Derek Sankey
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 17, 1948 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lord Byng Secondary School (Vancouver, British Columbia) |
| College | University of British Columbia ("UBC") (1967–1971) |
| Position | Forward |
| Number | 8 |
| Career highlights | |
Derek Sankey (born December 17, 1948) is a former Canadian basketball player. He represented Canada in the 1976 Olympic games and many other international tournaments; was a Canadian university ("CIAU") champion; and has been inducted into many prestigious halls of fame as both a player and part of teams.[1][2][3]
International career
[edit]Sankey represented Canada on their national team from 1970-76.[4] This included the 1976 Olympic games, where Canada competed for the bronze medal and finished fourth overall.[5][6] This was one of the two times in the past 90 years in which Canada competed for an Olympic medal in basketball, the other being the 1984 Olympics.[7] A notable performance from Sankey in these Olympic games occurred against the Soviet Union, where Sankey led all Canadians with 18 points.[8] Sankey had the 7th highest points per minute among Canadians in these Olympics.[9] Sankey is the only University of British Columbia ("UBC") athlete to play for the Canadian men's Olympic basketball team.[4]
Sankey performed well in other national team international tournaments. Sankey represented Canada in the 1972 Pre-Olympic tournament,[1][2][10] where Sankey was the fourth-leading scorer in the tournament and led all Canadians with 22 ppg.[10] Canada finished 6th overall in this tournament.[11] Sankey also represented Canada in the 1970 FIBA World Championship,[1][2] where he was Canada's second leading scorer overall with 13.1 ppg.[12] Sankey also represented Canada in the 1970 World Student Games and the 1975 Pan American Games.[1][2]
University career
[edit]Before university, Sankey played at the high school level at Lord Byng Secondary School.[13][14][15]
Sankey played for the UBC Thunderbirds from 1967-71.[4][13] In the 1969-70 season, UBC won the Canadian university CIAU national championship,[4][13][16] the first national championship for UBC.[4][17][18] This season, UBC went undefeated against CIAU competition (23-0).[16][19] UBC decisively won the national championship game against McMaster University by 21 points (96-75).[4][16][19] In this season, Sankey was selected as a CIAU tournament all-star[13][20][21] and as a CIAU All-Canadian honourable mention.[13][22] In the 1970-71 season, Sankey was selected as a WCIAA conference first-team all-star.[13][23]
Post-career recognition
[edit]Sankey has been inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame (1994),[1] the Basketball BC Hall of Fame (2007)[2] and the UBC Sports Hall of Fame.[4] Teams on which he played have also been inducted into prestigious halls of fame: the 1976 Canadian Olympic team was inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame (2007)[3] and the 1969-70 UBC Thunderbirds team was inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame (1993).[16]
Personal life
[edit]Sankey was born on December 17, 1948 in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1][5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Derek Sankey– Athlete/ Builder" (PDF). Canada Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Hall of Fame Inductees". Basketball BC Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b "1976 Senior Men's Olympic Team – Team" (PDF). Canada Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Derek Sankey". UBC Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Derek Sankey". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Derek Sankey". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Reflecting on when Karl Tilleman, Eli Pasquale, and Their Fellow Canadian University Teammates Took a Shot at Ruling the Basketball World". Somers Point News. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Game: Soviet Union vs Canada (Group A)". FIBA Archive. Archived from the original on 2015-11-13. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Canada". FIBA. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b "1972 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament Player Leaders". FIBA Archive. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "1972 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament Canada Team Home Page". FIBA Archive. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "1970 World Championship for Men Team Statistics - Canada". FIBA Archive. Archived from the original on 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "Derek Sankey". U Sports Hoops. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "1969-70 Men's Basketball Roster - Derek Sankey". UBC Thunderbirds. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Tsumura, Howard (September 27, 2020). "A Sunday Read: How the storytellers of UBC men's basketball wrote their own history and strengthened bonds in a time of disconnect!". Varsity Letters. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b c d "1969-1970 UBC Men's Basketball Team". UBC Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "List of Canadian University Men's Basketball National Champions". U Sports Hoops. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "U Sports Championship Results" (PDF). U Sports. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b "British Columbia Thunderbirds - 1969-70 Season". U Sports Hoops. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Men's Basketball Championship All-stars" (PDF). U Sports. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Award Winners for Championship Tournament All-Star Team". U Sports Hoops. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Award Winners for Men's Basketball Honourable Mention All-Canadian". U Sports Hoops. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Award Winners for WCIAA First Team All-Star". U Sports Hoops. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
External links
[edit]- Derek Sankey international stats at Basketball-Reference.com