Steve Hanson has some big sneakers to fill. Well, small ones, actually.
Hanson is taking over the Terry Fox Ravens reputable senior boys high school basketball program, replacing diminutive, dynamic head coach Rich Chambers, who has moved on to guide the University of Victoria Vikes women's hoop team.
A Port Moody product, Chambers had been at Fox since 1993 after leaving the Centennial Centaurs and promptly co-coached the Ravens to back-to-back B.C. AAA crowns along with co-coach Don Van Os.
The 37-year-old Hanson played under the tutelage of Van Os and is a Fox grad of 1992, the same year Steve Nash of St. Michael's University steered his Victoria squad to the provincial championship.
Despite losing top guns Bret Macdonald and Scott Hind to graduation, the Ravens are still considered a top-10 team that will very likely qualify once again for the provincial tournament. Hind's father, Mike, has also stepped down as Fox co-coach to guide his young daughter's squad, leaving Hanson as the lone bench boss.
"We have a pretty veteran group, even though we lost some key players," said Hanson, who coached the Fox junior boys team the last two years and whose son, A.J. Hanson, is a Fox grad of 2009 currently playing pro hoops in the Phillipines. "In fact, we have 12 guys back and should be able to rotate them all regularly. Our strength is going to be our depth."
