Port Moody-based big man Pearson will pair strong inside game with deft shooting touch for Griffins
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – With an ability to shoot the ball just as well as he can dunk it, versatile big man Ben Pearson offers great promise as he heads into his U SPORTS rookie season with the MacEwan Griffins men's basketball team in 2025-26.
Standing 6-foot-9, the Port Moody, B.C. product will obviously be an inside presence for new Griffins head coach David Kapinga, but he brings more than that, too.
"He has really good touch and can shoot the ball," said Kapinga. "He's probably playing the 5 right now, but my goal is to potentially see if we can move him to a stretch 4 or a stretch 5."
Pearson played for his hometown Heritage Woods Secondary before moving to Ontario last season to take his game to the next level.
"Ben played for (NBA player) Cory's Joseph's dad David Joseph at Code Academy last year in Ontario," said Kapinga, noting he's a very strong defensive player in the paint in addition to his offensive skills.
"Ben Pearson has a high-level computer in his mind. He understands where things are, how they should go. He's a really selfless player."
In a ranking by Long Shot scouting, he was among the top-10 centre prospects in Canada, while he also earned an invite to the prestigious Top 50 Camp by The Northway.
That's definitely in part due to his shot, which Kapinga says is "just right underneath a shooting guard level." He's big enough to be an impact player inside, but can also elevate over anybody for a long range jumper, which will give the Griffins an incredible extra weapon.
"It's huge," said Kapinga. "As a coach when you're creating a roster, you're always looking at 'how do I create space for my scorers? How do I create space for things to operate?
"When you have an extra guy who can shoot the ball, that creates more space for everybody else on the court. Not only that, it also gives you a failsafe if one of your guards (on the court) isn't a great shooter."
The icing on the cake? He's also a very strong student.
"He's a really high academic student; he's a 92 average," said Kapinga. "He's a Communications student, he wants to be a broadcaster for sports."
