When you get your shot, you’ve got to make the best of it.
So when Cochrane High School Cobras basketball players Jake Nielson and Justin Sambu went to Edmonton for elite high school basketball tournaments, they brought their ‘A’ game.
Nielson was shooting for Alberta’s under-16-year-old (U16) boy’s team at the Western Canadian tournament, and Sambu for Alberta’s U15 boy’s side at the national tournament. Both tournaments wrapped up Aug. 30 in Edmonton.
“He played well. He fulfilled the role he was selected for on the team, which is to rebound and finish around the basket. He did very well,” Alberta U15 boy’s coach Erhayat Ozcan, former coach of the Chestermere Lakers, said of Sambu’s play at nationals. “He really improved his touch around the basket.”
The six-foot-2, 200-pound two-sport star who also plays offensive and defensive line for Cochrane Midget Lions and Cochrane Cobras football teams, made it tough for opposing defenders to move him under the basket. Ozcan was impressed with Sambu’s development as an athlete.
“He improved his conditioning as well. He has a football body,” Ozcan said of the 15-year-old Cochranite going into Grade 11 this fall. “But he was able to get up and down the floor very effectively. We play a fast-break style. He was able to get up and down the floor very well.”
Sambu averaged 6.2 points and 3.8 assists per game, coming off the bench for 11.5 minutes of playing time per game. He led his team in field-goal percentage at 60 per cent. Alberta U15 finished fifth out of 10 teams at nationals, with Ontario taking the title.
Unlike two-sport Sambu, Nielson is a pure basketball player, who finds time for a little Cobras track and field in the spring. The junior varsity-aged shooting guard/forward played varsity ball this past season at Cochrane High, fitting in well with the senior team.
At Westerns in Edmonton, the 6-foot-2 16-year-old was consistent and productive, shooting 65 per cent from the field and averaging 15 points per game.
“Jake is a tremendous young player. He is a special talent and definitely a player to keep your eye on, as he has all the makings to be a great university-level player,” said Jonathan Verhesen, Alberta U16 boy’s coach who’s coaching Grande Prairie College men’s basketball this season. “My staff and I asked a lot out of Jake. We asked him to score, create and rebound the ball. Basically, we wanted him to do most everything. When we asked him to do all this he responded in a professional way saying: ‘I can do all that.’ ”
