During his high school basketball career, Tyrell Laing was a pure scorer. As an electrifying guard for the PGSS Polars, he made 40- and 50-point nights look somewhat routine.
This season, Laing is a first-year member of the UNBC Timberwolves. With his freshman campaign nearing completion, he has made the transition to university ball look fairly easy as well.
Last Saturday, Laing put his name in the record book as UNBC's new rookie scoring leader at the Canada West level. With a lay-up against the host UBC Thunderbirds, he elevated his season total to 88 points, one more than Navjot Bains managed in the 2012-13 season, which was the Timberwolves' first in Canada West.
"I didn't have an exact number in my head or anything but I knew I was close (to the record) going in so I just tried to come out and be aggressive," Laing said. "I wasn't aiming to go ahead and break it. I just let the game come to me and it just so happened that I broke it.
"It does a lot for my confidence moving forward," he added. "My coach and my teammates, they've put a lot of faith in me so it's just easier to go out there and get buckets, really."
In a supporting role, Laing played 13 minutes in the game and finished with those record-setting two points and one assist. As a team, the T-wolves were in tough against the powerful Thunderbirds and lost 109-61.
Laing has appeared in 16 of UNBC's 18 games so far this season and was a starter in two of them. Offensively, he has averaged 5.5 points per contest in about 18 minutes of nightly playing time. As well, he has chipped in with 21 helpers (average of 1.3 per game).
When Laing has gotten his opportunities on the court - either at point guard or shooting guard - he has held nothing back.
"I've still got a lot to work on and improve (but) I grew up playing basketball and my parents told me at a young age, 'all gas, no brakes,' so I've been going full-throttle and trying to pick it up as I go and I think I've been doing a pretty good job of that so far," he said.
Todd Jordan, head coach of the UNBC men, was well acquainted with Laing's abilities long before the player reached his Grade 12 year at PGSS. But, once Laing committed to the UNBC program in March of 2016, Jordan was immediately impressed with his work ethic and desire to learn. Those qualities have led to the success he's now having.
"In (Canada West), as far as a first-year guy, he's been the earliest to establish himself into a regular rotation spot," Jordan said.
"Tyrell came in almost as a year-and-a-half or a second-year guy because of the time he put in, right from the time his (high school) season ended last year. Every day he was in the gym and he was at every training session. He did as much as anybody to prepare himself for this season.
"He gives us a bit of a scoring punch off the bench," Jordan continued. "He's a pretty good athlete and can defend as well. He's still learning the IQ part of university basketball - there's a big learning curve there as far as five-on-five (play) and the structures and the level of understanding that we need, especially at the point guard position. He went through that process this year and he's looking at a really bright future as far as the rest of his career."
Collectively, the season has been a challenging one for the Timberwolves. With a 4-14 record, they're in 15th place in the 17-team league and have lost 10 consecutive games.
Laing and his teammates will try to end their schedule on a positive note when they face the fifth-place University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday and Saturday at the Northern Sport Centre. Game times are 8 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.
