Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – His turn has been a long time coming.
Six years of MacEwan University Griffins basketball has brought Harrison Lane his fair share of ups and downs, highlights, lifetime memories and friends.
As one becomes the elder statesman of any enterprise, friends and colleagues move on and faces change.
Lane has watched that happen a lot over the past few seasons, but at this year's Senior Night, it's finally his turn to be honoured for his contributions to the program.
Lane and the Griffins will host the Brandon Bobcats on Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m., both in the David Atkinson Gym), with the latter being MacEwan's final home game of the 2018-19 Canada West season and Senior Night celebration.
"I played with the same group of guys for four years," said Lane, the Griffins' lone fifth-year graduating player this season. "Watching them graduate was a little tough but being part of that transition with the new guys moving forward was interesting and I'm glad I stuck around for that."
Some of his former teammates will be in the stands on Saturday, which will be a special moment for Lane. He watched guys such as Keith Gerdes, Thomas Jereniuk, Cole Aikens, Tyler Wise and Ryan Coleman honoured on past Senior Nights when their careers came to a close.
"I spent four years with all of those guys, so those are some of my closest friends," he said. "Having them in the stands for that game, it's pretty special."
Lane first came to the Griffins in 2013 as a redshirt walk-on after not drawing a ton of interest out of Strathcona high school.
That was MacEwan's final season in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, which makes Lane one of the last Griffins student-athletes remaining from the year of transition when the institution moved basketball, volleyball, soccer and cross-country into Canada West.
"We were pretty successful," he said of the 2013-14 Griffins, who went 11-5-5, second best in the conference, before finishing fifth at the ACAC Championship. "I think we lost on a buzzer beater. We were a very successful team.
"To move up was a transition – we were the new guys and we hadn't really figured out the pace and speed of the game. But within the next couple of years we had it figured out. We made playoffs (in 2016). It was a fun experience."
Lane will never forget the 2015-16 season, his second of eligibility, as the Griffins came within a basket of knocking off the University of Alberta in a tough, hard-fought first round playoff series.
"We were playing two games in our home gym with big crowds," he said. "Coming that close to moving forward in the playoffs – that was a fun experience and the group of guys that we had was solid.
"That was a fun experience, but also heartbreaking at the same time."
As he's grown into a veteran player now, Lane has been able to impart sage knowledge to a young Griffins team while also playing his role under the hoop for the Griffins, providing 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds a game.
"I've gotten smarter, being able to play with different people and make my team better," he said of his transition to veteran player.
He's also become more acclimated to the physical rigours of battling in the Canada West paint.
"I've gotten healthier through the years, which is weird," he said. "I had so many injuries in my first couple of years – knee problems, ankles. This past couple of years, I've had some injuries, but for the most part I've been pretty healthy."
Lane will have one more weekend after this to play basketball for MacEwan when the Griffins close out the campaign with a road trip to Victoria on Feb. 1-2. Then, he rides off into the sunset, with no plans to play competitive basketball again, even if he'd like to keep his hand in the game he loves.
"I'd like to be involved in some way, whether it be coaching or something like that, but playing days are probably done for anything competitive," he said.
