AtUpon hearing that he is six-foot-seven, many Cap students might ask if Sinclair Brown is a basketball player, and after learning that he is, would surmise that he playss for the Blues, and that because he is tall, he must beis very good. Although the tall= equals good equation is a major fallacy of evaluating basketball players (case in point: The former 7-foot tall Grizzlies center, standing 7 feet tall, Bryant Reeves), for Sinclair, the stereotype holds true. This, however, is where the stereotypes end.
For one, Sinc does not wear sweatpants, fail his classes, or drive his mom’s car through the drop-off circle blasting Lil Wayne. Instead, the Blues centerhe ambles across campus with a unique laid back appearance that makes him instantly memorable. Loafers, a dress shirt, and khakis make up his daily uniform, which is topped off with an old backpack, headphones over his shaggy brown hair, and occasionally an environmentally friendly wool sweater. Most people would probably assume he was in the jazz program.
Just as unique as his appearance is the path he took to arrive at Capilano. A three-year veteranplayer on the senior team, Sinclair’s play at Argyle Secondary made him a highly coveted recruiterd prospect, and he eventually chose to attend Simon Fraser University on an athletic scholarship. After a brief stay, he journeyed to Ontario, where he played for Waterloo. He left, however, hHalf-way through his last season, only he decided to return home where he has remained, biding his time, until tohe joined the Blues at the beginning of this year, in part due to the influence of his old Argyle teammates who make up a major contingent of the Blues roster..
Sinc mentions that the turning point came through With a team heavy with Argyle grads, his friends on the team influenced Sinclair’s decision to attend Cap, highlighted by an unorthodox recruiting trip made by fellow Argyle grad and first year Blues forward Reece Gavin. “Reece took me on a walk through the [Lynn] Headwaters,” Sinclair reminisced. “He said that if himself, and Mac, and myself, and all the other players at Cap were there, it’d be a really fun season, and hopefully we’d have a chance to be competitive late in the season. He’s got a smile, a great smile. He’s a salesman.”
The camaraderie of the Argyle grads has extended to include the entire team. “We have a lot of individual talent, but one of our major strengths is that we have a lot of guys with good attitudes and good people on our team in terms of their willingness to share opportunities and to applaud the positive action. People are quick to appreciate good efforts from people. And there’s a love for the game.”
With a record of 5-2 in the first half of the season, Sinclair has been a major part of the Blues success. He currently sits 2nd in the sits 2nd in the league in rebounds with 9.17 a game and, although blocks are not recorded by the BCCAA, Sinclair has sent the hopes of many an enterprising opponent deep into the stands as examples to others who dare tread in the paint.
Despite the good start, there are some weaknesses that must be addressed, which Sinclair alludes to with difficulty, mentioning it’s hard to do so “without looking like a douche bag.”
“I’ll say we’ve been working on our defencse really hard lately. I think that when we get back into playing in second semester, it’s the main thing we’re working on.”
Sinclair will play a big part in ensuring that the Blues become a better defensive team mentioning that he could “be better with playing help-side defense and clogging up the key” as well as “not allowing other teams to get to the rim or get lay-ups.”
Another area of concern is Sinclair’s quiet, laid back personality -he admits that his intensity which he admits is an area of concern, saying that currently, his intensity is only “[about] a four on the Richter scale.”
After an extended break, the Blues return to the court on January 15 and 16 when they take on the 6th place the 6th place Langara College Falcons at the Capilano Sportsplex.
//Mac Fairbairn
Sports Editor
|
