Player Spotlight - Danny Balderson
Danny Balderson’s passion for basketball in Southern Alberta shines through in every word he speaks. A native of Magrath, Alberta, he’s been shaped by the small-town devotion to local sports teams. “Basketball is the ‘second most popular religion’ in the deep south, and in the heat of basketball season, it probably moves to #1,” Balderson laughs. “It means a lot to the town, everyone comes to the games, not just the parents and girlfriends, even if they’ve got no connection to the team.” High school basketball games are held in the evenings in Magrath, and it’s not uncommon for the town of 2000 people to draw a crowd of close to 1000 to a game, especially when playing a rival team. It’s the closest thing to the movie Hoosiers you’ll come across north of the border. Basketball has found a truly special place in the hearts of residents of Magrath, and they come by it honestly. The area was first settled by Mormon workers from Utah and Idaho in 1899, recruited to construct irrigation on the fertile land in the region. “A lot of people in the area are of American descent, and they brought basketball here as opposed to hockey,” Balderson says.
The Magrath Zeniths have never shied away from competition. Despite coming from a school of just 150 students, the teams choose to play in the 4A league, playing against schools over twenty times their size. Balderson recalled his 4A provincial win with the Zeniths, his grade 12 year as a favourite memory of his high school days. “We played in Edmonton, against these big Calgary and Edmonton schools, and we ended up playing Raymond in the finals. We both beat two big schools to meet in the finals, and we were able to compete and succeed against schools of 3000-4000 kids.”
At the helm of the 1993 provincial winning team was Phil Tollestrup, a Southern Alberta native with an extensive basketball career. He played as a member of the Canadian national men’s basketball team during the 1970s and played in the 1976 Summer Olympics, where he was the tournament’s 3rd leading scorer. In 1978 he began his coaching career at McMaster University and eventually returned to coach communities in Southern Alberta. “How lucky could a kid be to have a coach like that?” Balderson said, speaking of his former high school coach. “Whatever he said you’d do, we really looked up to him.”
After finishing high school Balderson made the move North to Lethbridge, playing his rookie season for the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns in 1993. “I wasn’t really highly recruited coming out of high school. There were a lot of opportunities with the Pronghorns program. They weren’t very good at the time, and that gave me a chance to start playing right away”. After completing the 1994-95 season, Balderson chose to spend some time off the court, serving a mission trip for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Florida. “It was tough to be away. I barely touched a ball while I was there. I don’t think I was ever quite as athletic as I was before I left, but it certainly helped me learn hard work and how to work together better as a team.
Balderson was quick to take to the court again once returning from Florida, coming back to a Pronghorns team that was better than ever. During the final three years of his university eligibility, the team was ranked #1 in Canada for much of that time. In the 1999-2000 season, the team took it all the way to the national championships in Halifax, N.S, losing out in a heartbreaking 80-75 semi-final game. “The first playoff series we sold out the gym in ten minutes. It was standing room only, we were the hottest ticket in town, even better than the Hurricanes,” Balderson said, looking back on the record-breaking season. “We could have had 7 or 8000 people there... if we had the space.”
Although he doesn’t have a university championship under his belt, Balderson is not short on achievements. He won a national rookie of the year honour, was a two-time Canada West player of the year, was four-time Canada West all-star and three-time All-Canadian, and won the Mike Moser Award for Canadian university basketball most valuable player in 2000. Balderson represented Canada at the World University Games in Majorca, Spain, in 1999. He finished his university career as the U of L’s all-time leading scorer with 2000 points, averaging 20.5 points per game over his five-year career. Today, his No. 31 jersey hangs from the rafters in the gymnasium at the U of L’s 1st Choice Savings Centre. “It’s humbling; there’s a lot of good players that have played for the U of L. When I see it, I think of the teams we had. I have a lot of pride for Southern Alberta basketball, we gained the respect of the country, playing really good basketball with our best players coming from close to home.” Despite all the hardware, the most valuable award to Balderson is one that is intangible. “The best recognition is respect. You play for respect, and we earned it. We had some really good teams; we brought excitement and recognition for the community.”
Today, Balderson resides on a farm north of Magrath, where his great grandfather homesteaded. “I have a wife and kids, that’s a lot of fun, coaching both my boys in baseball and basketball and my daughters as well.” He also runs a summer basketball camp that attracts over 300 students from all over Canada and the United States. He remains rooted in the University of Lethbridge as well, where he is now teaching in the Faculty of Education. “I enjoy the students, learning about who they are and where they come from, to see them do well is so rewarding.”
His research is also focusing on helping students, focusing on developing and testing strategies to help students improve their wellness. As for the basketball team, he is now in the stands as one of the Horns' biggest fans. “The future looks bright, especially if we can get more local kids playing here. There’s nowhere in Canada that’s better for getting an excellent education and playing basketball than the U of L.”
