Behind Enemy Lines: Langara Falcons

In the latter half of the 20th century, no team was feared as much as Vancouver Community College. From 1974 to 1992, the Falcons won a combined 25 conference titles, including a stretch from 1971 to 1985 where the Falcons won either the men's or women's title.

After becoming Langara College in 1994, the Falcons celebrated by winning four out of the next five conference titles, including a three-peat from 1997 to 1999, winning national championships in the latter two years. Historically speaking, the Falcons are the greatest PACWEST team of all time, and among the country's elite.

Since the turn of the millennium, the Falcons have struggled to recapture their former glory, only winning three conference titles. Their most recent national title came in 2014, and they have yet to win a conference title since then.

With the rosters they've assembled, many in Vancouver have a reason to be excited.

Women's

Season recap

Langara, while far from the worst team in the conference, was certainly far from world-beating. They finished 8-16, not finishing in the top 3 of any stat except opponent's personal fouls and turnovers forced, but the latter was neutralized by Langara committing the second most turnovers of any team in the conference.

Despite an 0-5 start, they snuck into the PACWEST championships as the #5 seed, but were made to sing the blues as Capilano quickly dispatched them, 77-51. Reegan Bond led the Falcons with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Strengths and weaknesses

Langara is confident in the roster they've built, but took a unique approach to getting there. 

Head coach Cameron MacGillivary was let go and replaced by former UBC assistant Adriano Catena, who spent the last four years turning the Thunderbirds into a provincial powerhouse. 

On the recruiting side, Langara added guards Bianca Padolina and Kaitlyn Chan, while strengthening their forward lineup with Taegan Lee and returning player Nadia Singh. 

The Falcons' only notable loss is Katelyn Lafleur, but with their new additions, they seem well-prepared to fill the gap without much trouble.

How do they fare against VIU?

Langara still has a long way to go until they can roll with the best of them, but this does not mean that they're an easy opponent by any stretch. Catena is a proven winner in the collegiate ranks, and the roster is still relatively young.

That being said, VIU should still have the upper hand. They have a better roster at virtually every position, more proven coaches, and proven championship pedigree. Langara, at least for the upcoming season, should be just another statistic.

Men's

Season recap

Over a decade removed from their national title in 2014, the Falcons sat comfortably in the second tier of team last season. Despite a top-three offense fronted by guards Cameron Vaughn, Edriel Asirit, and Kadyn Brown, their reward was a 10-14 season and an unceremonious playoff ouster at the hands of the CBC Bearcats.

Strengths and weaknesses

Langara is in an extremely interesting situation. Last year, the Falcons lived and died by Cameron Vaughn. The Minneapolis native finished 2nd in the league in points per game, but was sandwiched on both sides by two VIU guards, Kam Bender and Kaeleb Johnson. With both of them leaving, Vaughn should stake his claim as the conference's top offensive player in what will likely be his final collegiate year.

The main reason many are expecting great things from Langara this season is their roster. Almost all of their lineup from last year is returning. This includes true sophomore guard Luka Subotic and versatile forward Patrick Robinson.

Their guard room didn’t need much improvement, but got much-needed depth by signing three-point specialist Taiga Parmar from St. Michael’s and true point guard James Zongo from Tupper, who famously dropped 56 points during an All-Star game in Vancouver last year.

Their forward room was greatly improved with the signings of true centre Charlie Comrie and point forward Justin Best, while also poaching Aaron Ungprasert from Capilano’s bloated forward room. 6’7 utilityman Hartej Aujla can play every position, but will play mostly as a forward or wing.

What worries me somewhat about the Falcons is their lack of a designated defender. Most teams employ at least one player to cover another team's best option (think of Capilano with Damein Coleman or VIU with Markus Modrovic). That role will either go to Patrick Robinson, Langara's leading rebounder last year, or Christian Archer, who led the team in blocks per game.

How do they fare against VIU?

I really like what the Falcons are building. They're trying to emulate VIU's philosophy of building your roster primarily around young players. With this being Vaughn's final year, I expect Langara to make a major push for a playoff win and beyond.

Assuming everything goes right and one of their players can step in as a defensive specialist, I think they have a realistic chance of stealing a game from the Mariners and potentially splitting the season series.

Next post is gonna be on Okanagan. After that, I'll just crank out variety content until the season begins. Until next time, this has been Kaleb Green, the voice of VIU.

-K