February 10th, 20162016 Hall of Fame Inductees and Gala Announcement

MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release February 10, 2016
Updated April 19, 2016

Seven individuals and one team will form Basketball BC’s Hall of Fame class of 2016 it was announced today by Hall of Fame chairperson John Buis.

"This year’s inductees represent a wide range of basketball talent in our province,” Buis noted.

“We will be inducting an icon of BC and Canadian basketball who has performed at the highest level possible as well as made tremendous contributions to our sport through a huge variety of means – including a comprehensive youth basketball program – two-time NBA MVP STEVE NASH.

“Two fascinating Canadian heroes who made their names in basketball in the 1930s and ’40s and spent years with our forces in WWII are HANK ROWE, who starred with the famous Victoria Dominoes and was seriously wounded at Dieppe; and RALPH ‘HUNK’ HENDERSON, a star with UBC in the ’30s and the Clover Leafs in the late ’40s and who also spent three years as a POW at Stalag 17.

“ELEANOR WHYTE was a multi-sport super star in the ’40s and ’50s in basketball (provincial champion in ’49 and ’50) as well as in field hockey and track and field. Eleanor not only excelled in these sports, including being on the national champions Vancouver Eilers for five years, but also continued into sport administration after her playing days.

“From Wheelchair basketball we honour and induct PETER COLISTRO, a five-time Paralympian and legend with the Vancouver Cablecars from 1971-86.

In the coaching category we are excited to recognize DON HORWOOD, the renowned coach of the Oak Bay Bays, he went to five BC high school championship games winning three times and continued on to coach three CIS national champs with the University of Alberta.

MIKE McNEILL’s coaching career spans a high school career, stints with both the men’s and women’s teams at SFU - including six years as assistant to his wife Allison when the SFU women were dominant in the NAIA - and 10+ years with the Canadian women’s national team which earned a berth in the London Olympics in 2012, finishing 8th after defeating both Brazil and host England. Combined with a lifelong coaching career Mike has many other basketball accomplishments including 100’s of clinics throughout the province as well as outside of it, the founding and over decade long participation in the Centre for Performance and Regional Training Camps, individual work with dozens of high performance BC athletes who continued on to stellar CIS and NCAA careers. This only scratches the surface of Mike’s career in basketball and makes him a wonderful choice to be inducted in the Builder’s category“

The UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA VIKETTES were a dominant CIS team for many years – the 1981-82 team was certainly an example of that dominance winning the national championship after going undefeated during the year. The Kathy Shields-coached team was comprised of the following:

Sandy Chambers Jamie Mackie
Sandy Espeseth Tracie McAra
Lesley Godfrey Susie Neal
Shelley Godfrey Janine Prince
Shawnee Harle Sue Shaw
Luanne Hebb Pam Balfour (manager)

“Every year the Board of Directors has the extreme pleasure of recognizing an incredible range of inspiration for our current and future generations in the basketball committee and the 2016 class is no different, from war veterans with incredible stories of perseverance to stand out coaches and an international icon of our sport. BC has a great history of growing the great game of basketball” said Basketball BC President Diana Chan.

The Gala will take place on May 14, 2016 at the Hilton Vancouver Airport Hotel. Tickets can be purchased online here

For further information please contact Lawrie Johns