Brock Dewsbery ready to battle at Men's Basketball Championships

The 2016 census for Raymond, Alberta was 3,708, and although the high school is relatively small, rated 2A (100-299 students), the Comets compete and regularly win against much larger schools when it comes to the sport of basketball.

The boy's team has captured at least ten provincial titles in 4A level competition (800 or more enrollment).

Many of these young hoopsters go on to post-secondary sport or higher.

One former Comet shining brightly on the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) men's basketball scene is Lethbridge College Kodiaks' Brock Dewsbery.

The 6-foot-3 guard finished his rookie season with an impressive 21.3 points per game average, which was fifth-best in the 15-team ACAC.

He also ranked in the ACAC Top 10 in minutes played per game, 33.1, 7th; 3-point field goal percentage, 46.8, 6th; free throw percentage, 80.9, 5th and 1st in assist to turnover ratio at 3.1.

"Basketball is a kind of way of life growing up in Raymond," admits, Dewsbery, 20. "You watch the Comets play, and you know that you want to become a Comet one day. The whole town comes out to watch when they play.

"The culture I grew up in...it (basketball) became a way of life. You play basketball when you have nothing else to do. Then when you're done, you play basketball again."

In his Grade 11 and Grade 12 years, the Comets made the Alberta high school provincials, claiming silver in Grade 11.

Dewsbery was also a competitive soccer player growing up but said his basketball game picked up a notch following high school graduation. He was serving his two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which found him south of the border in the state of Arkansas.

"I got to play some of the local talents in Arkansas, and it felt that everybody was a bit stronger and a bit more athletic. It made me realize that I had to be much better."

Nicknamed "Slim Buckets" by his coach Ryan Heggie, Dewsbery said of his on-court skills, "I like to battle down low and do the thing I need to do and score."

Of Dewsbery joining the Kodiaks, which finished the season at 20 wins and one loss, Heggie said in a preseason media release: "At 6'3, Brock brings size and an extra competitive nature to our team. He's a skillful scorer who can strike from inside the paint, attacking the rim or stretching the D with the three-ball."

The 2019-2020 ACAC Men's Basketball Provincials tipoff Mar. 5 - 7, 2020 in Camrose, Alberta and are hosted by the University of Alberta - Augustana Vikings.