orts Gurjote Jhaj PACWEST's best player Falcons guard trained with stars Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade By AUDREY McKINNON outscore him on the basketball court, but now the 6-4 shoot- ing guard for the Langara Falcons is receiving recognition for outscoring others. Jhaj was at a ceremony in Nova Sco- tia Wednesday to pick up his award as the Pacific Western Athletic Associa- tion (PACWEST) conference men’s bas- ketpall player of the year. “He’s extremely talented, but to go along with that he spends a ton of time outside practice in our games working towards becoming a better basketball player,” said men’s basketball coach Jake McCallum. Jhaj, 22, from Richmond, is modest about the prize. “I honestly didn’t real- ly read the article about it,” he said, adding that McCallum told him about the recognition. Jhaj practices four hours every day except Sundays, but it hasn’t always been that way. He grew up playing soc- cer and only switched to basketball in Grade 5 because his cousins were into it. Now Jhaj looks up to players like Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade; but he used to look up to his 23-year-old sister, whom he has since surpassed on the court. “T watch Kobe videos sometimes on YouTube just to get focused,” said Jhaj about part of his pre-game ritual. Jhaj has practiced with NBA stars like Wade in Chicago during his train- ing at Attack Athletics over the last three years. Attack Athletics is a train- ing facility that trains professional and non-professional athletes. Jhaj formed one of his best memories as a shooting guard there playing with Wade in a five on five scrimmage last summer. “Trying to guard him and him trying to guard me. It was just a fun experi- ence,” said Jhaj. Jhaj is right-handed, but shoots left, giving him the advantage of confusing opposing team members when they judge his strengths after seeing him shoot. “Usually people think I’m left-hand- ed so they force me right. But I am right-handed so my dominant hand is my right hand,” he said. Jhaj said playing with NBA players in Chicago improved his game. “At first it was like a speed adjust- ment, but now I can keep up for the most part,” he said. Jhaj said he has learned from these practices that he can’t make little mistakes anymore. Jhaj just completed his SATs and hopes to go study in the U.S. depending on the results. Ultimately, he hopes to go pro with basketball. He says his family is entirely behind him, even his big sister. Ge Jhaj’s big sister used to AUDREY McKINNON photo Langara Falcons’ Gurjote Jhaj. ¥ “x A 444a2 : an etipgs 44 + 2 '§ x By SASCHA PORTEOUS occer fans at Langara are ex- cited as the Vancouver White- caps FC kicked off their second season with a win against the 66 Whitecaps games havea great at- mosphere DANIEL RIBI, Student Montreal Impact. ics student. Vancouver scored a 2-0 victory over Montreal at B.C. Place on Saturday, March 10 in front of a sold-out crowd. “The Whitecaps games have a great atmosphere, it’s comparable to the crowds at a Canucks game,” said 19-year-old Daniel Ribi, a human kinet- Newly acquired French Sébastien Le Toux started things off quickly when he slid the ball past Im- pact goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts in the fourth minute of play. The early goal livened the sellout crowd with a thunderous roar that filled up the stadium. The crowd de- manded more as they chanted, “we want another goal.” Brazilian striker Camilo Sanvezzo came out with some fancy footwork in the second half to work his way through two Impact defenders before burying a left-footed shot in the back of the net. The Whitecaps had a chance to strengthen their lead near the end of the game when defender Alain Rochat fired a shot that sailed off the goalpost. The Impact had a few scoring chanc- es throughout the game but were un- able to capitalize. striker Daniel Waines, a 21-year-old history student, is an avid soccer fan himself. He said he would much rather go to a Whitecaps game over a Canucks game. “Tif I had the cash I would definitely go to a Whitecaps game,” he said. Business student Ran Sommer likes soccer because “it’s a community sport, and everyone can play it,” he said. Not all Langara students are fans. Business student Derek Chrystal said he doesn’t like soccer players be- cause “they are always looking for a f Satan O9 5: SASCHA PORTEOUS photo Vancouver Whitecaps FC supporters group the Southsiders cheer during the home opener against Montreal at B.C. Place on March 10. Whitecaps ride a new wave Langara fans of Vancouver’s soccer club thrilled after opening win free kick, they are always diving.” Chrystal’s friend Lauren Phillips agreed, “If someone touches them they always fall to the ground and embellish it, even if they aren’t hurt.” The Whitecaps finished off the 2011 expansion season in last place. Coach Martin Rennie stated in the post-game press conference they don’t want to get ahead of themselves after the win as they also dominated last year’s opener against Toronto 4-2, fol- ships. lowed by a three-month losing streak. Montreal played their debut game, making them the third Canadian team to join Major League Soccer. The feud between the Whitecaps and Impact goes back to the original North American Soccer League of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the lower tier leagues in the 1990s and 2000s, along with the Canadian champion- The ‘Caps next home game is on March 24 against DC United. Falcons make stars but hope for more Both women’s and men’s basketball teams finish with all-stars but look to improve for next year By DENNIS PAGE women’s basketball seasons have come to a close, with both teams producing all-star players. On the woman’s team, fifth year for- ward Carling Muir had an excellent season. She ranked third in both points and rebounds per game in the league. Muir was also selected as a PACWEST second team all-star. First-year guard Denise Busayong was selected to the PACWEST all-rook- ie team, and Hailey Hebron finished sixth in assists per game. “It was a tough season in the win- loss column,” said coach Mike Evans, “but the team played hard and repre- sented the schoo] well.” T: Langara Falcons men’s and Evans said there were young and in- experienced players playing a lot. Next year looks to be a good one for the women’s team. Jolissa Crossley and Jennifer Carpio from the highly ranked Britannia Bruins high-school team will be joining the Falcons squad for the 2012-2018 season. In men’s hoops, Falcons second-year guard Gurjote Jhaj finished second in total points in the league, second in av- erage points per game, eighth in aver- age assists and was selected as a first team PACWEST all-star. His best all-around season perfor- mance earned him the selection as the PACWEST men’s basketball player of the year. Coach Jake McCallum also gave praise to team leader Brody Greig, call- ing him, “the key to our success.” Greig finished the season with 105 assists, putting him at number one spot in the league in average assists per game. “We had a lot of ups and downs this year,” said McCallum, “I think the most positive aspect to come out of the sea- son was the way the team responded to adversity and the way they came to- gether as a team.” When Brody Greig was injured in the first minute of the game versus the VIU Mariners, the team responded with good production from Gurjote Jhaj and Jitinder Lohcham. Devin Mc- Murty was also a major contributor this season, finishing sixth in the league for rebounds. The Falcons proved they could con- tend with the best when they posted a regular season win over the eventual provincial champions, the UNBC Tim- berwolves. Langara also qualified for the Pro- vincial Championship tournament but were disappointed by their perfor- mance when they lost in the first round to the Capilano University Blues. “Overall we had a decent year al- though I know the players and coach- ing staff feel that we should have played better at the provincial champi- onships,” said McCallum. FALCONS in review HE Gurjote Jhaj scored an average of 22.14 baskets per game and a total of 310 points in 14 games HE The women's team suffered an 8-19 win-loss record Hs The men's best results were against Kwantlen University. They won both games 96-64 and 99-70 ME Men’s forward Jitinder Lohcham is the Falcons’ tallest player at 6-foot-7 Source: Langara Athletics