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The UBC Okanagan Heat have added a third Thompson-Okanagan product to its CIS Canada West men’s basketball roster for the 2016-17 season.
With Kelowna Secondary School grads, Matt Lafontaine and Nav Sandhu, already in the fold, the Heat have inked point guard/wing Justin Melnychuk of Kamloops.
Reaching out to a smaller school, UBCO coach Pete Guaraci is hoping he’s unearthed somewhat of a hidden gem in the 6-foot-4 Melnychuk, the top offensive/defensive performer for the single-A St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders.
"Justin has a good skill set and decision-making ability at his size,” says Guaraci. “With hard work, he has the chance to develop into an impact player at the CIS level. We are excited to watch his development."
As for Melnychuk’s own assessment of his play, the B.C. high school provincial tournament first-team all-star believes his biggest strength is his shooting and basketball IQ.
“I’m excited about bringing my overall strengths to the Heat, but my main goal will be to work as hard as I can to succeed and develop into a great player under coach Guaraci,” said Melnychuk, who in his highlight game of the season, scored 32 points and pulled down 24 rebounds in the Crusaders’ quarter-final game at provincials earlier this spring.
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