Cultural Kodiaks

Cory Richardson dribbles the ball to his left as Robert Myles III attempts to get around defenders during practice.

The basketball season is starting soon and the Kodiaks have added a couple of key players to their roster.

Robert Myles III and Cory Richardson will be playing their first year as Kodiaks when they open the season at the beginning of November.

Both Myles and Richardson have played in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference (ACAC) for the past two years in Grand Prairie and Keyano College. They will be filling a big hole in the back court.

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These new additions have had an impact and fit in well with the existing team.

“These guys really have to grind it out at times when they bring that attitude to practice, I really think that both of them have raised the level of our practice,” said head coach Ryan Heggie who is excited to see how they will benefit the team throughout the season.

Myles is excited to get the season started and uses his passion from an early age to keep him focused.

“I used to play ball with my cousin all the time. He was a little bit bigger than me and used to always lose. I’m super competitive, so I was like I’m going to keep playing ball ‘till I keep winning,” said Myles who uses that to help fuel his teammates on the floor.

Practices so far have been upbeat thanks to the veteran leaders as well as Myles and Richardson increasing the tempo.

The detail and focus they bring has a lot to do with them wanting to make the most of their time being so far from home. Myles and Richardson are both international players who resided in Las Vegas and Bunbury, Australia respectfully.

Playing basketball in Canada was different as Richardson had to adjust to the game not being as physical as it was in Australia. Myles found the game more fundamentally sound to play.

The biggest element they faced was coming to the great white north.

“Winter was one of the biggest things I’ve ever had to adjust to. Coming from where it gets to 10 degrees to coming into Fort Mac and it was going to be -56, it was definitely a real shock,” added Richardson.
Heggie is impressed with the maturity that both of them possess.

“[It’s] their character. They’ve both got their education stuff taken care on their own which is a big plus because you don’t have to do detail work for them,” said Heggie who does his best in making sure they are as comfortable as possible while being away from home.

“My family had Robert over for some turkey dinner, I tricked him to coming over … I said ‘We got a big turkey to eat and we need your help,’” said Heggie who had his daughters take Myles on a toboggan for the first time afterwards.

Myles and Richardson have become close friends being teammates after competing against each other for years. They now spend time studying and taking a break playing NBA 2K. When it comes to head-to-head matchups, Myles triumphs Richardson on the virtual court.

The pair will be on the floor as the Kodiaks open the season Nov. 4 against SAIT at the Val Matteotti Gym.

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Authors

Steve Seto is in his second year of Digital Communications & Media program in the Digital Journalism stream. He has a large passion for sports and hopes to start a career in radio or television after graduation.

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