Feature by Alex Strachan in the Sun's High School Report. Killarney's six-foot-four senior Brian Seebaran was averaging 30 points a game for the 13-13 Cougars while also captaining Canada's under-19 cricket team, with the junior world cricket championships in Denmark ahead that July. The article covers his start in basketball at age 12, his admiration for Larry Bird's team play, his quiet pre-game routine, and comments from Cougars coach Ted Cusick, who praised how Seebaran handed off easy shots to teammates rather than chasing points. Teammates named include point guards Jason Zoney, Steve Wong and Louis Mark, and forward Paul Sandhu. Seebaran hoped to study English and education at Simon Fraser University. In his own words, on the difference between his two sports: "Batting you get one chance. One mistake, and that's it. In basketball you can always come back." The standfirst headline and photo caption — "BRIAN SEEBARAN: two-sport threat on target at Killarney" — are the source of the feature's usual description. The full article text appears in the photograph above.
Transcription (as printed):
One is small and red and hard as a rock, and if it hits you in the head you’ll see stars for a week.
The other is big and orange and not so hard, and if it hits you in the head it’ll probably just roll out of bounds.
One is a cricket ball and the other is a basketball, and mixing the two is, well … different.
Nobody ever accuses Killarney senior Brian Seebaran of sticking out like a sore thumb while he’s racking up an average 30 points a game for the 13-13 Cougars, but then how many people know this natural at the jump shot is also captain of Canada’s under-19 cricket team?
A date at the junior world cricket championships in Denmark looms ahead in July, but for now basketball, friends and school are the priority, and not necessarily in that order.
Seebaran came to basketball as a 12-year-old and for someone gaining his growth early — he’s now six-foot three — basketball seemed natural. “I liked shooting,” he says of his early days, “and I was surprised I was pretty good.”
Right off the bat, you might say.
Seebaran feels a special affinity for now-retired Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird. He admires Bird’s ability to make his teammates around him play better, “the way he plays under pressure in clutch situations,” he says. “He reacts calmly to every situation and you never feel he’s out of a game.”
“The way it works with me, when I start, if I miss a few shots early I try not to let it bother me. He always stays centred, focused, no matter what is going on around him. Watching his games, it’s amazing how his teams always come back.”
“It’s difficult for me to say this as a father, but Brian has given us a lot of satisfaction.” — BEN SEEBARAN
Seebaran acknowledges a love for dance hall reggae — Cobra is a favorite act — and hopes to pursue a career in English and education at Simon Fraser University. Older brother Barry already attends SFU, plays basketball on SFU’s junior varsity squad and is a member of Canada’s senior national cricket team.
You might say cricket runs in the family.
Seebaran’s father Ben captained UBC’s cricket team from 1961 to 1964, and again from 1969 to 1973 after emigrating to Canada from his native Trinidad when he was 19. Brian had a bat thrust in his hand as a four-year-old and began smashing windows at a young age.
“It’s difficult for me to say this as a father, but Brian has given us a lot of satisfaction,” the elder Seebaran says. “He is a source of pleasure and delight to us.”
Cougars coach Ted Cusick echoes Seebaran’s sentiment. “He’s just the nicest kid in the world. He never has a harsh word for anyone,” he says. “Some kids, when they start scoring — especially if they star — get cranky when things don’t go their way. Brian’s not like that at all — he’ll hand off easy shots rather than take them himself. He’s basically well liked by his teammates.”
Cusick recalls an incident in Friday’s 74-64 loss to St. Thomas More — “He was smacked down on the floor right in front of me, in the middle of a shot,” he says. “I thought he might be hurt, but he just rolled over right in front of me and said ‘Did it go in?’ Not ‘Am I hurt?’ but ‘Did it go in?’ That’s the kind of kid he is.”
“I like to be by myself, alone,” Seebaran says of his pre-game routine. “I think it helps me focus on the game. If I’m with friends and we’re talking and having fun sometimes it’s difficult to get into the game.”
He stays close to his teammates off the court — point guards Jason Zoney, Steve Wong and Louis Mark (Killarney uses a three guard system) and alternate forward Paul Sandhu — and candidly admits his team needs a strong player up the middle for rebounds, even though they’ve already proven capable of springing a few upsets.
“We have a problem in our league because of the number of weak teams,” Cusick says. “It’s hard to leave him (Seebaran) in, but it’s tough not to. He has a chance to win the scoring title, and a scoring title looks awfully good on application forms for a scholarship, but there are times when it’s really difficult (leaving him in). I mean, not to single them out necessarily, but we beat Gladstone by 70 or 80 points. I was embarrassed.”
Leaving the star in an 80-point game is, um, just not cricket.
Seebaran laughs. “In cricket you don’t have as many chances to come back in,” he says, comparing the two sports. “Batting you get one chance. One mistake, and that’s it. In basketball you can always come back.
“I’ve never liked the attitude some people have when they say ‘I’m having a bad game,’ and the game isn’t even over yet. I always try to make the last shot of the game. And it’s amazing, you know, that last shot can be the most important one.”
Photo caption: BRIAN SEEBARAN: two-sport threat on target at Killarney.
Source: Vancouver Sun, Thursday, January 28, 1993, sports section p. D11 (ProQuest BC Historical Newspapers pagination: p. 51).