Weekes crushing it in Land Down Under

Dave Taylor has a funny way of describing what makes Olivia Weekes a rare breed on the basketball court.

“I say this in the nicest possible way, and really in kind of a positive coaching way: she’s a bit of a cheater,” said Taylor, who coached the 5-11 guard this past season, her last with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

It’s a nod to Weekes’ elite competitive nature, which shone on the courts of Winnipeg and led to a stellar run in high school with the Vincent Massey Trojans before she was recruited west, where she starred for five years with the Thunderbirds.

“If we’re doing a drill in practice, we’re keeping score, and as soon as we’re keeping score, she wants to win,” added Taylor. “And if it means she’s got to push her teammate out of the way or foul to win, she’s going to do it.”

The daughter of athletic parents and older sister to her brother Owen, who will play NCAA Division 1 volleyball this fall, there was never a shortage of competition in the Weekes household.

“I’ve always had it,” Weekes said, amused by her former coach’s words. “I always want to win. I’m super competitive in literally everything I do, which is good, but also definitely has some downsides to it.”

That indomitable spirit is just one reason why Taylor believes Weekes has full control over the story that will be written in the next chapter of her career.

Last week, the bright-eyed 22-year-old landed in Melbourne for the start of her professional hoops career with the Bulleen Boomers of Australia’s Big V league.

Weekes arrived with the idea that her inaugural season would be a four-month experiment to decide her future in the sport, but she’s quickly realizing this could be something permanent.

She said the change to the pro life has been a seamless transition thus far, taking a few weeks off after her university season before flying to the Land Down Under.

“Putting more research into it and kind of seeing what the opportunity was for me, and especially going to play somewhere where I’ve always wanted to visit — and then I get to live for free, and I still get to play — everything kind of just lined up,” said Weekes, who made up her mind to go pro in December.

“Now being here, seeing the girls playing higher leagues than me, I’m like, ‘OK, people can make a living off of this,’ and it’s totally something I think I would want to continue.”

Weekes was thrown right into the fire and, as she did so many times in her time at UBC, delivered with an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double and four steals in 29 minutes.

What’s been an interesting wrinkle to the start of her pro career is that Weekes — who is sub-six-feet and has historically drawn defensive assignments against fellow guards — has been moved to the post, where she serves as an undersized forward and guards some of the tallest players on opposing teams. She’s taken the challenge in stride.

“How I play my game hasn’t changed much,” she said. “Just keep crashing the O-boards. I feel like that’s a big thing for me out here is rebounding, and I’ve been able to do that so far.”

Adjusting is something Weekes has grown accustomed to owing to her time in university. She played under four different head coaches in her five years with the Thunderbirds, along with the yearly turnover on a collegiate roster.

Weekes’ final season demanded the most from her, as fellow standout Mona Berlitz suffered a season-ending injury, national Rookie of the Year Keira Daly transferred, and Jessica Clarke graduated, vacating another constant source of offence in the lineup.

Rather than simply being an important cog in the wheel, Weekes was now the engine of the Thunderbirds, who would go as she went.

She responded by leading UBC to the U Sports Final 8, while earning Second-Team All-Canadian and First-Team Canada West conference honours.

“She took it upon herself to be the best player every single night when teams were focused on her, and again, that’s just her competitive nature. And had that not happened, we don’t have the year we did,” Taylor said.

Weekes’ name paints every corner of the Thunderbirds’ history books: fourth all-time in UBC’s Canada West history in scoring (1,239 points) and second in total rebounds (751). She owns the program record for free throws made (331) and is also top 10 in steals (151 — eighth), blocks (50 — ninth), and minutes played (2,489 — ninth).

“Everyone always asks me, ‘Would you change it? You had so many coaches, it’s crazy.’ I wouldn’t change it for anything at the end of the day,” Weekes said.

“I feel like it taught me so much. And especially playing pro, you’re not going to have the same coach every year, it’s going to be so much change, and you’re going to have new teammates every year, and the offence isn’t going to be the same. And so I feel like that really helped me prepare for the next step in my basketball career, for sure.”

Taylor said he’s never had a doubt that Weekes would excel as a professional. In his mind, it’s up to her how long she wants to continue harnessing that elite competitive nature.

“The basketball, Liv is going to just crush it,” Taylor said.

“In terms of the basketball stuff, Liv could play pro for the next 10 years, and she’d be a great pro. So it’s just, does she want that as part of her life? I’ve, quite frankly, thought Australia was really lucky to get her, and I think in the first game… didn’t surprise me at all.”

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