British Invasion: Notice kick-starts pipeline of U.K. talent joining Griffins
Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – In England, the sports of choice for young lads are soccer and rugby.
Jake Notice played both, but when he was introduced to basketball at school one day he was instantly hooked.
"I was about 14 and I played it once in a gym class in school," the native of Bath, U.K. explained. "I just really liked it straight-away and that was it. It was pretty much just basketball from there on."
The 6-foot-4 wing, who is in his second year with the MacEwan Griffins, landed in the academy program of the Bristol Flyers of the British Basketball League, progressing through U14, U16 and U18 levels. His last year, he played both high school and men's games.
In Britain, however, post-secondary basketball isn't an option. You either go to school and don't play or try to turn pro. What that's led to is an influx of U.K. players heading overseas to pursue athletics and academics.
"I had a friend who played for Bishop's (in Quebec)," said Notice. "Originally, I was going to go to a school in New York. Things didn't really work out there, so I e-mailed around and Eric (Magdanz) got back to me pretty swiftly."
Magdanz, the MacEwan men's basketball head coach, said the fit was apparent right away.
"Jake's someone with very high academic aspirations, but wasn't ready to give up on basketball quite yet," he said. "We were put into contact with him through a connection of ours that we have in the U.K. and worked through the process and just really figured out we were a good fit for him.
"He was really interested in our Sciences program to eventually pursue med school. Being a U SPORTS school now, we fit with the level of play he was interested in."
The result has not only landed the Griffins a key scorer – Notice has hit double digits four times already this season – it's opened up a pipeline to other top British talent. After Notice joined the team in 2016, Jay Carter, from Reading, U.K., signed on a year later.
"What we've noticed is players coming over from the U.K. are very skilled," said Magdanz. "They're definitely familiar with the FIBA style of game, they understand spacing and moving the ball.
"I think the biggest adjustment for them is the level of competition and level of physicality. For Jake, there was a learning curve there – he had to get used to how physical players play here and just how much is allowed in our style of play."
Notice learned all about that in a limited role as a rookie last season behind a senior-laden Griffins lineup. In exit meetings, he was handed a workout plan before heading back to England for four months. He took it to heart, spending up to six days a week in the gym.
"He had a huge off-season where he went back and gained 15 pounds of muscle, got much better in terms of his ball-handling skills and came back this year ready to play in our system and ready to play against our competition," said Magdanz. "You can tell on the court. He's just far more comfortable with the level of physicality and he's taken full advantage of that."
Notice, who played just 7.9 minutes a game in 2016-17 – averaging 1.8 points – has now upped his numbers to 8.2 ppg in 21.5 nightly minutes. He narrowly missed his first Canada West double-double on Nov. 4 against Lethbridge when he had nine points and nine rebounds.
"I definitely notice a difference," he said of the extra muscle. "I just feel a lot more comfortable when I've got the ball – offence and defence. It's a lot easier to maintain balance when you get hit."
Notice, who is coming off back-to-back 11-point games in MacEwan's last series against Winnipeg in early December, will be counted upon again as the Griffins (2-8) host Saskatchewan (2-8) twice this weekend (Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 7 p.m., both games Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
The opportunity to put positive gains in the win column isn't lost on the Griffins, who, like the Huskies, sit two games back of the final Canada West playoff spot (currently held by 4-8 UNBC).
"We have a big second semester ahead of us," said Magdanz. "We have some games that we definitely have an opportunity to be competitive in and our division is wide open right now. To say that we have a shot at playoffs isn't out of the question here, but we have to put in the work early in the semester in order to give ourselves a chance to do that."
