Josh Wolfram has come home to continue his basketball career.
The TRU WolfPack announced Tuesday that Wolfram, a 6-foot-10 product of the South Kamloops Titans, has become TRU head coach Scott Clark’s first recruit signing for 2013-14.
Wolfram has previous CIS experience, having played two seasons (2010-12) with the U of Calgary Dinos.
“I am so excited,” Wolfram said. “When I was coming out of high school, TRU didn’t even have a coach here.
That is why I went elsewhere.
“It is exciting to see what coach Clark has done with the program and where it is going in the future.”
Wolfram, a student at TRU who is leaning twoards business, has attended a number of WolfPack games this season.
“I play a 4 so in that position, I am allowed a lot of freedom around the perimeter and going into the post,” he said. “That suits my game. I know all the guys from playing summer basketball with them. They are all good people. I look forward to being their teammate.”
Clark is thrilled to have a top local player decide to join the TRU program.
“When you are able to keep a top player at home, it is great,” Clark said. “When you are a small-market school like we are, it’s what you have to do to be successful.”
Clark is of the belief that Wolfram will flourish here.
“We don’t like to label people as small forwards or guards,” Clark explained. “We try to say they are a basketball player. That means you have to be able to shoot, pass, dribble, rebound and do everything within the game of basketball.
“Josh is a bigger player who can do it all. Some people think that bigger guys should just stay close to the basket. If a bigger guy can possess all the skills of being a basketball player, that is what you are looking for.
Josh fills that model. He has a lot of flexibility in his game.
“Those are the types of players who can be successful here. . . . What we are looking for in our system is for people to possess global skills.”
Wolfram played for the Titans when they finished the 2008-09 season by placing third at the provincial AAA championship. He was a Grade 11 student then, playing alongside Kelly Olynyk, who now is at Gonzaga in Spokane, and John Bantock, who plays for the Simon Fraser Clan.
In 2009-10, Wolfram helped South Kamloops to a seventh-place finish at provincials. He also played with the B.C. U-17 team.
The WolfPack basketball team is preparing for two games this week, including a rare Thursday night home date.
The Trinity Western Spartans will be at the TCC on Thursday and Friday nights. The women play at 6 o’clock and the men at 8 on both occasions.
The material in this story was supplied by the TRU sports information office.
