Basketball has taken North Vancouver’s Robert Sacré all over the world, including onto the sport’s biggest stage with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, but the big man admits none of it tops the experiences he had right here with the Handsworth Royals.
Under the guidance of legendary Handsworth coach Randy Storey, Sacré helped lead the Royals to a provincial championship in his Grade 10 year, earning MVP honours with 17 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in the final win over Kitsilano Secondary.
“Winning that championship with my high school teammates was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life,” Sacré told the North Shore News. “Through coach Storey, what he did for me – he instilled the work ethic in me. … And being with all those great guys, I'm so blessed to say we won a championship for Handsworth. The crew we had is one of the best teams I've ever played with. Maybe it was just because it was my friends growing up, but I don't care. I'm super blessed to say that I'm a Royal. I'm a Royal for life.”
Sacré set out to conquer the basketball world after graduating from Handsworth – he first starred for Gonzaga University, then four years with the Lakers and finally an all-star stint in Japan – but now the gregarious giant is back on the B.C. basketball scene hoping to help others follow the same path he took.
Today, Sacré was announced as the new assistant general manager of the Fraser Valley Bandits, an Abbotsford-based team that plays in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. The CEBL was founded in 2017 as a professional league with a focus on giving elite Canadian basketball players a place to play. Six teams from B.C. through Ontario play in the league, with the rosters filled with players who were former university stars, professional players and Canadian national team members.
“I’m super excited that basketball kids have something to aspire to,” Sacré said about joining the Bandits. “I want this team to build into something special in the city of Vancouver and Abbotsford. Let’s see where we can go. My goal is to make this team so appealing that the NBA wants to be a part of it. … I think this is an opportunity where we can show the NBA that Vancouver deserves another NBA team.”
Sacré recalls with great fondness going to watch the Vancouver Grizzlies play. The team was never very successful in its short stint in Vancouver, but it was inspiring nonetheless to see NBA action up close.
“When I was growing up I had the Grizzlies to look up to,” he said. “The kids now, they see guys on TV but they don’t really get to see the speed, the size, the athleticism that’s really there. If you see it in the flesh it’s the real deal, and it really inspires you to set goals. I want to be a part of that, somehow some way, in B.C.”
Today’s announcement from the Bandits stated that the 31-year-old Sacré, who now lives in Spokane with his wife and three children, will be involved in recruiting players and developing relationships between the Bandits and the international basketball community.
"I am really excited to have Rob on board,” general manager Kyle Julius stated in the release. “He is a tremendous asset to our recruiting and player development department. He is a Canadian basketball icon and a major role model for players from Western Canada.”
Sacré said he is ready to do whatever is needed to help the organization succeed.
“I didn’t get my master’s from Gonzaga in athletic administration for nothing. I’ve got to put that to work, some way somehow. I just want to be part of it. Whatever the Bandits need me to do for this team to be successful, this organization to be successful, I want to be part of it.”
Basketball is flourishing in Canada right now, with a record 17 Canadian players making it onto NBA opening day rosters at the start of the 2020-'21 season. The CEBL gives another avenue to help even more players thrive in an elite environment, said Sacré.
“Canada has a lot of talent. And it's not just in Toronto, and in Vancouver, and in Quebec, but throughout the whole country,” he said. “There are talented guys all throughout every province. And I think this gives them an opportunity to showcase their skills, showcase what they can do. I think it's well deserved – Canada deserves a league now.”
