Paul Eberhardt is getting more than he bargained for in his duo coaching role and he doesn’t mind one bit.
His Langara Falcons are currently ranked number two in the country among collegiate men’s basketball teams and feature a several standouts from Richmond. Now, his surprising RC Palmer Griffins have taken over the No.1 spot in the B.C. rankings for 2A high school programs after a highly successful weekend on Vancouver Island that produced upsets over the top two ranked teams.
The thing is Eberhardt didn’t expect to be guiding the upstart Griffins this season.
After an outstanding run that has produced seven consecutive city titles and a B.C. 3A title in 2011, the colourful coach was going to ease back his work load.
When his potential replacement fell through shortly before the start of the season, Eberhardt stepped up one more time and convinced one of his former star players to help him out when his Langara duties result in the occasional conflict. Edward Fan had been coaching younger teams at McRoberts the past couple of seasons.
“I really was planning to take the year off and even had a guy lined up until he said he couldn’t do it,” explained Eberhardt following his team’s 88-71 win over the Steveston-London Sharks last Wednesday to improve to 3-0 in city play. “I got hold of Eddy and twisted his arm a little bit to come here. It’s a real good thing he came onboard.
“Next year I’m definitely taking a break. I already have Rob (Brown) signed to come up with his junior team. It’s pretty safe to say it’s going to happen but (laughing) you never know with me.”
If the Griffins keep up this roll, not only will they be heading to the Langley Events Centre for the provincials in March, they will be among the favourites to win it. Not bad, for a senior group that was one of the worst teams in the Richmond League at the Grade 8 level five years ago and has made steady improvement since thanks to long hours in the gym.
Palmer toppled No. 1 ranked St Michaels University 81-76 last Saturday in Victoria, then outlasted No. 2 Lambrick Park 93-86 24 hours. The Griffins don’t even have a post option in their starting five but what they do have is a gifted scorer in provincial U17 team player Antonio Jhuty and a dynamic point guard in Gurjit Pooni who has also worn B.C. colours before. Thrown in another solid scoring option in Harmon Mann and there are more than enough consistent offensive weapons.
“Going to the Island is always tough and I wanted to see where we are at right now,” said Eberhardt. “I’m a little surprised to be honest with you. The guys played great though and really elevated their game. We got some real key performances and it was the best we have played all year.
“I just didn’t think we would be a No. 1 ranked team with the (lack of) size we have but our role players are really making up for it. The SMU coach told me he was impressed how our guys understand their roles and know what their jobs are.”
Jhuty quietly enjoyed a 40 performance against Steveston-London despite sitting a significant stretch of the third quarter. Eberhardt suggesting he is one of best pure scorers he has ever coached as the school is quite a statement given he has worked with the likes of Akeem Pierre, Vijay Dhillon and Jamie Madewan.
“He is an offensive machine. He just has a knack for it,” he said. “Now we’re working hard to clean up his fundamentals and making him a more complete player.”
Even with the Griffins’ early season success, an eighth consecutive city championship is hardly a formality. The Richmond league is deeper than ever with McMath (3A) and MacNeill (2A) also showing up in the provincial rankings. McRoberts, Richmond High, Hugh Boyd and McNair are also very much in the thick of it.
“It’s the most competitive the league has ever been,” Eberhardt added. “There’s six or seven teams that can win this. It’s pretty wide open.”
