in terms of where he could play, so we are very excited he choose UBC,” said Hanson. “He’s a special player who has dedicated himself to the game and improving his skills every day.”
Bourcier and Shephard also helped B.C. to third place at the 2016 national Under-17 tournament in Winnipeg last August.
B.C., behind 15 points and 10 assists from Bourcier and 11 points and eight rebounds from Shephard, beat Manitoba 92-74 in the bronze medal game.
Their additions gives UBC three players from the 2016 Owls championship side. Guard Parker Simson just finished his first season with the T-Birds.
UBC was the No. 2-ranked team nationally from mid-January to mid-February. They were upset in the Canada West quarterfinals by Manitoba, ending the campaign with a 26-4 record.
Among their returnees is 6-foot-9 forward Conor Morgan, who comes back for a fifth year after finishing second in the country in scoring (23.1 points per game) and being named an all-Canadian by U Sports.