Time ticking down for top Timberwolves duo
Vova Pluzhnikov and Tyrell Laing were the dynamic duo every men’s basketball team wished they had.
They played their last home game for the UNBC Timberwolves Saturday at the Northern Sport Centre, a game UNBC lost 89-69 to the Victoria Vikes, who used that victory to clinch first place in the West Division.
For five seasons over a six-year span, Laing and Pluzhnikov have worked in choreographed tandem, learning in practice how to feed off each other’s strengths to get the best out of each other in game situations with Pluzhnikov most often as the setup guy feeding Laing in open territory to create high-percentage looks at the net.
Now, with the Canada West playoffs about to begin this week, their time as brothers on the court is rapidly coming to an end.
“It’s super bittersweet for me,” said Laing. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to come to this program to leave my mark here and to fulfill a childhood dream of coming to play for the local UNBC Timberwolves and then ultimately setting some records I never would have thought, it’s special.
“Vova made my life so much easier
than it would have been, freeing the floor up for me, finding me (with the ball), calling plays for me and ultimately playing an integral role for making me the all-time scorer here at UNBC.”
T-wolves head coach Todd Jordan took a chance on Pluzhnikov when he signed him without having seen him play in Canada and it worked out splendidly well.
The native of Kharkiv, Ukraine, was a workhorse throughout his career.
His leadership abilities kept team morale stoked and he brought out the best in his teammates, setting an example
off the court as well with his willingness to take part in community events.
“It’s been a pleasure to coach him, he’s just a salt-of-the-earth guy and you’re always proud when at the end of a career you’ve got great people leaving the program,” said Jordan. “He’s our all-time Canada West leader in assists and he set a bar for our program.”
“I give all the credit to all the teammates I’ve had here and especially Ty, most of my assists went to him,” Pluzhnikov said. “No one could have written that better, that I got to share the backcourt with Ty.
This is my home now and hopefully I’ll keep leaving my fingerprint all over this community. I hope I can help a lot of basketball players in this program and give back to this community.”
While Pluzhnikov was a bit of mystery when he arrived, Jordan knew exactly what he was getting when he plucked Laing out of the city high school ranks after years of watching him develop with the PGSS Polars.
Laing took a couple seasons to get comfortable playing university-level basketball but his raw talent and willingness to put in the time to build his game turned him into a scoring sensation.
“For him to (win the scoring title) was incredible,” said Jordan. “If you had looked at the numbers at the end of Year 3, it didn’t look that likely he would get to that point. He’d been [laying behind a couple of guys (on the depth chart) the first couple years and was in and out as far as playing major minutes, but the last couple years after Jovan Leamy and James Agyeman graduated he took the bull by the horns and has become a great scorer for us.
“It’s just awesome to see a Prince George guy do that. To think a guy from this town would leads Canada West in scoring for a year, it’s incredible. It’s an unbelievable accomplishment and he has a lot to be proud of.”