Henry Bekkering is Officially a Dino!
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Tuesday May 16, 2006
CALGARY - University of Calgary men’s basketball coach Dan Vanhooren confirmed that 6’7”, 245 lbs. forward Henry Bekkering will join the men’s basketball team for the 2007-08 season. A native of Taber, Alberta, Henry spent the past two seasons playing NCAA Division I basketball at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA.
Because of the transfer rule, Bekkering will have to redshirt the upcoming season with the Dinos, but will practice with the Dinos.
Bekkering is from a basketball family. Henry is the older brother of sophomore forward Ross. His two older sisters, Anna and Cory, both played five seasons for the University of Calgary women’s basketball team. His younger, sister, Janelle, is currently a member of Canada’s Junior National team and has accepted a scholarship to Gonzaga University.
A tremendous all-around athlete, Henry excelled in both basketball and football while attending W.R. Myers High School in Taber. He averaged nearly 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game in his senior year earning Alberta Player of the Year honors in 2003. He tallied a career high 47 points, in the semi-final game of the Alberta 4A tournament that saw his team placed third at the Provincial tournament.
Henry was one of just 19 players invited to the Canada’s Under 19 National Basketball team tryout camp and was a member of Canadian Under 18 team as a 16-year old.
In football Bekkering was a wide receiver, safety, kicker and punter and spent one season at Eastern Washington as a member of their football team.
In 2002-03 Henry redshirted at EWU. His dunking prowess and athletic ability provided him with the opportunity to be on the Best Damn Sports Show Period on Fox Sports Net in the spring of 2004. He spent the summer of 2003 with Canada’s Under 20 National Team.
The following year, Henry started 15 of 22 games for the Eagles averaging five points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game averaging 16 minutes per game. He scored 11 points twice in regular season action against Wichita State and Northern Arizona but had the misfortune of injuring his shoulder while hitting it on the backboard, forcing him to miss six games.
This past year he average just under four points per game in just under 12 minutes of playing time in 20 games.
“Adding Henry (Bekkering) to both Ross (Bekkering) and Robbie (Sihota) gives us the potential to be dominating upfront. In addition, Henry is an excellent student and therefore combined with his athletic talent has the ability to be a strong leader in our program,” states Vanhooren.
Henry is currently helping coach the U15 Junior Dinos team
Vanhooren also added 6’6”, 215 lbs. forward Jared Laird from St. Francis High School to the roster for the 2006-07 season.