Thaskani Mtawali plans to take his basketball talents to Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, where he has been offered a President’s Scholarship. He will study sciences while playing for the Mariners squad that won the national collegiate championships last month. His new team includes Isfeld alumnus Nick Xylinas, who has one year remaining with the Mariners.
A graduating student at Isfeld Secondary, Mtawali has been the leader of the senior Ice boys basketball team that won the regular season North Island title en route to the B.C. championships in Langley. After hitting double figures in boards and points in their first three games, a knee injury kept him out of the final game against Reynolds of Victoria.
“It was a tough run,” Mtawali said of provincials, where the team went 1-3. “Coach (Tom Elwood) said our team had the most injury and health problems in one season that he’s ever seen. But looking back at the season, I think it was great. We had that great run at the beginning. We had a few struggles come playoffs, but we ended up playing well.”
For most of the season, the Ice had been ranked in the top 10 among triple-A teams in B.C., but was seeded 16th heading into provincials. Though losing three out of four games, the Ice gave each opponent a run for their money. Against the top-ranked Charles Tupper, they were leading the game in the third quarter, and out-rebounded their Vancouver opponent by game’s end.
“Overall, I’m really happy with the guys. It was a great season.”
While Mtawali has always been a dominant player, Elwood said his leadership blossomed over the last two seasons, in terms of knowing when to take over a game.
“There would be times in the past when he deferred to his teammates,” said Elwood, noting unselfish play put his team at a disadvantage. “He is a superb teammate willing to do anything required to help his team win (on and off the court). He wears the mantle of leadership well, and has created an environment in our team that is positive, affirming and uplifting.
“Teammates take his direction well and know that he is the hardest working person on the team,” Elwood added. “He is extremely coachable, which will help him at the next level. Not only is he coachable but he is able to apply instruction quickly.”
A tear in his left meniscus has sidelined Mtawali for about five weeks, but he expects to begin training mid-April with his new teammates.
Mariners coach Matt Kuzminski, who has watched him play on several occasions, expects Mtawali will have a positive impact on the program as he works to earn playing time in his first season.
“On the court, three things stood out to me that I loved about Thaskani,” Kuzminski said. “First, his effort was excellent. Second, his eyes. He was always scanning the floor. His eyes showed intensity and awareness. And lastly, Thaskani showed a great ability to take coaching. He looked his coach in the eye and his body language was always that of next play.”
Thaskani isn’t the only member of his family who excels on the basketball court. His younger brother Temwa, who is in Grade 9, was a starter on the Isfeld senior boys team. Recently, Temwa attended a top 40 camp in Vancouver.
“He’s making sure people have their eyes on him, because he’s going to be something to watch the next few years,” Thaskani said.