Eyes locked on four Prince George high-school boys basketball players for 2021-22

With COVID-19 immunizations underway, the hope to return to some sort of normal for high-school sports continues for many young athletes.

This includes basketball and with the possibility of a return-to-play in the fall, the sport’s provincial governing body has now unveiled its top prospects in every boys division for the 2021-22 campaign.

The B.C. Boys Basketball Association (BCBBA) is keeping a watchful eye of four Prince George players across three different categories, including Duchess Park’s Cole Laing and Aidan Lewis, Cedars Christian’s Mitchell Crosina and College Heights’ Bobby Kelly.

Each category explores the top 15 athletes, which come from all B.C. regions for high-school sports.

Earlier this month, Rachel Loukes of College Heights Secondary’s ‘AAA’ squad was the only north-central zone representative on the female athletes-to-watch list.

COLE LAING

Living up to the name wholeheartedly, Laing is set to bring lots of passion and skill to Duchess Park Secondary, should COVID-19 allow a season later this year.

The soon-to-be Grade 12 student is listed among the ‘AAA’ athletes, and has been a member of the senior boys squad the last three years.

During the last full season of basketball, Grade 10 in 2019-20, he was given a healthy amount of playing time by Head Coach Jordan Yu, including experience in all four provincial-championship matches.

The five-foot-10 guard contributed 17 points for the top-ranked Condors, 10 from the tournament-opener, en route to a silver medal after falling to G.W. Graham (Chilliwack) in the final.

Laing also accounted for four points in the 2020 Prince George City Championship.

He’s the younger brother of Tyrell Laing, UNBC Timberwolves’ scoring sensation.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Cole Laing (@cole__wrld)

AIDAN LEWIS

Lewis has also been with Duchess Park’s AAA team since Grade 10 in 2019-20, the last full season of B.C. high-school basketball.

He and Laing were the only two Grade 10s to crack the roster that year.

Lewis is set to provide a tall presence on the Condors’ court, standing six-foot-two, but is in the guard position by virtue of his fundamental skills and basketball IQ.

Training was the basis of his Grade 11 year with no games played due to COVID-19, and if the BCBBA’s ranking says anything, it’s that he can be a strong force resulting from his improvement.

While he didn’t get much playing time in his rookie year, Lewis put up seven points in Duchess Park’s first game at the 2020 provincials in Langley.

He also earned eight notches on the scoresheet in the 2020 Prince George City Championship.

MITCHELL CROSINA

Cedars Christian is likely very thankful they can rely on a skillful player to take care of business on both sides of the court.

Crosina is among the province’s top 15 ballers in the ‘A’ division and has been with the Eagles’ senior boys team since Grade Nine.

Despite his younger age, the five-foot-nine guard has lit up the board, including on the provincial stage.

Crosina rallied to 55 points in four games in 2020, leading Cedars to a seventh-place B.C. finish, and 23 in 2019’s event, good enough for the Prince George private school to land in eighth among the province’s best.

The Eagles also recently won the 2020 North Central Zone ‘A’ title, while Crosina was named a city all-star the same year (fifth from right in photo below).

BOBBY KELLY

The BCBBA also included a Grade 11 division and Kelly was the only Prince George product to make the cut.

As a junior, he’s set to take the court once more for College Heights Secondary in the fall, which will be his third campaign with the Cougars.

He joined the ‘AAA’ roster in Grade Nine, which was his last full season (2019-20) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kelly stands six feet tall and is classified as a two-way player that can be both a guard and a forward depending on which position is needed.

He represented the Cariboo-North East 3x3 basketball team at the 2018 BC Summer Games.